List of Vietnamese dynasties


Prior to the abdication of Bảo Đại on 30 August 1945 in the aftermath of the August Revolution, Vietnam was ruled by a series of dynasties of either local or Chinese origin. The following is a list of major dynasties in the history of Vietnam.

Background

Naming convention

In Vietnamese historiography, the names of dynasties were usually derived from the family name of the ruling house. For example, the Đinh dynasty is known as such because the ruling clan bore the family name Đinh.
Similar to Chinese dynasties, Vietnamese dynasties would adopt a quốc hiệu upon the establishment of the realm. However, as it was common for several dynasties to share the same official name, referring to regimes by their official name in historiography would be potentially confusing. For instance, the quốc hiệu "Đại Việt" was used by the Lý dynasty, the Trần dynasty, the Later Trần dynasty, the Later Lê dynasty, the Mạc dynasty, and the Tây Sơn dynasty.
In the Vietnamese language, the word for "dynasty" may be written as either nhà or triều. For instance, the Mạc dynasty can be rendered as "Nhà Mạc" or "Mạc triều".

Origin of dynasties

Apart from over one millennium of direct Chinese rule, Vietnam was ruled by a series of "local" dynasties, some of which could have their origins traced to China.
The founder of the legendary Hồng Bàng dynasty, Lộc Tục, was recorded as a descendant of the mythical Chinese ruler Shennong.
According to two historical Vietnamese texts, Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư and Khâm định Việt sử Thông giám cương mục, Thục Phán of the Thục dynasty was originally a prince of the ancient Chinese State of Shu.
The Triệu dynasty, established by Zhao Tuo from the Chinese Qin dynasty, was considered an orthodox local regime by traditional Vietnamese historiography. However, modern Vietnamese historians generally regard the Triệu dynasty to be a foreign regime that ruled Vietnam.
The founder of the Early Lý dynasty, Lý Bôn, was descended from Chinese refugees who fled Wang Mang's seizure of power in the final years of the Western Han in China.
The first emperor of the Lý dynasty, Lý Công Uẩn, could have his paternal bloodline traced to modern-day Fujian, China. Lý Công Uẩn's father, Lý Thuần An, escaped to Quanzhou from Hebei after Lý Công Uẩn's grandfather, Li Song, was wrongly accused of treason and executed by the Emperor Yin of Later Han.
The origin of the Trần dynasty was traced to modern Fujian, where the ancestor of the Trần imperial clan, Trần Kính, migrated from in the 11th century CE. The Later Trần dynasty was ruled by the same imperial clan as the earlier Trần dynasty.
The Hồ dynasty claimed descent from the Duke Hu of Chen, the founder of the ancient Chinese State of Chen. The Duke Hu of Chen was in turn descended from the legendary Emperor Shun, who was recognized by Hồ Quý Ly as the progenitor of the Hồ imperial family. Accordingly, the Hồ dynasty adopted the official quốc hiệu "Đại Ngu" ; "Ngu" was derived from the Emperor Shun's lineage name, Youyu. The Hồ family migrated from present-day Zhejiang, China to Vietnam under Hồ Hưng Dật during the 10th century CE. Rulers of the Tây Sơn dynasty, initially surnamed Hồ, were descended from the same line as the Hồ dynasty.

Champa

existed as an independent polity until its annexation by the Nguyễn dynasty in 1832 CE, thereby laying the foundation for the territories of the modern Vietnamese state. The rulers of Champa were of Cham descent, an Austronesian ethnic group distinct from the majority Kinh ethnicity of Vietnam.
There were 15 dynasties in the history of Champa. According to Chinese historical sources, Champa officially used the quốc hiệu "Lâm Ấp" from the 1st to 4th dynasties, "Hoàn Vương" during the 5th dynasty, and "Chiêm Thành" from the 6th to 15th dynasties.

List of dynasties in Vietnamese history

This list includes the various dynasties in the history of Vietnam, of both local and Chinese origins. Dynasties of China that ruled Vietnam are highlighted in orange. The Triệu dynasty is highlighted in light orange due to its disputed status.

Timeline of dynasties in Vietnamese history


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from: -2879 till: -258 color:VN text:"Hồng Bàng dynasty "
from: -257 till: -207 color:VN text:"Thục dynasty "
from: -204 till: -111 color:CV text:"Triệu dynasty "
from: -111 till: 9 color:CN1 text:"Western Han "
from: 9 till: 23 color:CN1 text:"Xin dynasty "
from: 25 till: 40 color:CN1 text:"Eastern Han "
from: 43 till: 220 color:CN2 text:"Eastern Han "
from: 229 till: 266 color:CN2 text:"Eastern Wu "
from: 266 till: 271 color:CN2 text:"Western Jin "
from: 271 till: 280 color:CN2 text:"Eastern Wu "
from: 280 till: 316 color:CN2 text:"Western Jin "
from: 317 till: 420 color:CN2 text:"Eastern Jin "
from: 420 till: 479 color:CN2 text:"Liu Song "
from: 479 till: 502 color:CN2 text:"Southern Qi "
from: 502 till: 544 color:CN2 text:"Liang dynasty "
from: 544 till: 602 color:VN text:"Early Lý dynasty "
from: 602 till: 618 color:CN3 text:"Sui dynasty "
from: 618 till: 690 color:CN3 text:"Tang dynasty "
from: 690 till: 705 color:CN3 text:"Wu Zhou "
from: 705 till: 907 color:CN3 text:"Tang dynasty "
from: 930 till: 938 color:CN3 text:"Southern Han "
from: 939 till: 965 color:VN text:"Ngô dynasty "
from: 968 till: 980 color:VN text:"Đinh dynasty "
from: 980 till: 1009 color:VN text:"Early Lê dynasty "
from: 1009 till: 1225 color:VN text:"Lý dynasty "
from: 1225 till: 1400 color:VN text:"Trần dynasty "
from: 1400 till: 1407 color:VN text:"Hồ dynasty "
from: 1407 till: 1427 color:CN4 text:"Ming dynasty "
from: 1407 till: 1413 color:VN text:"Later Trần dynasty "
from: 1428 till: 1527 color:VN text:"Primitive Lê dynasty "
from: 1527 till: 1677 color:VN text:"Mạc dynasty "
from: 1533 till: 1789 color:VN text:"Revival Lê dynasty "
from: 1778 till: 1802 color:VN text:"Tây Sơn dynasty "
from: 1802 till: 1945 color:VN text:"Nguyễn dynasty "
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