Dong Commandery ( zh, 東郡) was a

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 ...

in historical China from the

Warring States period The Warring States period in history of China, Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and ...

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty ( ) was a short-lived Dynasties of China, Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 581 to 618. The re-unification of China proper under the Sui brought the Northern and Southern dynasties era to a close, ending a prolonged peri ...

. Its territories were situated in present-day

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

and

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

provinces. The commandery was established by the

state of Qin Qin (, , or ''Ch'in'') was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. It is traditionally dated to 897 BC. The state of Qin originated from a reconquest of western lands that had previously been lost to the Xirong. Its location at ...

in 242 BCE after a successful campaign against the

state of Wei Wei (; ) was one of the seven major State (Ancient China), states during the Warring States period of ancient China. It was created from the three-way Partition of Jin, together with Han (Warring States), Han and Zhao (state), Zhao. Its territo ...

. In early

Western Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) and a warring in ...

, the commandery became a part of the

Liang Kingdom Liang () was a Government of the Han dynasty#Kingdoms, marquisates, and fiefs of princesses, kingdom/principality in the Chinese Han dynasty. Its territories was located within the modern Henan, Anhui and Shandong provinces. History Shortly before ...

, which was subsequently abolished during the Lü Clan Disturbance. In late Western Han dynasty, the commandery administered 22 counties and marquessates:

Puyang Puyang is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Henan province, People's Republic of China. Located on the northern shore of the Yellow River, it borders Anyang in the west, Xinxiang in the southwest, and the provinces of Shandong and Hebei ...

(濮陽), Panguan (畔觀),

Liaocheng Liaocheng ( zh, s=, p=Liáochéng), is a prefecture-level city in western Shandong province, China. It borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the southeast, Dezhou to the northeast, Tai'an to the south, and the provinces of Hebei and Henan t ...

(聊城), Dunqiu (頓丘), Fagan (發干), Fan (范), Chaping (茬平), Dongwuyang (東武陽), Boping (博平), Li (黎), Qing (清), Dong'e (東阿), Lihu (離狐),

Linyi Linyi ( zh, s=临沂 , t=臨沂 , p=Línyí) is a prefecture-level city in the south of Shandong province, China. As of 2011, Linyi is the largest prefecture-level city in Shandong, both by area and population, Linyi borders Rizhao to the eas ...

(臨邑), Limiao (利苗), Xuchang (須昌), Shouliang (壽良), Lechang (樂昌), Yangping (陽平), Baima (白馬), Nanyan (南燕) and Linqiu (廩丘). The population in 2 CE was 1,659,028 individuals or 401,297 households. The commandery went through a series of administrative changes in the

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

, and by 140 CE, 15 counties remained in the commandery: Puyang, Yan (formerly Nanyan), Baima, Dunqiu, Dong'e, Dongwuyang, Fan, Linyi, Boping, Liaocheng, Fagan, Leping (樂平, formerly Qing), Yangping, Wei (衞, the

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

of the descendants of the

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ) was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from until 256 BC, the longest span of any dynasty in Chinese history. During the Western Zhou period (771 BC), the royal house, surnamed Ji, had military ...

kings) and Gucheng (穀城). The population in 140 was 603,393 individuals, or 136,088 households. From late Eastern Han to early

Cao Wei Wei () was one of the major Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic states in China during the Three Kingdoms period. The state was established in 220 by Cao Pi based upon the foundations laid by his father Cao Cao during the end of the Han dy ...

dynasty, most counties of Dong was transferred to surrounding commanderies, while Linqiu and Juancheng (鄄城) counties from Jiyin were added. After the foundation of Jin dynasty, the commandery was converted to Puyang Principality (濮陽國) and successively served as the fief of several imperial princes. The region was lost during the wars of the Yongjia period. The commandery was later restored. Under

Northern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei ( zh, c=北魏, p=Běi Wèi), Tuoba Wei ( zh, c=拓跋魏, p=Tuòbá Wèi), Yuan Wei ( zh, c=元魏, p=Yuán Wèi) and Later Wei ( zh, t=後魏, p=Hòu Wèi), was an Dynasties of China, impe ...

, Dong Commandery administered seven counties in the mid-6th century: Dongyan (東燕), Pingchang (平昌), Baima, Liangcheng (涼城), Suanzao (酸棗, formerly part of Chenliu Commandery), Changyuan (長垣, formerly part of Chenliu) and Changle (長樂). The population was 107,717 individuals or 30,521 households. The commandery was abolished in 583. In 607, however, Yan Prefecture was renamed Dong Commandery. There was a total of nine counties: Baima, Linchang (靈昌), Weinan (衛南), Puyang, Fengqiu (封丘), Kuangcheng (匡城, renamed from Changyuan), Zuocheng (胙城, renamed from Dongyan), Weicheng (韋城) and Lihu. The population was 121,905 households.''

Book of Wei The ''Book of Wei'', also known by its Chinese name as the ''Wei Shu'', is a classic Chinese historical text compiled by Wei Shou from 551 to 554, and is an important text describing the history of the Northern Wei and Eastern Wei from 386 to 5 ...

'', Chapter 30.

References

{{Han dynasty provinces Commanderies of the Qin dynasty Commanderies of the Han dynasty Commanderies of the Jin dynasty (266–420) Commanderies of the Northern dynasties Commanderies of the Sui dynasty