Hồ dynasty

Hồ dynasty
House of Hồ 胡朝
1400–1407
Map of Hồ dynasty(1400)
Capital		Thanh Hóa
Languages		Vietnamese, Chinese
Religion		Buddhism (official), Taoism, Confucianism
Government		Monarchy
Emperor
•	1400–1401	Hồ Quý Ly (first)
•	1401–1406	Hồ Hán Thương (last)
History
•	Established	1400
•	Disestablished	1407
Currency		copper coins, paper money
Preceded by Succeeded by Trần dynasty Fourth Chinese domination of Vietnam Later Trần dynasty

The Hồ dynasty (Nhà Hồ, , Hồ triều, Chinese: 胡朝; pinyin: Hú Cháo) was a short-lived six-year reign of two emperors, Hồ Quý Ly in 1400-01 and his second son, Hồ Hán Thương, who reigned from 1401 to 1406. The practice of bequeathing the throne to a designated son (not simply passing it on to the eldest) was similar to what had happened in the previous Trần dynasty and was meant to avoid sibling rivalry. Hồ Quý Ly's eldest son, Hồ Nguyên Trừng, played his part as the dynasty's military general. In 2011, UNESCO declared the Citadel of the Hồ Dynasty in Thanh Hóa Province a world heritage site.

China's province of Zhejiang around the 940s was the origin of the Chinese Hồ/Hú family. which was then in the midst of the Five Dynasties struggle. The Hồ claimed descent from the ancient Chinese Emperor Shun. From Zhejiang, the family under Hồ Liêm 胡廉 (Hú Lián in Chinese) migrated south until they established themselves in northern Vietnam. Hồ Liêm, Hồ Quý Ly's great-great-grandfather, moved further south and settled in the province of Thanh Hóa (about 100 km south of the modern city of Hanoi). Some historians bring attention to the fact that Hồ Quý Ly is also known as Lê Quý Ly. In his childhood, Hồ Quý Ly was adopted by Lê Huan after whom he took the family name. He did not change this Lê last name to Hồ until after he had deposed the last king of the Trần dynasty. Because of the short span of the Hồ dynasty and the tragic circumstances he brought upon the country, under the juggle of the Ming, the family name "Hồ" was disgraced thereafter. However, historians have attributed to Hồ family quite a few notable scholars, dignitaries, and government officials under both the Lý dynasty and Trần dynasty.