Xindu Commandery () was a historical
commandery
In the Middle Ages, a commandery (rarely commandry) was the smallest administrative division of the European landed properties of a military order. It was also the name of the house where the knights of the commandery lived.Anthony Luttrell and G ...
of China, located in modern southern
Hebei
Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...
.
The commandery was created in early
Western Han
The Han dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) and a warring int ...
dynasty. In 155 BC, the territory was granted to Liu Pengzu (劉彭祖), son of the
Emperor Jing, as the Principality of Guangchuan (廣川國). Later, Pengzu acquired the new title Prince of
Zhao, and the principality was granted to Liu Yue, another son of the emperor. In 50 BC, the principality was abolished and reverted to a commandery. In 37 BC, the territory was granted to Liu Xing (劉興), son of the reigning
Emperor Yuan, whose descendants held the fief until
Wang Mang
Wang Mang (45 BCE6 October 23 CE), courtesy name Jujun, officially known as the Shijianguo Emperor (), was the founder and the only emperor of the short-lived Chinese Xin dynasty. He was originally an official and consort kin of the ...
's usurpation. After the restoration of
Eastern Han
The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
, the commandery again became known as Xindu. In 72 AD, it was granted to Liu Dang (劉黨), son of the reigning
Emperor Ming as the Principality of Lecheng (樂成國). After 122 AD, it became known as the Principality of Anping (安平國). The principality was dissolved in 184 AD, and it was subsequently administered as the Anping Commandery (安平郡). In 2 AD, it administered 17 counties, namely Xindu (信都), Li (歷), Fuliu (扶柳), Piyang (辟陽), Nangong (南宮), Xiabo (下博), Wuyi (武邑), Guanjin (觀津), Gaodi (高隄), Guangchuan (廣川), Lexiang (樂鄉), Pingdi (平隄), Tao (桃), Xiliang (西梁), Changcheng (昌成), Dongchang (東昌) and Xiu (脩). The population was 304,384 or 65,556 households in 2 AD, and 655,118 (91,440 households) in 140 AD.
During early
Western Jin
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
* Western, New York, a town in the US
* Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
* Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that ...
dynasty, Anping again briefly became a principality and was granted to
Sima Fu, brother of
Sima Yi
Sima Yi (; ; 179 CE7 September 251 CE), courtesy name Zhongda, was a Chinese military general, politician, and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China.
He formally began his political career in 208 under th ...
. Xindu County in Anping was also the capital of
Ji Province. In 280 AD, the principality had a population of 21,000 households in 8 counties. Later during Jin dynasty, it became Changle Commandery (長樂郡). The commandery was abolished in early
Sui dynasty
The Sui dynasty ( ) was a short-lived Dynasties of China, Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 581 to 618. The re-unification of China proper under the Sui brought the Northern and Southern dynasties era to a close, ending a prolonged peri ...
.
In Sui and
Tang dynasties, Xindu Commandery became the alternative name of Ji Prefecture (冀州). In 742 AD, the prefecture had 9 counties: Xindu, Nangong, Tangyang (堂陽),
Zaoqiang (棗強), Wuyi (武邑),
Hengshui (衡水),
Fucheng (阜城), Tiao (蓚) and Wuqiang (武強). The population was 830,520, or 113,885 households.
['']New Book of Tang
The ''New Book of Tang'', generally translated as the "New History of the Tang" or "New Tang History", is a work of official history covering the Tang dynasty in ten volumes and 225 chapters. The work was compiled by a team of scholars of the So ...
'', Chapter 39.
References
{{Han dynasty provinces
Commanderies of the Han dynasty
Commanderies of the Jin dynasty (266–420)
Commanderies of the Northern dynasties
Commanderies of the Sui dynasty