Nguyễn lords | ||||||||||
Chúa Nguyễn 阮主 |
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Map showed the division of Vietnam territory among Nguyễn lords, Trịnh lords, Mạc rulers and Champa in the civil war.
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Capital | Phú Xuân | |||||||||
Languages | Vietnamese, Mandarin | |||||||||
Religion | Neo-Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism | |||||||||
Government | Feudal | |||||||||
Lords | ||||||||||
• | 1558–1613 | Nguyễn Hoàng (first) | ||||||||
• | 1778–1801 | Nguyễn Phúc Ánh (last) | ||||||||
History | ||||||||||
• | Established | 1558 | ||||||||
• | Disestablished | 1777 | ||||||||
Currency | Văn | |||||||||
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The Nguyễn lords (Vietnamese: Chúa Nguyễn; 1558–1777) as known as Nguyễn clan were a series of rulers of Southern Vietnam (now is Southern and Central Vietnam) (then called Đàng Trong). They have been referred to as the "Vietnamese shoguns" ("military commander").
While they claimed to be the loyal followers of the Later Lê dynasty, in reality they were de facto rulers in the south of the country, while the Trịnh lords ruled the north whereas the Vietnamese emperor was just a puppet government. Their descendants later ruled the whole of Vietnam as the Nguyễn dynasty and posthumously elevated their titles to emperors. Their rule consolidated earlier southward expansion into Champa and push into Cambodia.
The Nguyen lords traced their descent from a powerful clan originally based in Thanh Hóa Province. The clan supported Lê Lợi in his successful war of independence against the Ming dynasty. From that point on, the Nguyễn were one of the major noble families in Vietnam. Perhaps the most famous Nguyễn from this time was Nguyễn Thị Anh, the queen-consort for nearly 20 years (1442–1459).
In 1527 Mạc Đăng Dung replaced the last Lê emperor Lê Cung Hoàng and established a new dynasty (Mạc dynasty). The Trịnh and Nguyễn clans returned to Thanh Hóa province and refused to accept the rule of the Mạc. All of the region south of the Red River was under their control but they were unable to conquer Đông Đô for many years. During this time, the Nguyễn–Trịnh alliance was led by Nguyễn Kim, his daughter was married to the Trịnh clan leader, Trịnh Kiểm.