Sima Lun

Prince of Zhao ( 趙王 )
Family name :	Sīmǎ ( 司马 / 司馬 )
First name :	Lún ( 伦 / 倫 )
Posthumous title : (complete)	none
Reign:	February 3 - May 30, 301
Era names :	Jianshi ( 建 始 ) February 3 - June 1, 301

Sīmǎ Lún ( Chinese  司 馬倫  /  司 马伦 , W.-G. Ssu-ma Lun , * before 249 ; † June 5, 301 in Luoyang ) was a prince of the Chinese Jin dynasty and for a short time (February 3 to May 30 , 301 ) May 301) Emperor of China. Because of his short reign, he is usually omitted from the list of emperors of the Jin Dynasty , but is considered a case study of an unscrupulous usurper in the book of Jin .

Life

Sima Lun was the youngest son of the strategist Sima Yi and his concubine Bai. He was born shortly before his father's death and received minor nobility titles under the reign of his brothers Sima Shi and Sima Zhao . After his nephew Sima Yan deposed the Wei dynasty in 265 and proclaimed himself Emperor Wu of Jin , he generously distributed high titles of nobility in his family in order to pool power. He made his uncle Sima Lun Prince of Langye. Sima Lun earned no outstanding services as governor and general of his fief. Instead, he was often charged, but each time he was acquitted by the emperor.

After the death of Emperor Wu, Sima Lun was under his successor Hui military commander in chief in the provinces of Qin (today Gansu ) and Yong (today Shaanxi ). However, his bad regiment led to uprisings by the Di and Qiang tribes under the leader Qi Wannian (齊 萬年). His advisor, Sun Xiu (孫秀), was to be executed for his superior's failure, but he and Sima Lun moved to the capital, Luoyang , where they gained Empress Jia Nanfeng's trust . Sima Lun wanted a higher command, but was sharply rebuked by the imperial advisers Zhang Hua and Pei Wei (裴 頠).

In 299, out of jealousy, the empress deposed Crown Prince Sima Yu and thus provoked a conspiracy against herself. Sima Lun got caught between the lines and his Sun Xiu advised him to instigate the empress to assassinate the crown prince in exile. After she had carried out the attack the following year, Sima Lun used it as an opportunity to arrest the empress and execute her along with her family and supporters.

After the death of the empress, Sima Lun became regent of the mentally weak emperor Hui. However, the decisions were made by Sun Xiu, who had significantly higher leadership qualities than Sima Lun. It was also he who forced Sima Lun to abdicate on February 3, 301. Emperor Hui was named Taishang Huang (Retired Emperor) and placed under house arrest. Sima Lun proclaimed herself emperor. He had the crown prince, Emperor Hui's grandson Sima Zang (司馬 臧), executed.

After the coup, the mood at court was against Sima Lun. In order to gain followers, he awarded numerous posts and honorary degrees. Sun Xiu published numerous edicts (a task that was actually only allowed to be performed by the emperor himself). Three princes in particular were a thorn in the side of Sima and Sun: Sima Jiong from Qi, Sima Ying from Chengdu and Sima Yong from Hejian. They had important military commands and posed a threat to the central government. Sun Xiu therefore sent his closest confidants to them as advisers to observe and influence them. However, Sima Jiong resisted the surveillance and was supported by Prince Sima Ai of Changshan and Sima Xin (司馬 歆), the prince of Xinye. Sima Yong sent his general Zhang Fang (張 方) to Qi to beat the rebels. However, when he received news of the strength of their troops, he sided with the rebels, whose aim was to reinstate Emperor Hui.

Sima Lun had little to oppose the rebels with his troops and soon fell into the hands of insurgents in the capital. They forced him to reinstate Emperor Hui by edict. A few days later, on June 8, 301, he was forced to commit suicide with the poison cup. His adviser Sun Xiu and all his followers were executed, as were the four sons of Sima Lun: the Crown Prince Sima Kua (司馬 荂), the Prince of Jingzhao Sima Fu (司馬 馥), the Prince of Guangping Sima Qian (司馬 虔) and the Prince of Bacheng Sima Xu (司馬 詡).

Source studies

The main source for the Jin Dynasty is the Book of Jin , written by Fang Xuanling under the Tang Dynasty . It was used in the 11th century by the historian Sima Guang to compile his Summarized Time Mirror for aid in the government .

literature

• Bo Yang (ed.): Sima Guang's Zizhi Tongjian. Modern Chinese Edition . Taipei 1982-1989.
• The Three Kingdoms and Western Jin. A history of China in the Third Century AD ( Memento from April 26, 2012 in the Internet Archive ). Article by Rafe de Crespigny, professor at the Faculty of Asian Studies at the Australian National University (English)

predecessor	Office	successor
Hui	Emperor of China February 3 - May 30, 301	Hui