Empress Erzhu (爾朱皇后, personal name unknown) was an

empress The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

of the

Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were an ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. The Xianbei were likely not of a single ethnicity, but rather a multiling ...

-led

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

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 ...

dynasty. Her husband was Emperor Jiemin, and she was a daughter of the general

Erzhu Zhao Erzhu Zhao (爾朱兆) (died February 533), courtesy name Wanren (萬仁), Xianbei name Tumo'er (吐沒兒), was a general of the Xianbei-led Northern Wei dynasty of China. He was ethnically Xiongnu and a nephew of the paramount general Erzhu Rong ...

. To distinguish her from her sister who married Yuan Ye, her sister is referred to as "Empress Jianming" ("Jianming" being the era name of Yuan Ye's reign). Very little is known about her. Her father Erzhu Zhao had come to prominence after members of the Erzhu clan, avenging the head of the clan

Erzhu Rong Erzhu Rong (爾朱榮) (c. 493 – November 1, 530), courtesy name Tianbao (天寶), formally Prince Wu of Jin (晉武王), was a general of the Xianbei-led Chinese Northern Wei dynasty. He was of Xiongnu ancestry, and after Emperor Xiaoming wa ...

(Erzhu Zhao's uncle), overthrew Emperor Xiaozhuang in 530. With the general

Gao Huan Gao Huan () (496 – 13 February 547), Xianbei name Heliuhun (賀六渾), formally Prince Xianwu of Qi (齊獻武王), later further formally honored by Northern Qi initially as Emperor Xianwu (獻武皇帝), then as Emperor Shenwu (神武皇� ...

declaring a rebellion in 531 and with the Erzhu camp itself in internal disarray, Erzhu Rong's cousin

Erzhu Shilong Erzhu Shilong (爾朱世隆) (500 – 20 May 532''jia'zi'' day of the 4th month of the 2nd year of the ''Zhong'xing'' era, per Emperor Houfei's biography in ''Book of Wei''. ( ��兴二年��四月甲子朔，...，执尔朱世隆、彦伯，斩于 ...

tried to keep the unity within the clan by persuading Emperor Jiemin to marry her as empress in April 532.Volume 155 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'' places the marriage between the ''dingchou'' day of the 3rd month and ''renyin'' day of the leap month of the 4th year of the ''Zhong Datong'' era. The dates correspond to 3 Apr and 28 Apr 532 in the Julian calendar. Later that year, however, Gao Huan defeated the Erzhus and captured the capital

Luoyang Luoyang ( zh, s=洛阳, t=洛陽, p=Luòyáng) is a city located in the confluence area of the Luo River and the Yellow River in the west of Henan province, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zheng ...

, imprisoning Emperor Jiemin and replacing him with Emperor Xiaowu, who then poisoned Emperor Jiemin to death. Erzhu Zhao himself tried to hold out against Gao, but by 533 had been defeated, and he committed suicide. Unlike her older sister, who was Yuan Ye's empress, who is known to have then become Gao's

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal relationship, interpersonal and Intimate relationship, sexual relationship between two people in which the couple does not want to, or cannot, enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarde ...

, nothing further is known about this Empress Erzhu.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erzhu, Empress Erzhu, Empress Jiemin