Western Yan

Western Yan was a short-lived state founded in 384 during the fragmentation of northern China after the collapse of the Former Qin. Its founder, Murong Hong, a Xianbei prince, rebelled against the Former Qin in the wake of the defeat at the Fei River and proclaimed himself king. The state was centred on the Zhangzi region of modern Shanxi and drew on the Murong clan and their followers, who had been resettled there by the Former Qin. Western Yan suffered from violent court politics: several of its rulers were murdered within a few years. In 386 Murong Yong took the throne and moved the capital, but the state was squeezed between the rising Northern Wei and the Eastern Yan of Murong Chui. In 394 Murong Chui destroyed Western Yan and annexed its territory, ending the brief experiment. Its history is recorded mainly in the official histories of the period, which stress the instability of its short reign.