Lan Han
| Lan Han | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reign | May 27, 398 – August 15, 398 | ||||||||
| Died | August 15, 398 | ||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Dynasty | Chānglí (昌黎) | ||||||||
| Full name | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Era name and dates | |
| Qīnglóng (青龍): May 27, 398 – August 19, 398 |
Lan Han (Chinese: 蘭汗; died August 15, 398) was an official of the Xianbei state Later Yan, who killed the emperor Murong Bao (Emperor Huimin) in 398 and briefly took over the regime before being killed by Murong Bao's son Murong Sheng (Emperor Zhaowu).
Lan Han was an uncle of Murong Bao's father Murong Chui (Emperor Wucheng), the founding emperor of Later Yan, as a younger brother of his mother Consort Lan (although some references indicate that he was her cousin, not her brother), and in 384 he assisted Murong Chui's son Murong Nong in starting a rebellion against Former Qin to assist Murong Chui's main rebellion. During Murong Chui's reign he was sparsely mentioned in history. In 387 he was one of the commanders in a Later Yan campaign against Jin. In 391 he commanded a force against a chieftain of the Xianbei Helan (賀蘭) Tribe, Helan Ran'gan (賀蘭染干). During Murong Chui's reign, he married one of his daughters to Murong Sheng, then the Duke of Changle. As of 395 Lan Han was referred to as the Prince of Yangcheng and was defending Jicheng (modern Beijing). (This reference, however, may be in error, as in 396, after Murong Chui had died and been succeeded by Murong Bao, a cousin of Murong Chui's, Murong Lan (慕容蘭), was referred to as the Prince of Yangcheng and defending Jicheng, so it could have been that both references were supposed to be to Lan Han or neither was.)
In spring 398, after a rebellion by the general Duan Sugu (段速骨) had Murong Bao sieged behind the walls of Longcheng (龍城, in modern Jinzhou, Liaoning), Lan Han was described as having the title of Prince of Dunqiu and commanding an army near the city, but secretly aligned with Duan. It was at his instigation that Murong Nong surrendered to Duan, causing the morale of Murong Bao's army to collapse and Longcheng to fall, forcing Murong Bao to flee. Less than a month later, however, Lan ambushed Duan and took over Longcheng and temporarily installed Murong Bao's crown prince Murong Ce (慕容策) as leader while sending messengers to try to welcome Murong Bao back to Longcheng. He also resumed sacrifices to Later Yan ancestral temples to show that he was still faithful to the Later Yan state. Murong Bao, based on Murong Sheng's advice, initially declined Lan's request and tried to head south to join his uncle Murong De, but upon hearing that Murong De had assumed imperial powers himself earlier in the year, returned north again under escort by Lan Han's brother Lan Jia'nan (蘭加難). As the procession neared Longcheng, however, Lan Jia'nan, likely under Lan Han's orders, killed Murong Bao. Lan Han then killed Murong Ce and a number of other Murong princes as well and declared himself Grand Chanyu and the Prince of Changli. He also changed era name to Qinglong (青龍), signifying that he was declaring a new state.
...
Wikipedia