Later Zhao

The Later Zhao (后 赵) were a Sinized Xiongnu dynasty during the Sixteen Kingdoms . In 319 Shi Le (石勒) proclaimed himself the Great Khan. This year is widely considered to be the start of the Later Zhao. From 330 onwards, Shi Le officially called himself Emperor of Zhao. In 350 the last Zhao emperor Shi Zhi (石 祗) was killed by his own general. Xiangguo (襄 国, now the city of Xintai , 邢台, in Hebei Province ) and Ye (邺 ， also in today's Hebei Province) served as the capital of the later Zhao . At the height of their power, the later Zhao controlled the lower and middle course of the Yellow River with the provinces of Hebei, Henan , Shanxi , Shaanxi , Shandong and partly Liaoning and Gansu . At times they were even able to extend their sphere of influence as far as the Yangtze .

Even if conflicts between Han Chinese and immigrant peoples from the north were always present during the entire period of the Sixteen Empires, mutual hatred and persecution during the reign of the later Zhao and the short-lived Ran Wei (冉魏) that followed it reached the dimensions of genocide .

Beginning

The first emperor of the dynasty, Shi Le, was enslaved by the Han Chinese when he was a child, which is why he harbored deep hatred for the Han Chinese. When Liu Yuan (刘渊) rose against the Western Jin in 304 and established the Han Zhao , Shi Le ran over to him. Through his courage, but also his brutality, Shi Le quickly made a career in Liu's army. In 309 Shi Le was able to destroy the main Jin force. After that he established himself more and more in the region of today's Hebei Province, which gradually became his power base.

At first, Shi Le was best known for his brutality. If he took a fortress or a city, there were hardly any Han Chinese left there. However, this led to bitter resistance from his opponents. When the losses became too great for him, he changed his tactics. From then on, the residents of the city or fortress were no longer massacred. Instead, Shi Le took the young and able-bodied men into his army, on the one hand to strengthen his army, on the other hand to have them hostage. He left the administration of the cities to the original local sizes.

In 318 the emperor of the Han-Zhao Liu Cong (刘聪) died and civil unrest broke out. Both Shi Le and Liu Cong's adopted son Liu Yao (刘曜) tried to usurp power. Although Liu Yao was able to claim the imperial title for himself through his family ties, he had to make considerable concessions so that he could stabilize his power and not immediately come into direct confrontation with Shi Le. So he agreed that Shi Le could henceforth call himself King of Zhao and de facto ruled his own kingdom.

The success was not enough for Shi Le, however, he repeatedly invaded the Han-Zhao area and carried out looting, so that in the end there was a decisive battle between Shi Le and Liu Yao. In 328 the Han Zhao army was defeated, Liu Yao was captured and finally killed. Shi Le became the most powerful man in northern China.

In 330 he was proclaimed King of Heaven by Zhao and emperor that same year.

development

The harsh customs that prevailed in the courts of the Sixteen Kingdoms can be seen in the example of the Later Zhao. The internal instability was also the reason why no permanent government could be established in central China during this period.

When Shi Le died in 333, his designated successor Shi Hong (石 弘) was still very young. He was inexperienced, had no military command and troops of his own. In a society where the law of the fittest prevailed, this was not a good prerequisite for a young emperor.

The most powerful man of the Later Zhao at the time was Shi Hu (石虎). There is still some uncertainty about the origin of Shi Hu. It is only clear that Shi Hu was somehow related to Shi Le, possibly he was a nephew of Shi Le. It is also clear that his parents died early and Shi Le took him in (possibly adopted) because of that. Like Shi Le, Shi Hu was famous for his courage and cruelty. He was one of the most important military leaders of the Later Zhao and contributed decisively to the destruction of Han-Zhao . Likewise, according to today's definition, he was a mass murderer and psychopath. It was reported that he took pleasure in shooting people with bows and arrows and eating his victims. When he defeated a large Han Zhao army, he had all of the prisoners (over 10,000 men) buried alive.

