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Zhao 趙
319–351
Later Zhao in northern China
Capital	Xiangguo (319–335, 350–351) Yecheng (335–350)
Common languages	Jie
Government	Monarchy
Emperor
• 319–333	Shi Le
• 333–334	Shi Hong
• 334–349	Shi Hu
• 349	Shi Shi
• 349	Shi Zun
• 349–350	Shi Jian
• 350–351	Shi Zhi
History
• Established	319
• Destruction of Han-Zhao	329
• Shi Le's claim of imperial title	330
• Shi Hu's seizing the throne from Shi Hong	335
• Ran Min's establishment of Ran Wei	350
• Disestablished	351
Area
329 est.[1]	2,500,000 km2 (970,000 sq mi)
Preceded by Succeeded by Han-Zhao Jin dynasty (266–420) Ran Wei Former Qin Former Yan Jin dynasty (266–420) Duan Qi
Today part of	China

Zhao, briefly known officially as Wei (衛) in 350 AD, known in historiography as the Later Zhao (simplified Chinese: 后赵; traditional Chinese: 後趙; pinyin: Hòu Zhào; 319–351) or Shi Zhao (石趙), was a dynasty of China ruled by the Shi family of Jie ethnicity during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. Among the Sixteen Kingdoms, the Later Zhao was the second in territorial size to the Former Qin dynasty that once unified northern China under Fu Jian. In historiography, it is given the prefix of "Later" to distinguish it with the Han-Zhao or Former Zhao, which changed its name from "Han" to "Zhao" just before the Later Zhao was founded.

When the Later Zhao was founded by former Han-Zhao general Shi Le,^[2] the capital was at Xiangguo (襄國, in modern Xingtai, Hebei), but in 335 Shi Hu moved the capital to Yecheng (鄴城, in modern Handan, Hebei), where it would remain for the rest of the state's history (except for Shi Zhi's brief attempt to revive the state at Xiangguo). After defeating the Han-Zhao in 329, the Later Zhao ruled a significant portion of northern China and vassalized the Former Liang and Dai; only the Former Yan in Liaoning remained fully out of their control. For roughly twenty years, it maintained a stalemate with the Eastern Jin dynasty in the south before its rapid collapse in 349 following the death of Shi Hu.

Shi Le was a Jie chieftain from Shangdang Commandery in Bing province. The Jie was one of the miscellaneous hu (胡; "barbarian") tribes; these tribes did not fall under the umbrella of the major ethnic groups like the Xiongnu or Xianbei. In 303, when a great famine broke out in Bing that displaced many of the Jie and other hu tribes in the region, the provincial inspector, Sima Teng, had these people captured and sold into slavery to fund his army. The Jie and hu people were scattered throughout Hebei and Shandong, including Shi Le who was sold to a wealthy family in Shandong but soon attained his freedom.

By 305, Shi Le had made a name for himself by becoming a bandit, and raised a personal army with his friend, Ji Sang. Taking advantage of growing resentment against the Jin government, the two joined the rebel general Gongshi Fan to avenge the Prince of Chengdu, Sima Ying and later took leadership after Fan’s death, going as far as to sacking the city of Ye in 307. After their defeat, Shi Le led his forces to join the Xiongnu-led Han state in Bing province.

Under Han, Shi Le quickly rose through the ranks, attracting many Jie and hu tribes in Hebei to his cause. Like many rebel generals who joined the state, he had full control over his army as the Han court had little actual power to assert their authority. With his peers, he raided the North China Plain, plundering the local counties and commanderies although never capturing them and staying there for long. In 311, he massacred the 100,000 strong Jin imperial army in the Battle of Ningping, allowing Han forces to capture Luoyang in the Disaster of Yongjia.

Shortly after, Shi Le assassinated his rival peer, Wang Mi, and absorbed his army. The Han court, fearing that he would rebel, could only reprimand and appease him. With Wang Mi’s death, Shi Le essentially controlled the eastern parts of the empire, with the exception of Shandong. In 312, Shi Le departed from his practice of leading a roving army to cultivate a base in Xiangguo. He also expanded his territory by defeating the Jin governors, Wang Jun and Liu Kun. In 318, he joined forces with the prince, Liu Yao, in quelling the coup of Jin Zhun, who massacred the emperor and imperial family in Pingyang.

