Nguyễn Phúc Tần (; 18 July 1620 – 30 April 1687) was one of the
Nguyễn lords
The Nguyễn lords (, 主阮; 1558–1777, 1780–1802), also known as the Nguyễn clan (; ), were Nguyễn dynasty's forerunner and a feudal noble clan ruling southern Đại Việt in the Revival Lê dynasty. The Nguyễn lords were membe ...
who ruled south Vietnam from the city of Phú Xuân (modern-day
Huế
Huế (formerly Thừa Thiên Huế province) is the southernmost coastal Municipalities of Vietnam, city in the North Central Coast region, the Central Vietnam, Central of Vietnam, approximately in the center of the country. It borders Quảng ...
) from 1648 to 1687. During his rule, the
Trịnh–Nguyễn War
The Trịnh–Nguyễn Civil War (; chữ Hán: 鄭阮紛爭, lit. Trịnh–Nguyễn contention) was a 17th and 18th-century lengthy civil war waged between the two ruling families in Vietnam, the Trịnh lords of Đàng Ngoài and the Nguy� ...
came to an end. During his reign, he annexed nearly all the remaining
Champa
Champa (Cham language, Cham: ꨌꩌꨛꨩ, چمڤا; ; 占城 or 占婆) was a collection of independent Chams, Cham Polity, polities that extended across the coast of what is present-day Central Vietnam, central and southern Vietnam from ...
lands. Phuc Tan was the second son of
Nguyễn Phúc Lan. Lan died just before
Trịnh Tráng made yet another effort to conquer the southern provinces. Phuc Lan took the title ''Duong Quan-Cong'' (Duke of Duong).
Biography
Shortly after his father's death,
Trịnh Tráng launched his final offensive against the Nguyễn. But in a climactic battle, called Truong Duc, the Royal (Trịnh) army was destroyed. At the same time, the Lê Emperor (Lê Chan Tông) died, possibly as a result of being at the battle. This defeat was devastating for the Trịnh and the Nguyễn clan's generals planned to further the success and conquer the Imperial Capital.
Four years after the battle, the Nguyễn army commenced their own offensive into Trịnh territory. In 1653 they drove the Royal (Trịnh) army out of
Quảng Bình Province
Quảng Bình was formerly a southern coastal Provinces of Vietnam, province in the North Central Coast region, the Central Vietnam, Central of Việt Nam, Vietnam. It borders Hà Tĩnh province, Hà Tĩnh to the north, Quảng Trị province, ...
. The next year the Nguyễn army captured
Hà Tĩnh Province Hà is a Vietnamese given name, male or female, meaning "river".
Hà is a Vietnamese 'surname' (during French colonialism). The name is transliterated as He in Chinese and Ha in Korean.
Ha is the anglicized variation of the surname Hà. It is ...
. The old Trịnh lord Trịnh Tráng died at this point and was succeeded by his son, the very capable
Trịnh Tạc. The Nguyễn army moved into
Nghệ An Province in 1655 but they were fatally weakened by a dispute between two of the Nguyễn generals. The result was that Trịnh Tạc was able to defeat the Nguyễn armies in turn and drive the Nguyễn forces back to the great walls in 1656. The Nguyễn offensive was over.
After five years of rest and refit, Trịnh Tạc staged a small offensive against the walls in 1661 but with the usual result. The walls held and the attack was halted.
For the next decade Trịnh Tạc focused on the north while Nguyễn Phúc Tần focused on the south, expanding his territory against the Champa and around
Saigon
Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025.
The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...
.
Finally, in 1672, Trịnh Tạc made one last attempt to capture Phú Xuân (
Huế
Huế (formerly Thừa Thiên Huế province) is the southernmost coastal Municipalities of Vietnam, city in the North Central Coast region, the Central Vietnam, Central of Vietnam, approximately in the center of the country. It borders Quảng ...
) and bring the Nguyễn under control. The attacking army was under the command of Trịnh Tạc's son,
Trịnh Căn, while the defending army was under the command of Nguyễn Phúc Tần's son Prince Nguyễn Phuoc Thuan. The assault failed but this time, Trịnh Tạc offered to end the war with a truce. Nguyễn Phúc Tần accepted this truce and so the long war finally came to an end. The border between the two parts of Vietnam was fixed at the Linh River. The truce held for the next 100 years.
Nguyễn Phúc Tần could now turn his full attention to the south and his army and government officials were able to solidify control over the southernmost provinces. Tensions were rising between the Vietnamese and the Cambodians, but open warfare had not yet broken out.
On April 30, 1687, Nguyễn Phúc Tần died and was succeeded by another son,
Nguyễn Phúc Trăn.
See also
*
Lê dynasty
The Lê dynasty, also known in historiography as the Later Lê dynasty (, chữ Hán: 朝後黎, chữ Nôm: 茹後黎), officially Đại Việt (; Chữ Hán: 大越), was the longest-ruling List of Vietnamese dynasties, Vietnamese dynasty, h ...
*
List of Vietnamese dynasties
Prior to the abdication of Bảo Đại on 25 August 1945 during the August Revolution, Vietnam was ruled by a series of dynasties of either local or Chinese origin. The following is a list of major dynasties in the history of Vietnam.
Backgr ...
Sources
* ''Encyclopedia of Asian History'', Volume 3 ('Nguyễn Lords') 1988. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York.
* ''The Encyclopedia of Military History'' by R. Ernest Dupuy and Trevor N. Dupuy. Harper & Row (New York).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tan, Nguyen Phuc
Nguyễn lords
1620 births
1687 deaths