THE WORLD CIVILIZATIONS AND INDIA , PART-99

EMPEROR DINH BO LINH

VIETNAM ( SERIES -17 )

EMPEROR DINH BO LINH OF DAI CO VIET

DINH BO LINH was the founding Emperor of the DINH Dynasty of VIETNAM declaring independence from the HAN Dynasty of South CHINA . He ruled VIETNAM from 968 AD to 979 AD . He ensured political unity of VIETNAM in the 10th century by unifying VIETNAM by defeating all the twelve rebellious warlords and became the first Emperor of VIETNAM . Upon his accession to the throne, he renamed the country as DAI CO VIET . DINH BO LINH was also known as DINH TIEN HOAN . He was born in 924 AD in HOA LU . His father DINH CONG TRU had served both— DURONG DINH NGHE and NGO QUYEN as the Governor of HOAN . As per the CHINESE records , DINH BO LINH succeeded his father as the DUKE OF HOAN . His father died when he was still a child . Then he lived with his mother and other family members in a holy temple near a mountain in HOA LU . DINH BO LINH had a sister also whose name was DINH QUE HURONG . In 940s the young DINH BO LINH emrged as a leader of the village youths at a very young age . The traditional folk tell says that he then collected wood for his mother who had slaughtered a pig and put on a feast . Villagers sensed a great future leader in him . So they decided to follow him now before it was too late . They delivered their youths to DINH BO LINH and set up a base on his uncle lands . But his uncle was no longer eager to surrender his lands to DINH . So , DINH BO LINH sent his friends to attack on his uncle . And his uncle was trapped under a collapsed bridge and DINH’S friends were about to kill him , but they saw two yellow dragons flying above . His uncle withdrew and later submitted to him . A historian like OLIVER W. WOLTERS has considered this story as a ‘man of prowess’ possessing the ‘soul stuff’ befitting a chief . On the other hand when the long dominating CHINESE TANG DYNASTY in the entire region was in the process of disintegration and in the battle of BACH DANG RIVER in 938 AD , the warlord NGO QUYEN defeated the southern HAN forces , the first VIETNAMESE polity emerged in the region . But NGO DYNASTY was too weak to effectively unify VIETNAM . Upon the death of NGO King in 965 AD , DINH BO LINH seized the power and founded a new Kingdom , the capital of which was his home district of HOA LU . To claim his legitimacy to the throne , he married a woman of NGO family .

A TEMPLE DEDICATED TO DINH BO LINH AT HOA LU

DINH BO LINH BECOMING EMPEROR

In the early years of his reign , DINH BO LINH was quite careful in ascertaining his relationship with the southern HAN . But in 968 AD , he took a provocative step of adopting the tile of Emperor and in this way declaring his independence from the CHINESE overlordship . He founded the DINH DYNASTY and called his Kingdom DAI CO VIET . When the powerful SONG DYNASTY annexed the southern HAN in 971 AD , he realized the importance of subjugation under the SONG DYNASTY , which due to its military powers by now , had been a dominant force in the region . The SONG DYNASTY was an Imperial Dynasty of CHINA that began in 960 AD and lasted until 1279 AD . Emperor TAIZU OF SONG founded this Dynasty by usurping the throne of later ZHOU . The SONG conquered the rest of the ten Kingdoms , thus , ending the five Dynasties and the ten Kingdoms . Realizing the might of this powerful Dynasty , DINH BO LINH of DAI CO VIET ingratiated himself in 972 AD with the SONG DYNASTY by sending a tribute mission to demonstrate his affiliation with the SONG DYNASTY . He sent cloths , rhinoceros horns , elephant tusks and perfumed tea to the court of the SONG DYNASTY . Subsequently , the Emperor TAIZU OF SONG DYNASTY recognized the DAI CO VIET Ruler as GIAO CHI meaning by a theoretical relationship of vassalage in submission to the Empire . On the other hand , DINH BO LINH obtained a non-aggression agreement in exchange for tributes payable to the CHINESE Court every three years .

MAP OF DAI VIET & SONG CHINA

ASSASSINATION OF DINH BO LINH

In October 979 AD , a eunuch called DO THICH killed the Emperor DINH BO LINH and the Prince DINH LIEN when they were sleeping in their palace at night , the General of the Emperor DINH BO LINH , LE HOAN took over power as Regent and five-year-old DINH TOAN occupied the throne . But rebellions erupted in the entire empire . At this juncture , the Emperor of the SONG DYNASTY sent troops under HOU RENBAO to restore the throne of the young prince . However , in view of the threat of continuous CHINESE intervention in the affairs of DIA VIET , the court officials proposed LE HOAN to be the Ruler of DAI VIET . They urged him to become King to establish a more stable government . In 980 AD , the Court officials and Generals gathered at HOA LU and Empress DURONG VAN NGA brought out the Emperor’s robes to put on LE HOAN, thus offered him the throne of DIA VIET . In this way the rule of DINH DYNASTY ended and transferred the power to LE family . He ruled the Kingdom of DAI VIET from 981 AD to 1005 AD .

A STATUE OF LE HOAN IN TRUONG AN

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