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YearMaps
Early Middle Ages922 CE – 925 CEPeak: 135,053 km² (924 CE)

Former Jin: Map & History

Jin, also known as Hedong (河東) and Former Jin (前晉) in Chinese historiography, was a dynastic state of China and the predecessor of the Later Tang dynasty.

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Capital: TaiyuanPeak Extent: 135,053 km²Vector Attribution: Cliopatria (CC BY 4.0)Wikidata: Q6201794 ↗
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Wikipedia Encyclopedic Compendium

Historiographical synthesis & structured realm registry

Wikipedia: Jin (Later Tang precursor)
Jin (Later Tang precursor) historical cartography
State of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period

Jin, also known as Hedong (河東) and Former Jin (前晉) in Chinese historiography, was a dynastic state of China and the predecessor of the Later Tang dynasty. Its princely rulers were the ethnic Shatuo warlords Li Keyong and Li Cunxu. Although the Five Dynasties period began only in 907, Li Keyong's territory which centered around modern Shanxi can be referred to as Jin as early as 896, when he was officially created the Prince of Jin by the failing and powerless Tang dynasty court, or even as early as 883, when he was created the jiedushi military governor of Hedong Circuit, which controlled more or less the same territory.

Capital / Seat
Taiyuan
Imperial Currency
Chinese coin, Chinese cash
State Governance
Principality
Peak Territory
135,053 km²
Key Dynasts / Leaders
Li Cunxu
Preceded By
Tang dynasty, Yan (Five Dynasties)
Succeeded By
Later Tang
Content & infobox metadata adapted from Wikipedia (Jin (Later Tang precursor))

Modern Countries Once Part of Former Jin

At its mapped extent, Former Jin covered territory in 1 present-day country. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.

States and Provinces

Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.

Former Jin in Depth

History

The Jin rulers Li Keyong and his son Li Cunxu, of Shatuo extraction, claimed to be the rightful subjects of the defunct Tang dynasty (618–907), in a struggle against the usurper state of the Later Liang dynasty.

At the time of the Tang dynasty's fall in 907, the Jin state consisted of most of Shanxi (Linfen, Hezhong, Jincheng, Qinyang were taken by Later Liang) and several parts of Inner Mongolia. In 912, Jin took over Jincheng, and in 913, conquered Yan, and eventually expanded to cover all of the territory north of the Yellow River. Eventually, in 923, Li Cunxu, claiming rightful succession to the Tang throne, declared himself emperor, transitioning his state to the Later Tang dynasty, which shortly after destroyed the Later Liang dynasty.

Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Jin (Later Tang precursor) (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Former Jin: Key Facts

Key facts about Former Jin
Founded896 CE
Dissolved923 CE

Facts from Wikidata Q6201794 (CC0).

Former Jin Timeline

Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion

1 Epochs
Territorial Apex924 CE

Expansion to peak recorded area of 135,053 km² in 924 CE.

Former Jin: Frequently Asked Questions

When did Former Jin exist?

Former Jin is dated to 922 CE – 925 CE, in the Early Middle Ages era.

What was the capital of Former Jin?

The capital of Former Jin was Taiyuan.

How large was Former Jin at its peak?

At its peak in 924 AD Former Jin covered about 135,053 km².