Emperor Xianzong of Western Xia (1181–1226), born Li Dewang (), was the ninth and penultimate

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 1223 to 1226. He was the second son of the Emperor Shenzong who had abdicated in his favor.

Reign

Emperor Xianzong inherited a weak empire as his predecessors' Emperor Xiangzong and Emperor Shenzong whose reckless attacks on the Jin dynasty and attempts to ally with the Mongols drained the economy. Emperor Xianzong changed his predecessors' policies and decided to ally with Jin dynasty. However, the Jin dynasty was under a barrage of assault from the Mongol Empire and was unable to help out Western Xia. Emperor Xianzong also changed the policy for Mongols. He decided to fight against the Mongol invaders instead of allying with them. However, the Western Xia armies were exhausted from long, incessant, and costly wars against the Jin, and were unable to repel the Mongol assaults. Xianzong died in 1226.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xianzong 1181 births 1226 deaths Western Xia emperors 13th-century Chinese monarchs 13th-century Tangut rulers 12th-century Tangut people