Zhao Kingdom or Zhao Principality ( zh, 趙國) was a kingdom or principality in early Imperial China, located in present-day

North China North China, or Huabei () is a geographical region of China, consisting of the provinces of Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi and Inner Mongolia. Part of the larger region of Northern China (''Beifang''), it lies north of the Qinling–Huaihe ...

. The kingdom was created in 203 BC and granted to Zhang Er (張耳), a follower of

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 ...

. The kingdom covered five Qin-era

commanderies 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 ...

, including Handan (邯鄲), Julu (鉅鹿), Qinghe (清河), Hejian (河間) and Changshan (常山). In 199 BC, however, because of an failed assassination attempt on the emperor by several of his ministers, Zhang Ao, son of Zhang Er, was demoted to marquess and this kingdom became extinct.

Liu Ruyi Liu Ruyi (208 – January 194BCAccording to volume 12 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'', Liu Ruyi was poisoned in the 12th month of the 1st year of Emperor Hui's reign. This corresponds to 31 Dec 195 BCE - 28 Jan 194 BCE in the proleptic Julian calendar.), ...

, Prince Yin of Zhao, a young son of Liu Bang (Emperor Gao of Han) and a favoured concubine, Consort Qi, was made Prince Yin of Zhao by Emperor Gao in around 198 BC. Shortly after the death of the emperor in 195 BC, Prince Yin of Zhao died as a result of poisoning in a plot instigated by the emperor's widow,

Empress Lü Empress (Dowager) Lü Zhi (241–18 August 180 BC), commonly known as Empress Lü () and formally Empress Gao of Han (), was the empress consort of Gaozu, the founding emperor of the Han dynasty. They had two known children, Liu Ying (later Em ...

, to ensure he would not become emperor. Ruyi was succeeded by Liu You, son of Emperor Gaozu and Empress Lü. In 181 BC, his consort, a relative of Empress Lü, falsely accused You to be plotting a rebellion. Liu You was called back to the capital and killed. He was succeeded by Liu Hui (劉恢), who committed suicide the same year after his favorite concubine was poisoned by the Empress Lü. After Hui's death, Lü dissolved the kingdom. In 179 BC, Zhao was granted to

Liu Sui Liu Sui (; died 154 BC) was the son of Liu You. When Emperor Wen of Han ascended to the throne in 180 BC, Sui was made the Prince of Zhao in place of Lü Lu while other relatives were given other principalities to rule at the end of Lü Clan Distu ...

, son of Liu You. A year later, Hejian was created as a separate kingdom. Sui rebelled during the

Rebellion of the Seven States The Rebellion of the Seven States or Revolt of the Seven Kingdoms () took place in 154 BC against the Han dynasty of China by its regional semi-autonomous kings, to resist the emperor's attempt to centralize the government further. Background ...

and was defeated. Liu Pengzu (劉彭祖), a son of Emperor Jing was named the new Prince of Zhao. Thereafter, Zhao was reduced to a fraction of its former size, and only covered Handan Commandery. Over the rest of

Western Han The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a wa ...

, more than 20 marquessates were created on the territories of Zhao. They were administered by neighboring commanderies, further reducing Zhao's territory. In 2 AD, Zhao administered only 4 counties, namely Handan, Yiyang (易陽), Bairen (柏人) and Xiangguo (襄國), with a population of 349,952, in 84,202 households. The kingdom was abolished during

Wang Mang Wang Mang () (c. 45 – 6 October 23 CE), courtesy name Jujun (), was the founder and the only emperor of the short-lived Chinese Xin dynasty. He was originally an official and consort kin of the Han dynasty and later seized the throne ...

's usurpation. After the restoration of Han dynasty under Emperor Guangwu, the kingdom was granted to Liu Liang (劉良), uncle of the emperor. His descendants held the kingdom until 213 AD, when the kingdom was abolished and converted to Zhao Commandery (趙郡).''

Book of Later Han The ''Book of the Later Han'', also known as the ''History of the Later Han'' and by its Chinese name ''Hou Hanshu'' (), is one of the Twenty-Four Histories and covers the history of the Han dynasty from 6 to 189 CE, a period known as the Late ...

'', Chapter 14. The territory became the fief of

Cao Gan Cao Gan (214 – 14 September 261), also known as Cao Liang, was an imperial prince of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. Life Cao Gan was a son of Cao Cao, a warlord who rose to prominence towards the end of the Han dy ...

after the establishment of Cao Wei dynasty, while during early

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 i ...

dynasty, it was

Sima Lun Sima Lun ( sim. ch. 司马伦, trad. ch. 司馬倫, py. Sīmǎ Lún, wg. Ssu-ma Lun) (before 250 - poisoned June 5, 301), courtesy name Ziyi (子彛), was titled the Prince of Zhao (pinyin: zhào wáng, simplified Chinese: 赵王, traditi ...

's fief.

Kings of Zhao

*Zhang Er, King Jing of Zhao (趙景王), 203–202 BC * Zhang Ao, 202–199 BC *

, King Yin of Zhao (趙隱王), 197–194 BC * Liu You, King You of Zhao (趙幽王), 194–181 BC *Liu Hui (劉恢), King Gong of Zhao (趙共王), 181 BC *

, 179–154 BC *Liu Pengzu (劉彭祖), King Su of Zhao (趙肅王), 153–92 BC *Liu Chang (劉昌), King Qing of Zhao (趙頃王), 92–73 BC *Liu Zun (劉尊), King Huai of Zhao (趙懷王), 73–68 BC *Liu Gao (劉高), King Ai of Zhao (趙哀王), 66 BC *Liu Chong (劉充), King Gong of Zhao (趙共王), 65–10 BC *Liu Yin (劉隱), 10–9 BC *Liu Liang (劉良), King Xiao of Zhao (趙孝王), 29–37 AD *Liu Xu (劉栩), King Jie of Zhao (趙節王), ?–81 *Liu Shang (劉商), King Qing of Zhao (趙頃王), 81–104 *Liu Hong (劉宏), King Jing of Zhao (趙靖王), 104–116 *Liu Qian (劉乾), King Hui of Zhao (趙惠王), 116–164 *Liu Yu (劉豫), King Huai of Zhao (趙懷王), 164–? *Liu She (劉赦), King Xian of Zhao (趙獻王), ?–? *Liu Gui (劉珪), ?–213

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingdom Of Zhao Kingdoms of the Han dynasty

Kings of Zhao

See also

References