| An Lushan |
Article Index for An |
Information AboutAn Lushan |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT AN LUSHAN | |
| 703 births | |
| an, lushan | |
| 757 deaths | |
| tang dynasty generals | |
|
An Rokhan was part of a large population of expatriate Turk s and Sogdians living in the frontier trade colonies of northwestern China. His father was a Bukharan ''sartapo'' (merchant) employed by the Turkic Khanate to adminster their domains. At this time many Sogdians were working as diplomats and adminstrators for the Turks. His mother was a full-blooded Turkic Shaman, no doubt a political marriage. Growing up in a town in Ürümqi , Rokhan was working as a sartapo in the market when he was accused of sheep Theft and sentenced to death. He escaped from the city and joined the Tang army as a mercenary. By distinguishing himself during the border wars of the northwestern frontier, particularly the Khitan invasion of 751-752, Rokhan rose through the ranks to become the military governor of Fanyang Province ( Hopeh Hebei ) as ('' Jiedushi '') of Manchuria . Enormously fat, he became the favorite of the Emperor's beloved concubine, the lady Yang Guifei . Through her influence, he was appointed a Duke in the latter year, and eventually was made governor of three major frontier provinces in the northeast, each with a sizable army. Stung by repeated accusations of plotting treachery, he launched the An Lushan Rebellion in 755 , which marked the watershed of the Tang's authority. Rokhan led an army of about 150,000 soldiers from Peking (Beijing) and captured the eastern capital city of Loyang ( Luoyang ) in the fall of that year. Gross military incompetence by the Chief Minister (Lady Yang's cousin and An's accuser), caused the capture of the main T'ang capital of Chang'an (Sian/ Xi'an ) in 756, and Rokhan proclaimed himself Emperor . However, he was forced to abandon the city to Uyghur mercenaries under T'ang service before he could establish a new dynasty. In 757, he was murdered by his own servants, when he showed signs of extreme paranoia to those around him. (It has been suggested that this was a symptom of acute diabetes, due to his obesity.) Although his rebellion was eventually crushed, it forced the Tang dynasty to became overdependent on the goodwill of provincial governors and military commanders, irretrievably eroding its central authority. |
|
|