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MAC DANG DUNG The founder of the Mac Dynasty was a commoner (some say a fisherman) Mac Dang Dung (ruled: 1527-1529, then again from 1537-1541). See Also: Mac Dang Dung Mac Dang Dung, famed for his strength and cunning, got his start as a bodyguard for the cruel and reviled Le King - Le Uy Muc (around 1506 ). Over time, despite the deaths of several kings, Mac Dang Dung increased his power and gained many supporters. However, he also gained the enmity of other rivals for power. Around 1520?, a civil war started. This war would last, with occasional breaks, for the next 150 years. Appearently fearing the growing ambition of Mac Dang Dung, the young king of Vietnam, Le Chieu Tong, fled to the south. A revolt started with the Trinh and the Nguyen Families claiming to support the king against the power of Mac Dang Dung. Mac Dang Dung responded by proclaimed the king's younger brother, Prince Xuan, was now the true king of Vietnam and installed as king under the name Le Cung Hoang. The revolt was ended, temporarily, when Mac Dang Dung's forces captured and executed Le Chieu Tong along with the leaders of the revolt. In 1527 Mac Dang Dung removed the figurehead king he had installed ealier and proclaimed himself as the new king of Vietnam under the title Minh Duc. This userpation of the throne from the rightful Le kings was not well received by the officials in the government. Some were killed, some committed suicide, some fled to the south to join a new revolt by the Trinh and the Nguyen against the new king. A new revolt began, and both sides tried to pull in allies, mainly the Ming Dynasty ruling China . Mac Dang Dung, through submissive dipolmacy and massive bribes, convinced the Chinese not to attack in 1528 . He then abdicated his position and king in favor of his son, Mac Dang Doanh a year later. MAC DANG DUNG'S RETURN The revolt in the south gathered strength and over the next three years all the provinces south of the Red River were captured by the Nguyen and Trinh armies. In 1533 the figurehead Le king Le Trang Tong was officially crowned king at the newly recaptured western capital. A few years later the situation for Mac Dang Doanh turned desperate as an official Chinese delegation reported that the Mac rule was illegetimate and that the Le should be restored to power. As a result, in 1537 a huge Chinese army came down from the north with orders to defeat the Mac. At this point, Mac Dang Doanh died and his father reclaimed the throne. Once again, Mac Dang Dung managed to send the Chinese away by means of diplomacy (and again, bribes). The Chinese official position was that the Mac should rule over the northern half of Vietnam, while the Le should rule over the southern half (in other words, below the Red River). Then the Chinese returned home. The Nguyen and the Trinh refused to accept this division of the country and the war continued. In 1541 Mac Dang Dung died and was succeeded by his grandson Mac Phuoc Hai. 1541-1592: DEFEAT Mac Phouc Hai ruled only for six years, during which he was defeated by the Trinh army and lost more territories. He was succeeded by Mac Phuoc Hgyen (1545-1561) who had to fight a war with his brother Trung. Mac Mau Hiep ruled from 1561 to 1592. He was the last significant Mac ruler. In 1572 the capital was captured by the Trinh army but then he recaptured it a year later. Then, in 1592 , Trinh Tong unleashed a massive invasion of the north and conqured Hanoi along with the rest of the northern provinces. Mac Mau Hiep was captured during the retreat and was cut to pieces over three days. THE LAST 80 YEARS The Mac now lost all of Vietnam except for Cao Bang province which was under the nominal protection of the Chinese army. The new Mac leader was Mac King Chi, he managed to assemble a large army which defeated the army of Trinh Tong but a year later, he and his army were wiped out by a new Trinh army. Mac King Cung ruled for more than twenty years (1593-1616). Based out of Van Ninh the Mac army staged many attacks against the Trinh. The Trinh requested and received aid from the Nguyen and the joint army defeated the Mac. In 1598 yet another official Chinese commission declared the Mac to be rulers over Cao Bang province and so this situation remained stable for the next 70 years. Then in 1667 the Trinh Lord Trinh Tac invaded and drove the Mac out of Cao Bang and into China. So ended the long but ineffective dynasty founded by Mac Dang Dung. The civil war he started continued after his descendants lost control of Hanoi and turned into a war between the Trinh and the Nguyen. The Vietnamese civil war finally came to an end with the peace of 1673 . SOURCES Coins of Vietnam - short history with the coins. List Of Vietnamese Dynasties |
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