During the campaign, Liu Yao was instated as emperor, so Shi Le sent an envoy to congratulate him. However, Liu Yao, believing that Shi Le's rebellion was already in motion, had the envoy killed instead. Shi Le promptly declared independence as Liu Yao moved the capital to his base in Chang’an, splitting the empire into two. In 319, Shi Le proclaimed himself the King of Zhao, a title he was supposed to receive before his envoy was killed. Prior to that, Liu Yao had also renamed the state from Han to Zhao. To distinguish the two states, historiographers refer to Liu Yao’s state as Former Zhao and Shi Le’s state as Later Zhao.

In his early reign, Shi Le expanded eastwards while Liu Yao dealt with matters in the west. By 323, he defeated Duan Pidi, one of the last remaining Jin powers in the north and conquered Shandong from the warlord, Cao Ni. War between the two Zhaos only broke out in 324, and in 328, Shi Le and Liu Yao led their armies to face each other in the pivotal Battle of Luoyang. Liu Yao was captured during the battle and later executed, while the remaining Former Zhao forces was destroyed in 329. Thus, the Later Zhao became the hegemonic power in northern China, though some areas were still out of their control; the Former Liang, Dai and Duan-Liaoxi states partially retained their independence through vassalage, while the Xianbei Murong tribe in Liaodong remained loyal to the Eastern Jin dynasty.

To consolidate his rule, Shi Le enacted several policies with the help of Han Chinese ministers such as Zhang Bin. Among others, he re-introduced the Nine Ranks System, promoted agriculture and emphasized education. He also continued the separate governance system between the Han Chinese and non-Chinese people from the Han-Zhao dynasty. He adopted the Grand Chanyu title, tasked with managing the tribes, while also introducing new offices that specifically dealt with litigations and population movements of the tribes. He banned the word “hu”, opting to use “guoren” (國人; countryman) instead, and forbid the tribes from oppressing the Han Chinese scholar-officials. Various ethnic group from conquered places were relocated to live around his capital, as to better control them and restore agricultural output in the north. Buddhism was also given a platform to grow as the Kuchean monk, Fotu Cheng, held a high-ranking position within Shi Le's court.

Shi Le and his family had an unusual practice of adopting people into their clan, the earliest example being Shi Hu, a distant cousin who was adopted by Shi Le's father during their tribal years. He continued this practice after taking the throne, and his adopted relatives, especially Shi Hu, became important princes and military commanders. Near the end of his reign, Shi Le prepared his biological son, Shi Hong to take the throne in accordance with the Chinese rule of succession and handpicked a selected few to be his retainers. However, Shi Hu, citing his vast contributions to the state's founding, was angered by Shi Le's decision as he saw himself having more claim to the throne.

In 333, Shi Le died and was succeeded by Shi Hong. Almost immediately, Shi Hu launched a coup and took over the government, facing very little resistance from most of the Zhao gentry and military. Shi Le's family and allies were swiftly eliminated by Shi Hu, and in 334, he took the throne by forcing Shi Hong to abdicate before also having him executed. When he first ascended, Shi Hu took the title of Regnant Heavenly King and later elevated it to Heavenly King in 337. He also moved the capital from Xiangguo to his base in Ye in 335.

Records describe Shi Hu as a tyrant with a violent streak who spent his time indulging in women and alcohol. Most notably, he took on several grand building projects in Ye and greatly expanded his harem at the expense of the common people, who were forced into construction work and often had their women taken away from them. On the other hand, he showed extreme leniency towards his own ministers and military generals, rarely punishing them to maintain their loyalty. The empire remained largely intact throughout his reign, with rebellions being quickly dealt with. Shi Hu reaffirmed Buddhism by continuining to show reverence to Fotu Cheng and promoting religious freedom. He also continued Shi Le's policy of relocating people to live around the capital, such as the Di and Qiang people from Guanzhong.

