Dong Zhuo's state was created when Dong Zhuo 董卓 seized control of the imperial court after he installed Liu Xie on the throne as Emperor in 189. For almost 3 years Dong Zhuo would use the young emperor as his puppet.
The name of Dong Zhuo's state would've been Han, as he indirectly ruled Han by controlling Emperor Xian.
Brief history[]
During He Jin's struggle with the eunuchs he called upon the help of many warlords, one of them being Dong Zhuo. In 189, He Jin was suddenly assassinated by a group of eunuchs, and when learning about this He Jin's allies subsequently stormed the capital city Luoyang and massacred all the eunuchs. On the eve of the massacre, Dong Zhuo met Liu Bian - the reigning Emperor Shao, and Liu Xie outside the city. He was impressed with Liu Xie and from that moment on contemplated setting Xie on the throne. Eventually he succeeded. He set Liu Xie on the throne and had Liu Bian drink poison. Various warlords such as Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu and Cao Cao had already fled the capital and formed a coalition against Dong Zhuo east of the mountains.
The coalition would score some successes, mainly at the hands of Yuan Shu's officer Sun Jian, and it would force Dong Zhuo to move the capital from Luoyang to Chang'an.
There, in 192, Dong Zhuo was killed by his adopted son, Lü Bu and Chang'an (with Emperor Xian) fell into the hands of his loyalists, led by Li Jue 李傕.
See also[]
- Han dynasty
- Three Kingdoms
- Coalition East of the Mountains
Notes[]
Fact vs. Fiction[]
References[]
Sources[]
- Chen Shou 陳壽 (233–297). Sanguo zhi 三國志 “Records of the Three Kingdoms”, with official commentary compiled by Pei Songzhi 裴松之 (372-451).
- de Crespigny, Rafe. A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23 - 220 AD). Leiden: BRILL, 2007.