Empress Duan (段皇后, personal name unknown) (died 400), formally Empress Huide (惠德皇后, literally 'the benevolent and virtuous empress'), 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 Later Yan dynasty of China. Her husband was Murong Bao (Emperor Huimin). Based on her family name, Empress Duan was probably from the same Duan tribe royal line that a number of

Former Yan The Former Yan (; 337–370) was a dynastic state ruled by the Xianbei during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China. Initially, Murong Huang and his son Murong Jun claimed the Jin dynasty-created title "Prince of Yan," but subsequently, in 352, ...

and Later Yan empresses and imperial consorts came from. Murong Bao created her empress in 396 after he became emperor. Little is known about her life during the next few years, when Murong Bao saw his empire collapse in light of attacks by

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 ...

and internal rebellions, and he was killed in a rebellion by

Lan Han Lan Han (; died August 15, 398) was an official and a consort kin of the Xianbei-led Chinese Later Yan dynasty, who killed the emperor Murong Bao (Emperor Huimin) in 398 and briefly took over the regime before being killed by Murong Bao's son M ...

in 398, along with her son Murong Ce (慕容策) the crown prince. Lan spared her, however, and after Murong Bao's son by his

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 ...

Consort Ding __NOTOC__ Consort may refer to: Music * "The Consort" (Rufus Wainwright song), from the 2000 album ''Poses'' * Consort of instruments, term for instrumental ensembles * Consort song (musical), a characteristic English song form, late 16th–ear ...

Murong Sheng Murong Sheng (; 373–401), courtesy name Daoyun (道運), formally Emperor Zhaowu of (Later) Yan ((後)燕昭武帝), was an emperor of the Xianbei-led Later Yan dynasty of China. He was the oldest son of Murong Bao (Emperor Huimin), and after ...

, killed Lan and became emperor, he honored her as

empress dowager Empress dowager (also dowager empress or empress mother) () is the English language translation of the title given to the mother or widow of a Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese emperor in the Chinese cultural sphere. The title was also g ...

. She died in early 400.

References

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