commandery
In the Middle Ages, a commandery (rarely commandry) was the smallest administrative division of the European landed properties of a military order. It was also the name of the house where the knights of the commandery lived.Anthony Luttrell and G ...
in historical China from the
Warring States period
The Warring States period () was an era in ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded with the Qin wars of conquest ...
to Sui dynasty. Its territories were situated in present-day
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
,
Hebei
Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and 0 ...
and Shandong provinces.
The commandery was established by the state of Qin in 242 BCE after a successful campaign against the
state of Wei
Wei (; ; Old Chinese: *') was one of the seven major states during the Warring States period of ancient China. It was created from the three-way Partition of Jin, together with Han and Zhao. Its territory lay between the states of Qin and ...
. In early
Western Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a war ...
, the commandery became a part of the
Liang Kingdom
Liang (梁國) was a kingdom/principality in Han dynasty. Its territories was located within the modern Henan, Anhui and Shandong provinces.
History
Shortly before the establishment of the Han dynasty, the Qin-era Dang Commandery (碭郡) was gr ...
, which was subsequently abolished during the
Lü Clan Disturbance
The Lü Clan Disturbance (, 180 BCE) refers to a political upheaval after the death of Empress Lü Zhi of the Han dynasty. In the aftermath, her clan, the Lü, were deposed from their seats of power and massacred, Emperor Houshao was deposed and ...
. In late Western Han dynasty, the commandery administered 22 counties and marquessates:
Puyang
Puyang is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Henan province, People's Republic of China. Located on the northern shore of the Yellow River, it borders Anyang in the west, Xinxiang in the southwest, and the provinces of Shandong and Hebei ...
Dong'e
Dong'e County () falls under the jurisdiction of Liaocheng Prefecture-level city, in the Shandong Province of China. It is located on the left (northern) bank of the Yellow River, some upstream from the provincial capital Jinan.
The county is ...
(東阿), Lihu (離狐),
Linyi
Linyi () is a prefecture-level city in the south of Shandong province, China. As of 2011, Linyi is the largest prefecture-level city in Shandong, both by area and population, Linyi borders Rizhao to the east, Weifang to the northeast, Zibo t ...
(臨邑), Limiao (利苗), Xuchang (須昌), Shouliang (壽良), Lechang (樂昌), Yangping (陽平), Baima (白馬), Nanyan (南燕) and Linqiu (廩丘). The population in 2 CE was 1,659,028 individuals or 401,297 households.
The commandery went through a series of administrative changes in the Eastern Han dynasty, and by 140 CE, 15 counties remained in the commandery: Puyang, Yan (formerly Nanyan), Baima, Dunqiu, Dong'e, Dongwuyang, Fan, Linyi, Boping, Liaocheng, Fagan, Leping (樂平, formerly Qing), Yangping, Wei (衞, the
fief
A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...
of the descendants of the
Zhou dynasty
The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by ...
kings) and Gucheng (穀城). The population in 140 was 603,393 individuals, or 136,088 households.
From late Eastern Han to early
Juancheng (鄄城) counties from Jiyin were added. After the foundation of Jin dynasty, the commandery was converted to Puyang Principality (濮陽國) and successively served as the fief of several imperial princes. The region was lost during the wars of the Yongjia period.
The commandery was later restored. Under Northern Wei, Dong Commandery administered seven counties in the mid-6th century: Dongyan (東燕), Pingchang (平昌), Baima, Liangcheng (涼城), Suanzao (酸棗, formerly part of Chenliu Commandery), Changyuan (長垣, formerly part of Chenliu) and Changle (長樂). The population was 107,717 individuals or 30,521 households.
The commandery was abolished in 583. In 607, however, Yan Prefecture was renamed Dong Commandery. There was a total of nine counties: Baima, Linchang (靈昌), Weinan (衛南), Puyang,
Fengqiu
Fengqiu County () is a county in the north of Henan province, located on the north (left) bank of the Yellow River. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Xinxiang.
In ancient times, Pingqiu County () was located to the ea ...
(封丘), Kuangcheng (匡城, renamed from Changyuan), Zuocheng (胙城, renamed from Dongyan), Weicheng (韋城) and Lihu. The population was 121,905 households.'' Book of Wei'', Chapter 30.