Later Yan

Yan
384–409
Later Yan in 391 AD
Later Yan in 391 AD
Later Yan in 400 AD
Later Yan in 400 AD
CapitalZhongshan (386–397)
Longcheng (397–409)
GovernmentMonarchy
Emperor 
• 384–396
Murong Chui
• 396–398
Murong Bao
• 398
Lan Han
• 398–401
Murong Sheng
• 401–407
Murong Xi
• 407–409
Murong Yun
History 
• Established
384
• Establishment of Zhongshan as capital
8 February 386[1][2]
• Murong Chui's claim of imperial title
15 February 386[2][3]
• Evacuation of Zhongshan
27 April 397[4][5]
• Murong Xi's death
16 September 407[6][7]
• Disestablished
6 November[8][9] 409
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Former Qin
Northern Wei
Southern Yan
Northern Yan
Today part ofChina

Yan, known in historiography as the Later Yan (simplified Chinese: 后燕; traditional Chinese: 後燕; pinyin: Hòu Yān; 384 – 407 or 409), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Xianbei people during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms.[10]

The prefix "Later" to distinguish them from the Former Yan before them and other Yan states from the period. Historiographers also consider the Former Yan and Later Yan as separate states despite both being ruled by the same imperial family, and the Later Yan's founder, Murong Chui, had intended his state to be a restoration. Due to the devastation inflicted on the old Yan capital, Ye, the city of Zhongshan (中山, in modern Baoding, Hebei) became the first capital of the Later Yan. The Later Yan managed to recover most of their old territory in Liaoning, Hebei, Shaanxi, Shandong and Henan by 394. However, after the Northern Wei invasion in 396, they were reduced to Liaoning and parts of northeastern Hebei, where they made Longcheng their new capital. Their territory was further reduced during their war with Goguryeo as they lost the Liaodong Peninsula.

The Later Yan rulers initially declared themselves "emperors", but towards the end they adopted the lesser title of "Tiān Wáng" (Heavenly King). Some historians consider Murong Xi the last ruler of Later Yan, while others consider it to be Gao Yun, an adopted member of the imperial family of Goguryeo ethnicity.

  1. ^ "中央研究院網站". www.sinica.edu.tw.
  2. ^ a b Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 106.
  3. ^ "中央研究院網站". www.sinica.edu.tw.
  4. ^ "中央研究院網站". www.sinica.edu.tw.
  5. ^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 109.
  6. ^ "中央研究院網站". www.sinica.edu.tw.
  7. ^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 114.
  8. ^ "中央研究院網站". www.sinica.edu.tw.
  9. ^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 115.
  10. ^ Grousset, Rene (1970). The Empire of the Steppes. Rutgers University Press. pp. 59. ISBN 0-8135-1304-9.