Phạm Văn Tham (范文參, ?–1789) or Phạm Văn Sâm, was a general of

Tây Sơn dynasty The Tây Sơn dynasty (, vi, Nhà Tây Sơn (Chữ Nôm: 茹西山); vi, Tây Sơn triều ( Hán tự: 西山朝) was a ruling dynasty of Vietnam, founded in the wake of a rebellion against both the Nguyễn lords and the Trịnh lords befo ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. Phạm Văn Tham was an elder brother of Phạm Ngạn and Phạm Công Hưng. He also had a sister Phạm Thị Liên, whom was

Nguyễn Huệ Emperor Quang Trung ( vi-hantu, 光中, 1753 – 16 September 1792) or Nguyễn Huệ ( vi-hantu, 阮惠), also known as Nguyễn Quang Bình ( vi-hantu, 阮光平), was the second emperor of the Tây Sơn dynasty, reigning from 1788 until 17 ...

's wife. Tham joined the Tây Sơn army in early time. He was promoted to ''Thái bảo'' ("Grand Protector"), and participated in many battles against Nguyễn lords. He killed Dương Công Trừng and Nguyễn Đăng Vân in action, and defeated Tôn Thất Huy, Tôn Thất Hội. In 1787,

Nguyễn Ánh Gia Long ( (''North''), ('' South''); 8 February 1762 – 3 February 1820), born Nguyễn Phúc Ánh (阮福暎) or Nguyễn Ánh, was the founding emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last dynasty of Vietnam. His dynasty would rule the unif ...

returned to Vietnam and landed in

Long Xuyên Long Xuyên () is the capital city of An Giang province, in the Mekong Delta region of south-western Vietnam. History In 1789, a group of explorers established a small outpost in the Tam Khe canal, naming it Dong Xuyen. Sooner after a marketpl ...

. Getting the information,

Nguyễn Lữ Nguyễn Lữ ( vi-hantu, 阮侶; died 1787), also known by the title of Đông Định vương (東定王, "king of Eastern Conquering") in Siamese records; ''Ong Tinh Wuang'' derived from the Vietnamese word '' Ông Định vương'' ("Sir ''Đ� ...

was afraid, and retreated to

Biên Hòa Biên Hòa (Northern accent: , Southern accent: ) is the capital city of Đồng Nai Province, Vietnam and part of the Ho Chi Minh City metropolitan area and located about east of Ho Chi Minh City, to which Biên Hòa is linked by Vietnam Hi ...

, leaving Tham to defend Gia Định. Nguyễn Ánh forged a letter from

Nguyễn Nhạc Nguyễn Nhạc ( vi-hantu, 阮岳, died 1793) was the founder of the Tây Sơn dynasty, reigning from 1778 to 1788. From 1778 to 1788, Nguyễn Nhạc proclaimed himself Emperor Thái Đức ( vi-hantu, 泰德). In 1788 after his younger bro ...

to Nguyễn Lữ, and sent it to Tham. In the letter, Nhạc described Tham as an overbearing man, and ordered Lữ to kill Tham. After receiving the letter, Tham marched to Biên Hòa, with a

white flag White flags have had different meanings throughout history and depending on the locale. Contemporary use The white flag is an internationally recognized protective sign of truce or ceasefire, and for negotiation. It is also used to symbolize ...

in front of the army, to justify his wrongful treatment. But the white flag was mistaken for his surrender to Nguyễn lord, Nguyễn Lữ abandoned his troops and fled to Quy Nhơn.''

Việt Nam sử lược ( vi-hantu, 越南史略, french: Précis d'Histoire du Việt-Nam, lit. "Outline History of Vietnam"), was the first history text published in the Vietnamese and the Vietnamese alphabet. It was compiled by Vietnamese historian Trần Trọng Ki ...

'', Quyển 2, Tự chủ thời đại, Chương 12 Tham had to fight alone. He defeated Nguyễn Ánh in Gia Định, and forced Nguyễn Ánh to retreat to

Mỹ Tho Mỹ Tho () is a city in the Tiền Giang province in the Mekong Delta region of South Vietnam. It has a population of approximately 169,000 in 2006 and 220,000 in 2012. It is the regional center of economics, education and technology. The majorit ...

. The next year, in 1788,

Võ Tánh Võ Tánh ( 武性, ?—1801) was an 18th-century Vietnamese military commander, best known for his role as a general of Nguyễn Ánh, who unified modern-day Vietnam and ruled as Emperor Gia Long. Early life Võ Tánh was born in Phước Tinh ...

, a general of Đông Sơn army, decided to join Nguyễn lord's side. The tables were turned; Tham was defeated and fled to Ba Thắc. In 1789, he decided to break through the encirclement and flee to Quy Nhơn by ship, but was defeated and besieged by

Lê Văn Quân Le is a romanization of several rare East Asian surnames and a common Vietnamese surname. It is a fairly common surname in the United States, ranked 975th during the 1990 census and 368th during the 2000 census. In 2000, it was the eighth-most-co ...

, Tôn Thất Hội, Võ Tánh and

Nguyễn Văn Trương Nguyễn () is the most common Vietnamese surname. Outside of Vietnam, the surname is commonly rendered without diacritics as Nguyen. Nguyên (元）is a different word and surname. By some estimates 39 percent of Vietnamese people bear this s ...

. He had to surrender to Nguyễn lord, which marked the end of Tây Sơn rule in Gia Định. Not long after, he colluded with

, and planned to revolt against Nguyễn lord. The plot was uncovered, and he was executed.'' Đại Nam chính biên liệt truyện'', vol. 30

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pham, Van Tham 1789 deaths Tây Sơn dynasty generals