Ngo Dynasty

         (939-965), first independent Vietnamese dynasty founded by Ngo Quyen in 939 after about 1000 years of Chinese dominance in Vietnam. Ngo Quyen was a leading general governing Thanh Hoa and son-in-law of Duong Dien Nghe. In 931, taking advantage of the breakup of the Tang (T’ang) dynasty empire, Duong Dien Nghe defeated an autonomous southern Chinese army and set himself up as ruler of Vietnam while still accepting the nominal suzerainty of the Chinese emperor in Luoyang. In 938 Nghe was killed by Kieu Cong Tien, who favored the breakaway Chinese kingdom. In turn, Tien was killed a year later by Ngo Quyen. He then proceeded to underline his differences with the Chinese, once he had defeated them at the battle of Bach D?ng, Sông River, by setting up his own court at Co Loa, where Vietnam had been ruled before the Chinese conquest. Ngo Quyen also decreed that Vietnamese mandarins wear their own form of dress. Independence, however, brought Vietnam neither peace nor stability. Ngo Quyen reigned only six years. After his death in 944 the throne was usurped by his wife’s brother, Duong Tam Kha. This caused many regions to rise up and declare independence. As a result, Vietnam was torn apart by civil war, a period named after the Twelve Warlords. The country was divided for the next 22 years until unity was restored by Dinh Bo Linh, who set up another short-lived dynasty in 965.

Ly Dynasty

         (1010-1225), Vietnamese dynasty of Dai Viet (Great Viet), founded by Ly Cong Uan, who took the imperial name of Ly Thai To (1010-1028). He established his capital at the site of present-day Hanoi, which he named Thang Long (Dragon Rising). Under his successors, Vietnamese society and agriculture advanced. His son, who ruled as Ly Thai Tong (1028-1054), built the first road system linking the main cities of Dai Viet, and in 1044 he initiated the first postal service. Ly Thanh Tong (1054-1072) created the first central administration. Local lords were gradually replaced by a hierarchy of mandarin state officials, recruited partly through examination. New dikes and canals were built. Buddhism, as well as Confucianism and Daoism, was vigorously promoted, and many monks became advisers to the kings. The first examination to recruit civil servants was held in 1075, and a civil service institute opened in 1076.

Although Dai Viet under the Ly made great political, economic, and cultural progress, its prosperity was constantly threatened by external wars. In 1075 a war with China broke out that lasted four years. In the south there were frequent border conflicts with Cambodia and the kingdom of Champa. Several wars were fought with Champa, the first in 1044, and the Ly gradually extended their territory to the south. By the 12th century, however, the Ly dynasty was in decline. Weakened by Cambodian and Cham invasions, Emperor Ly Cao Tong (1176-1210) had to rely on the powerful Tran family to suppress a domestic rebellion. In 1225 power passed to the Tran, who replaced the Ly to form Vietnam’s second great dynasty, the Tran dynasty.