After Shi L's death, Shi Hu became the most powerful man in the state thanks to his military might. At first he maintained a semblance of order, paid homage to the rightful emperor and contented himself with the title of grand vizier and king. But barely two years later he deposed Shi Hong, killed him and sat himself on the imperial throne.

But even with the strong man taking power, the country did not come to rest. The power struggle continued between Shi Hu's sons. Two of his sons and designated successors were killed by him, along with their wives, grandchildren and all servants. One died by fratricide. Shortly before his death, Shi Hu discovered that his young designated successor was in the same position as Shi Hong had once been.

Downfall

The sons of Shi Hu not only lacked the necessary position of power and authority, they also fought one another fiercely. The new strongest man in the state was now called Shi Min (石 闵). Shi Min was originally called Ran Min (冉 闵) and was a member of the Han ethnic group. His father was a general of the Later Zhao. After his father's death, he was adopted as a child by a son of Shi Hu. Because he excelled in the field as a courageous warrior and capable military leader, he became one of the most important generals of the Later Zhao. As long as Shi Hu was alive, he was out of the question as a successor, which is why he was not involved in power struggles and was relatively safe. After Shi Hu's death, however, he was the only one in the imperial family with considerable military power and thus became a kingmaker. First, he supported a son of Shi Hu, Shi Jian (石 鉴) in attaining the imperial throne. When Shi Jian, however, no longer intended to keep his promise to appoint Shi Min as his designated successor, Shi Min killed him without further ado. He also killed over 20 sons of Shi Hu and their children, dropped his foster father's family name and reverted to his old Han name, proclaimed himself emperor, and changed the state's name to Wei. This new state of Ran Min is called Ran-Wei in history.

Ran Min now let his hatred of all non-Han peoples run free. Contemporary documents reported the killing of over 10,000 non-Han people in one day. At the end of his three-year reign, over 200,000 people in central China are believed to have lost their lives, or 80% of the country's population. Even Han Chinese with slightly higher noses or thicker body hair fell victim to the massacre. Under these circumstances, a surviving son of Shi Hu, Shi Zhi (石 祗), proclaimed himself the rightful emperor of the Later Zhao. It quickly became popular with non-Han Chinese. For two years Shi Zhi and Ran Min fought a cruel war, but without being able to gain any significant military advantage. In 352 Shi Zhi was murdered by a subordinate. His remaining powers overflowed to the Xianbei or the Former Yan .

Emperor of the Later Zhao

Depending on whether some of the short-lived emperors are included in the list or not, the later Zhao count 5 to 7 emperors.

Honorary name 1	Name 2	Temple name 3	Reign	Remarks
Min (明帝)	Shi Le (石勒)	Ancestor Gao (高祖)	319 - 333	From 319 Shi Le König called himself, from 330 King of Heaven and Emperor.
	Shi Hong (石 弘)		333- 334	Son of Shi Le, was soon deposed and murdered by Shi Hu
Wu (武帝)	Shi Hu (石虎)	Ancestor Tai (太祖)	334- 349	A relative of Shi Le, put Shi Hong off and had himself proclaimed emperor.
	Shi Jian (石 鉴)		349- 350	Shi Hu's son, was murdered by Ran Min soon after he came to the throne. Shi Jian was only 103 days on the throne.
	Shi Zhi (石 祗)		350	Son of Shi Hu. After Shi Jian's death, he called himself emperor and organized resistance against Ran Min. However, after a defeat he was killed by a subordinate.

1. The honorary name is the name of the emperor that he received as an honor after his death. This is also the common name of the emperor that most Chinese people know.
2. The real name (the real name, so to speak) of the emperor. This name is known relatively rarely. According to Chinese tradition, the family name comes first, followed by the first name.
3. The temple name is given to an emperor posthumously if he is placed as an ancestor in the imperial ancestral temple. Not all later Zhao emperors have a temple name.