Emperor Huanzong of Western Xia (1177–1206), born Li Chunyou (), was the sixth

emperor 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

Western Xia dynasty The Western Xia or the Xi Xia (), officially the Great Xia (), also known as the Tangut Empire, and known as ''Mi-nyak''Stein (1972), pp. 70–71. to the Tanguts and Tibetans, was a Tangut-led Buddhist imperial dynasty of China tha ...

of China, reigning from 1193 to 1206.

Reign

He was the son of Emperor Renzong, and tried to follow the policies dictated by his father. However, the high-ranking officials in the Western Xia government became more corrupt as time passed, starting the irreversible decline of the Western Xia. The rising of the

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...

under

Genghis Khan ''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan'' , birth_name = Temüjin , successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan , spouse = , issue = , house = Borjigin , ...

began to pose threats as Mongols began raiding border villages. In 1205, Huanzong changed the name of the Western Xia capital to Zhongxing (now

Yinchuan Yinchuan (, ; ) is the capital of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China, and was the capital of the Tangut-led Western Xia dynasty. It has an area of and a total population of 2,859,074 according to the 2020 Chinese census, and its buil ...

). Also in 1205, the Mongols began their first invasion of the Western Xia, pillaging and burning many outlying villages and cities. In 1206, his cousin

Li Anquan Emperor Xiangzong of Western Xia (1170–1211), born Li Anquan (), was the seventh emperor of the Tangut-led Western Xia dynasty The Western Xia or the Xi Xia (), officially the Great Xia (), also known as the Tangut Empire, and known ...

, who became Emperor Xiangzong, started a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

and took power from Huanzong. Huanzong died in the same year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huanzong, Emperor of Western Xia 1177 births 1206 deaths Western Xia emperors 12th-century Chinese monarchs 13th-century Chinese monarchs 12th-century Tangut rulers 13th-century Tangut rulers