Shi Hu had ambitions to expand the state and heavily conscripted his subjects, but his campaigns yielded very minimal success. In 338, he carried out a joint campaign with the Murong-led Former Yan to conquer the Duan-Liaoxi. After the campaign, he turned on Yan but was defeated in the Battle of Jicheng. In 339, provoked by Eastern Jin movements along the border, he sent his generals to launch an early attack, capturing a few cities before withdrawing. In 346, he invaded the Former Liang but was repelled, although he captured their territory south of the Yellow River.

His reign was also troubled by a succession crisis that would lead to the empire's downfall. On two occasions, his crown princes attempted to kill him and usurp the throne, which led to him executing them in brutal fashion. In 349, shortly before his death, Shi Hu chose his 10-year-old son, Shi Shi to be the new Crown Prince and took the title of Emperor. In addition to the displeasure of his other sons, many of the military generals were also not pleased with his decision as he bestowed power to a regent and the soon-to-be empress dowager.

After Shi Shi ascended the throne, his half-brother, Shi Zun conspired with the generals to depose him, and among these generals was Shi Hu's adopted Han Chinese grandson, Shi Min. Shi Min was a powerful commander and favoured grandson of Shi Hu, who had adopted his father Shi Zhan, originally named Ran Zhan. To convince him into joining the plot, Shi Zun offered Shi Min the position of Crown Prince, which he accepted. Just a month into his reign, Shi Zun's forces overthrew Shi Shi, his regent and the empress dowager at Ye. However, after ascending the throne, Shi Zun reneged on his promise and appointed another nephew as the Crown Prince. Shi Zun even planned to assassinate Shi Min, but after the plan leaked, Shi Min led his troops to depose him. He installed Shi Zun's half-brother, Shi Jian to the throne, but real power in Ye was held by himself and his ally, Li Nong. In the old capital, Xiangguo, another son of Shi Hu, Shi Zhi, began rallying a coalition to fight Shi Min.

While controlling Shi Jian, Shi Min survived three attempts on his life, which made him deeply wary of his followers. Seeing that the Jie and other tribespeople in Ye refused to submit, he decreed an infamous culling order, calling on his Han Chinese subjects to kill any hu person they find. Shi Min personally led his army to massacre the tribes in Ye, while also ordering his generals to purge their armies of tribespeople. The Jie and hu were identified by their high noses and full beards, but many of the people killed were also mistakenly-identified Han Chinese. In total, around 200,000 people were killed.

Shi Min killed Shi Jian and declared himself Emperor of Wei in 350, changing his name to Ran Min. In response, Shi Zhi proclaimed himself the new Emperor of Zhao. At this point, the Later Zhao was on the verge of collapse. The Di general, Fu Hong led his forces west to occupy the Guanzhong, where his son Fu Jiàn founded the Former Qin dynasty in 351. The Xianbei general, Duan Kan, also founded his short-lived state of Duan Qi in Shandong. From the northeast, the Former Yan began an invasion to establish themselves on the Central Plains, while the Eastern Jin launched a series of northern expeditions to reclaim lost territory from the south.

For most of his reign, Shi Zhi was besieged at Xiangguo by Ran Min's army. He was forced to make an alliance with the Former Yan and demoted his own title to King of Zhao. Despite eventually lifting the siege, he and his family were soon betrayed and slaughtered by his general, Liu Xian in 351. The last member of the Shi clan, Shi Kun fled to the Eastern Jin at Jiankang, where he was put to death.

Xie Fei and Wei Mengbian were two mechanical engineers under the Later Zhao who built a south-pointing chariot (also called south-pointing carriage), a directional compass vehicle that apparently did not use magnetic principle, but was operated by use of differential gears (which apply an equal amount of torque to driving wheels rotating at different speeds), or a similar angular differential principle.^[3] For the great ingenuity shown in the construction of the device, Shi Hu granted Xie Fei the noble title of hou without land possessions and rewarded him generously.^{[4]: 99 [5]}

• Jie people
• Five Barbarians
• Fotu Cheng
• Canjunxi
• Xie Fei (inventor)
• Ran Wei–Later Zhao War