Trịnh Kiểm

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Trịnh Kiểm (* 1503 ; † 1570 ) was a Vietnamese nobleman and military leader. He established the position of power of his family, the Trinh princes , who rose to become the actual rulers of Tonkin under the Lê dynasty and held this position until the end of the 18th century.

origin

Trinh Kiem came from a poor background in the Vinh Loc district in the Thanh Hóa province . As an adolescent he is said to have worked as a buffalo herder. Trinh Kiem joined the rebels against the Mac Dynasty in the highlands of what is now Laos . In the course of his military service, he married a daughter of the scholar and military leader Nguyễn Kim , the head of the restoration movement, which wanted to restore the Le dynasty against the Mạc dynasty .

There are theories that his family name makes him associated with previous rebels in the early 16th century. However, there are no contemporary sources to support this thesis.

Restoration of the Le Dynasty

In 1539 he acted for the first time as the leader of an army fighting against the Mac dynasty. Trinh Kiem developed into the head of the military organization of the Le Loyalists and built up forces in his home region to resist the Mac dynasty. He commanded the Le supporters' army in several military campaigns in the 1550s. Eventually, his rebellion was able to re- establish the Le Dynasty in Hanoi . He helped put Emperor Lê Trang Tông on the throne. After his death he was able to determine the succession to the throne again and from then on took over the central position of power in the Đại-Việt state.

Trinh Kiem had to assert himself in an internal power struggle against his half-brother Nguyễn Hoàng . According to contemporary reports, on the advice of the scholar Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm , Trinh Kiem renounced himself to claim the leading role in the family and the empire. Instead, as the gray eminence behind the scenes, he determined the fate of the clan and the empire. During his lifetime he tried to establish his son Trịnh Cối as his successor. However, due to his poor reputation, he could not assert himself against his brothers' claim to power. Civil war raged within the clan three months after Trinh Kiem's ​​death. His son Trịnh Tùng was finally able to prevail and became the first openly proclaimed Trinh prince.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c d e K. W. Taylor: A History of the Vietnamese . Cambridge 2013, pp. 244-248
  2. ↑ a b Bruce L. Lockhart, William J. Duiker: Historical Dictionary of Vietnam . Oxford 2006, p. 391 f.
personal data
SURNAME Trinh, Kiem
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Vietnamese nobleman and warlord
DATE OF BIRTH 1503
PLACE OF BIRTH Than Hoa Province
DATE OF DEATH 1570