Northern Zhou: Map & History
Zhou, known in historiography as the Northern Zhou, was a Xianbei-led dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581 AD.
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Zhou, known in historiography as the Northern Zhou, was a Xianbei-led dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581 AD. One of the Northern dynasties of China's Northern and Southern dynasties period, it succeeded the Western Wei dynasty and was eventually overthrown by the Sui dynasty.
Modern Countries Once Part of Northern Zhou
At its mapped extent, Northern Zhou 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
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Northern Zhou's borders of that time.
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.
Northern Zhou in Depth
History
The state name of the Northern Zhou was "Zhou", which was based in the region of Guannei (關內). As one of the Northern Dynasties regimes, it was located in the north, and is therefore known historically as "Northern Zhou" to distinguish it from other regimes that used "Zhou" as their state name. In addition, because the imperial house bore the surname "Yuwen," it was also called "Yuwen Zhou" (宇文周). It further had the alternative name "Later Zhou" (後周), in contrast to the Western Zhou and Eastern Zhou; however, because this causes confusion with the later Later Zhou established during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, this name is rarely used by later generations.
Culture
Numerous artifacts are known from the period, many of them showing contacts with Sogdians merchants who resided in China and often had official administrative positions (seen in the Tomb of An Jia or the Tomb of Wirkak), or even with northern India (Tomb of Li Dan). Central Asian precious artifacts were often included in the funeral material of Chinese people of high rank, as seen in the tomb of the Xianbei-Tuoba Northern Zhou general Li Xian.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Northern Zhou (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Northern Zhou Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 1,772,705 km² in 582 CE.
Northern Zhou: Frequently Asked Questions
When did Northern Zhou exist?
Northern Zhou is dated to 561 CE – 586 CE, in the Early Middle Ages era.
What was the capital of Northern Zhou?
The capital of Northern Zhou was Chang'an.
How large was Northern Zhou at its peak?
At its peak in 582 AD Northern Zhou covered about 1,772,705 km².