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 ...
of China, located in modern northern
Shanxi
Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...
and part of
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...
. The name "Xihe" referred to a southward section in the middle reaches of the
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...
.
The commandery was separated from
Shang Commandery
Shang Commandery ( zh, c=上郡, l=Upper Commandery) was a historical commandery of China. It was located in modern-day Northern Shaanxi.
The commandery was established during the reign of Marquess Wen of Wei. In 328 BC, it was annexed by the Q ...
in 125 BC. In 2 AD, there were 36 counties in the commandery, including Fuchang (富昌), Zouyu (騶虞), Huze (鵠澤), Pingding (平定), Meiji (美稷), Zhongyang (中陽), Lejie (樂街), Tujing (徒經), Gaolang (臯狼), Dacheng (大成), Guangtian (廣田), Huanyin (圜陰), Yilan (益闌), Pingzhou (平周), Hongmen (鴻門), Lin (藺), Xuanwu (宣武), Qianzhang (千章), Zengshan (增山), Huanyang (圜陽), Guangyan (廣衍), Wuche (武車), Humeng (虎猛), Lishi (離石), Guluo (穀羅), Rao (饒), Fangli (方利), Xicheng (隰成), Linshui (臨水), Tujun (土軍), Xidu (西都), Pinglu (平陸), Yinshan (陰山), Nishi (觬氏), Boling (博陵) and Yanguan (鹽官). The population in 2 AD was 698,836, in 136,396 households. By 140 AD, only 13 counties (Lishi, Pingding, Meiji, Lejie, Zhongyang, Gaolang, Pingzhou, Pinglu, Yilan, Huanyin, Lin, Huanyang, Guangyan) remained, and the population had decreased to 20,838, in 5,698 households. The region saw repeated nomadic raids toward the end of Han dynasty, and after the establishment of
, the northern part of the commandery was abandoned.''
Book of Jin
The ''Book of Jin'' is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty from 266 to 420. It was compiled in 648 by a number of officials commissioned by the imperial court of the Tang dynasty, with chancellor Fang X ...
'', Chapter 14.
Xihe became a principality in
Western Jin
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
dynasty. In 280 AD, Xihe had 4 counties, Lishi, Xicheng (隰城), Zhongyang and
Jiexiu
Jiexiu is a county-level city in the central part of Shanxi Province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Jinzhong and is located in the latter's western confines. Notable sites in and around Jiexiu include Mo ...
(介休), with a population of 6,300 households. The region was lost in the
Disaster of Yongjia
The Disaster of Yongjia () refers to an event in Chinese history that occurred in 311 CE (5th year of the ''Yongjia'' era of the reign of Emperor Huai of Jin, hence the name), when forces of the Xiongnu-led Han Zhao dynasty captured and sacked ...
. Under
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 ...
, the commandery was reestablished in 484 AD, and included 3 counties (Xicheng, Jiexiu, Yong'an 永安) and a population of 5,388 households. It was eventually abolished in early
Sui dynasty
The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and layi ...
Tang
Tang or TANG most often refers to:
* Tang dynasty
* Tang (drink mix)
Tang or TANG may also refer to:
Chinese states and dynasties
* Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) b ...
dynasties, Xihe Commandery became an alternative name for Fen Prefecture (汾州). In 741 AD, it administered 5 counties, namely Xihe (formerly Xicheng),
Xiaoyi
Xiaoyi () is a county-level city under the administration of Lüliang prefecture-level city, in Shanxi Province, China.
Xiaoyi was built by the State of Jin in 594 BC, named Guayang in Spring and Autumn period. It was renamed Zhongyang in Three ...
Lingshi
Lingshi County () is a county of southwest-central Shanxi province, China. It is under the administration of Jinzhong
Jinzhong, formerly Yuci, is a prefecture-level city in east central Shanxi province of the People's Republic of China, bor ...
. The total population was 320,230, or 59,450 households.''
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 ...