Han campaigns against the Minyue

Han campaigns against Minyue
Part of the Southward expansion of the Han Dynasty
Map showing the expansion of Han dynasty in the 2nd century BC
Date 138 BC, 135 BC, and 111 BC Location Minyue (modern Fujian) Result 138 BC Minyue surrender and withdrawal from Eastern Ou 135 BC Minyue defeated and partitioned into Minyue and Dongyue 111 BC Cultural assimilation and displacement of the Dongyue by the Han Empire Dongyue annexed by the Han Empire
Belligerents
Han Empire	Minyue
Commanders and leaders
138 BC Zhuang Zhu 135 BC Wang Hui Han Anguo 111 BC Han Yue Yang Pu Wang Wenshu Two marquises of Yue	135 BC Zou Ying 111 BC Zou Yushan

138 BC

135 BC

111 BC

138 BC
Zhuang Zhu
135 BC
Wang Hui
Han Anguo
111 BC

135 BC
Zou Ying
111 BC

The Han campaigns against Minyue were a series of three Han military campaigns dispatched against the Minyue state. The first campaign was in response to Minyue's invasion of Eastern Ou in 138 BC. In 135 BC, a second campaign was sent to intervene in a war between Minyue and Nanyue. After the campaign, Minyue was partitioned into Minyue, ruled by a Han proxy king, and Dongyue. Dongyue was defeated in a third military campaign in 111 BC and the former Minyue territory was annexed by the Han Empire.

The Qin Dynasty's military incursions in the south of what is now China began a period of expansion that continued under the next dynasty, the Han. After the fall of the Qin, Minyue was established in 202 BC, and Eastern Ou in 192 BC, with the support of the Han. They were rewarded with greater autonomy in return for their contributions to the revolt against the Qin. The local rulers of the Minyue region had also sided with Liu Bang's Han instead of Xiang Yu's Chu during the Chu–Han Contention, a civil war that ensued during the collapse of the Qin.

Minyue was created by carving out the former Qin province of Minzhong, with Dongye as the capital, into a new kingdom ruled by Zou Wuzhu. A decade later, Zou Yao was granted control over Donghai, popularly referred to as Eastern Ou after the name of the kingdom's capital. The title was bestowed with a declaration by the Han emperor that "Zou Yan, the chief of Min, achieved great merit and his people supported the Han cause". The Han historian Sima Qian claims both rulers were descendants of Goujian, the 5th century BC ruler of Yue. The family had lost their status as rulers during the Qin's wars of unification, when they were demoted to local chieftains.

...
Wikipedia