Empress Erzhu (爾朱皇后, personal name unknown) was an

empress An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

of the

Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were a Proto-Mongolic ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. They originated from the Donghu people who splintered into the ...

-led

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

Northern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei (), Tuoba Wei (), Yuan Wei () and Later Wei (), was founded by the Tuoba (Tabgach) clan of the Xianbei. The first of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties ...

dynasty. Her husband was Emperor Jiemin, and she was a daughter of the general

Erzhu Zhao Erzhu Zhao (爾朱兆) (died 533), courtesy name Wanren (萬仁), Xianbei name Tumo'er (吐沒兒), was a general of the Xianbei-led Northern Wei dynasty of China. He was ethnically Xiongnu and a nephew of the paramount general Erzhu Rong. After E ...

. To distinguish her from her sister who married Yuan Ye, her sister is referred to as "Empress Jianming" ("Jianming" being the era name of Yuan Ye's reign). Very little is known about her. Her father Erzhu Zhao had come to prominence after members of the Erzhu clan, avenging the head of the clan

Erzhu Rong Erzhu Rong (爾朱榮) (493 – November 1, 530), courtesy name Tianbao (天寶), formally Prince Wu of Jin (晉武王), was a general of the Xianbei-led Chinese Northern Wei dynasty. He was of Xiongnu ancestry, and after Emperor Xiaoming was ki ...

(Erzhu Zhao's uncle), overthrew Emperor Xiaozhuang in 530. With the general

Gao Huan Gao Huan () (496 – 13 February 547), Xianbei name Heliuhun (賀六渾), formally Prince Xianwu of Qi (齊獻武王), later further formally honored by Northern Qi initially as Emperor Xianwu (獻武皇帝), then as Emperor Shenwu (神武皇帝 ...

declaring a rebellion in 531 and with the Erzhu camp itself in internal disarray, Erzhu Rong's cousin

Erzhu Shilong Erzhu Shilong (爾朱世隆) (500–532), courtesy name Rongzong (榮宗), was an official of the Xianbei-led Northern Wei dynasty of China. He first became prominent when after his cousin Erzhu Rong overthrew Emperor Xiaoming's mother Empress Do ...

tried to keep the unity within the clan by persuading Emperor Jiemin to marry her as empress in April 532.Volume 155 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'' places the marriage between the ''dingchou'' day of the 3rd month and ''renyin'' day of the leap month of the 4th year of the ''Zhong Datong'' era. The dates correspond to 3 Apr and 28 Apr 532 in the Julian calendar.Later that year, however, Gao Huan defeated the Erzhus and captured the capital

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...

, imprisoning Emperor Jiemin and replacing him with Emperor Xiaowu, who then poisoned Emperor Jiemin to death. Erzhu Zhao himself tried to hold out against Gao, but by 533 had been defeated, and he committed suicide. Unlike her

older sister Older Sister (russian: Старшая сестра, Starshaya sestra ) is a Soviet feature film, shot in 1966, Georgy Natanson on the play by Alexander Volodin ''My older sister''. Plot Orphans Lida and Nadya have been living in the care of h ...

, who was Yuan Ye's empress, who is known to have then become Gao's

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...

, nothing further is known about this Empress Erzhu.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erzhu, Empress Erzhu, Empress Jiemin