Dingxiang Commandery ( zh, 定襄郡) was a historical

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 Gr ...

of China. It was located in the southern part of modern

Hohhot Hohhot,; abbreviated zh, c=呼市, p=Hūshì, labels=no formerly known as Kweisui, is the capital of Inner Mongolia in the north of the People's Republic of China, serving as the region's administrative, economic and cultural center.''The Ne ...

and

Ulanqab Ulanqab or Ulan Chab (; mn, ''Ulaɣančab qota''; Mongolian cyrillic.Улаанцав хот) is a region administered as a prefecture-level city in south-central Inner Mongolia, China. Its administrative centre is in Jining District, which ...

prefectures in Inner Mongolia. The commandery was separated from

Yunzhong Yunzhong Commandery ( zh, 雲中郡) was a historical commandery of China. Its territories were located between the Great Wall and Yin Mountains, and correspond to part of modern-day Hohhot, Baotou and Ulanqab prefectures in Inner Mongolia. The ...

during

Emperor Gaozu of Han Emperor Gaozu of Han (256 – 1 June 195 BC), born Liu Bang () with courtesy name Ji (季), was the founder and first emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning in 202–195 BC. His temple name was "Taizu" while his posthumous name was Empe ...

's reign. In late Western Han dynasty, it administered 12 counties, namely Chengle (成樂), Tongguo (桐過), Duwu (都武), Wujin (武進), Xiangyin (襄陰), Wugao (武皋), Luo (駱), Antao (安陶), Wucheng (武成), Wuyao (武要), Dingxiang (定襄) and Fulu (復陸). The population was 163,144 in 38,559 households in 2 AD. The commandery was briefly abandoned from 34 to 50 AD due to

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 209& ...

invasions. In 50 AD, the

Southern Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 209& ...

submitted to Han control, and the commandery was partly restored to resettle former residents and the Xiongnu. 6 northern counties were abolished, and later 3 more were transferred to Yunzhong Commandery, while Shanwu (善無) and Zhongling (中陵) counties were added from

Yanmen Commandery Yanmen Commandery was an administrative subdivision (''jùn'') of the state of Zhao established BC and of northern imperial Chinese dynasties until AD758. It occupied lands in what is now Shanxi and Inner Mongolia. Its first seat was at Shanw ...

. In 140 AD, Dingxiang had 5 counties: Shanwu, Luo, Tongguo, Wucheng and Zhongling. The population was 3,571, in 3,153 households. Toward the end Han dynasty, the area's population decreased sharply as residents fled from invading northern nomadic peoples, and the commandery was dissolved. In the Sui and Tang dynasties, the name Dingxiang Commandery was revived to refer to Yun (雲) and Xin (忻) prefectures, respectively. Yun Prefecture in Sui dynasty administered only 1 county, Dali (大利), and 374 households, while Xin Prefecture in Tang dynasty administered 2 counties, Xiurong (秀容) and Dingxiang (定襄, in a different location from the synonymous county of Han dynasty). The population was 14,806 households or 82,032 individuals in 741 AD.''

New Book of Tang The ''New Book of Tang'', generally translated as the "New History of the Tang" or "New Tang History", is a work of official history covering the Tang dynasty in ten volumes and 225 chapters. The work was compiled by a team of scholars of the So ...

'', Chapter 39.

References

{{Han dynasty provinces Commanderies of the Han dynasty Commanderies of the Sui dynasty