Annan command, Annam command, or Annan dutongshisi (; ), was the name of an administrative region of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

of China. When the

Mạc dynasty The Mạc dynasty (; Hán-Nôm: 茹莫/ 朝莫) (1527–1677), officially Đại Việt (Chữ Hán: 大越), was a Vietnamese dynasty which ruled over a unified Vietnam between 1527 and 1540, and northern Vietnam from 1540 until 1593. The M ...

usurped the

Lê dynasty The Lê dynasty, also known in historiography as the Later Lê dynasty (, chữ Hán: 朝後黎, chữ Nôm: 茹後黎), officially Đại Việt (; Chữ Hán: 大越), was the longest-ruling List of Vietnamese dynasties, Vietnamese dynasty, h ...

's throne in Đại Việt (or called Annan by the Chinese, present-day northern

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

), the

Jiajing Emperor The Jiajing Emperor (16September 150723January 1567), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizong of Ming, personal name Zhu Houcong, art name, art names Yaozhai, Leixuan, and Tianchi Diaosou, was the 12th List of emperors of the Ming ...

seized the opportunity to send envoys demanding accountability. At the time, the Mạc were preoccupied with military campaigns in the south and had no choice but to submit as vassals to secure their northern border. Đại Việt was downgraded from a vassal state to a subordinate territory. Nominally, Đại Việt became an administrative unit of China under native governance, but in reality, Viet rulers—who still proclaimed themselves emperors—retained full domestic authority throughout the period from 1540 to 1647.

History

In 1527,

Mạc Đăng Dung Mạc Đăng Dung (chữ Hán : 莫登庸; 23 November 1483 – 22 August 1541), also known by his temple name Mạc Thái Tổ (), was an emperor of Vietnam and the founder of the Mạc dynasty. Previously a captain of the imperial guard (Pra ...

, a powerful minister of the

in Đại Việt, forced Lê Cung Hoàng to abdicate and established the

, with the capital still in

Thăng Long Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the capital and second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red and Black Rivers). As a municipality, Hanoi consists of 12 urban districts, 17 rural d ...

, and adopted Minh Đức as his era name.

Nguyễn Kim Nguyen Kim (; 1468–1545) was a Vietnamese statesman who was the ancestor of the famous Nguyễn Lords who later ruled south Vietnam (and much later, all of Vietnam). During his rule, the war with the Mạc dynasty started. Nguyễn Kim cla ...

, the former general of the Later Lê dynasty, fled to

Lan Xang Lan Xang () or Lancang was a Lao people, Lao kingdom that held the area of present-day Laos from 1353 to 1707. For three and a half centuries, Lan Xang was one of the largest kingdoms in Southeast Asia. The kingdom is the basis for Laos's nat ...

(''Ai Lao'') with his family after Mạc Đăng Dung's usurpation and later rallied forces in an attempt to restore the Lê dynasty. In 1532, Nguyễn Kim found Lê Ninh (the young son of the late

Lê Chiêu Tông Lê Chiêu Tông ( 黎昭宗, 4 October 1506 – 18 December 1526; also called Lê Y, 黎椅 or 黎譓) was an emperor of the Lê dynasty of Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the ...

) in Ai Lao and proclaimed him emperor, known as

Lê Trang Tông Lê Trang Tông (, 1515 – 9 March 1548) was the 12th emperor of the Later Lê dynasty and the first from the Revival Lê dynasty.《歷朝憲章類誌》卷二十一·禮儀誌·太廟殿奉事各位。 His enthronement marked the return of the L ...

. This marked the beginning of a turbulent era in Đại Việt, as the

Revival Lê dynasty The Revival Lê dynasty ( 茹黎中興; Hán-Việt: 黎中興朝 ''Lê trung hưng triều''), also called the Later Lê Restoration in historiography, officially Đại Việt (Chữ Hán: 大越), was a Vietnamese dynasty that existed between ...

in the south waged war against the Mạc dynasty in the north. In late 1529, Mạc Đăng Dung abdicated in favor of his son, Mạc Đăng Doanh. The following January, Đăng Doanh formally ascended the throne as

Mạc Thái Tông Mạc Thái Tông (, ? – 25 January 1540), known also by his given name Mạc Đăng Doanh (), was the second emperor of the Mạc dynasty of Vietnam from 1530 to 1540. His father, Mạc Thái Tổ, was still alive during the first year of his r ...

and proclaimed the new era name "Đại Chính." Meanwhile, Đăng Dung assumed the title of Retired emperor (''Thái thượng hoàng''). In 1537, Lê Trang Tông dispatched envoys to

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, petitioning the Ming court to intervene by accusing the Mạc clan of usurping the Lê dynasty’s throne. The

responded by appointing

Qiu Luan Qiu Luan (; 1505 – 31 August 1552), courtesy name Boxiang (), was a Chinese general who served in the Ming dynasty during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor. He was active on the Sino-Mongolian border and held the position of commander-in-chief o ...

as commander-in-chief and Mao Bowen as military advisor, stationing troops near the border to pressure the Mạc. Facing overwhelming Ming forces, Mạc Đăng Dung submitted in March 1539, sending envoys to Zhennan Pass to present Annan’s land and population registers—a symbolic act acknowledging Ming suzerainty while retaining de facto control over Đại Việt. An Nan Lai Wei Tu Ce

On 30 November 1540, Mạc Đăng Dung and dozens of officials surrendered to Ming officials at the Zhennan Pass, binding themselves and kneeling down as a sign of submission. This event marked the Ming dynasty's decision to demote Đại Việt from a vassal state (; ''guo''; ''quốc'') to a subordinate territory (; ''dutongshisi''; ''Đô thống sứ ty''). The thirteen provinces (''đạo'') of the (Lê) Mạc dynasty were renamed as thirteen pacification commissions (; ''xuanfusi''; ''Tuyên phủ ty''), each with a pacification commissioner (; ''xuanfushi''; ''Tuyên phủ sứ''), pacification associate commissioner (; ''tongzhi''; '' Đồng tri''), pacification vice commissioner (; ''fushi''; ''Phó sứ''), and pacification assistant commissioner (; ''qianshi''; ''Thiêm sự''), all under the authority of the commandant (; ''dutong''; ''Đô thống''). Mạc Đăng Dung was appointed as the Commandant of Annan with a second-class hereditary rank and was required to pay tribute every three years. In 1592, the southern (Lê-Trịnh) army captured Thăng Long, leading to the revival of the Lê dynasty.

Lê Thế Tông Lê Thế Tông (chữ Hán: 黎世宗, 1567 – 12 October 1599, reigned 1573–1599), real name Lê Duy Đàm (黎維潭) was the 15th emperor of the later Lê dynasty of Vietnam. He was the fifth son of Lê Anh Tông, born during the Trịnh� ...

sent envoys to the Ming court, requesting the restoration of the previous title of "King of Annan". However, due to the unstable situation, the Ming court only granted the temporary title of "Commandant of Annan". From then until the fall of the Ming dynasty, Đại Việt remained as an autonomous administrative unit within the Ming Empire. In addition, the Ming dynasty also ordered the Lê dynasty to cede

Cao Bằng Cao Bằng () is a city in northern Vietnam. It is the capital and largest settlement of Cao Bằng Province. It is located on the bank of the Bằng Giang river, and is around away from the border with China's Guangxi region. According to the 2 ...

and

Thái Nguyên Thái Nguyên () is a city in Vietnam. It is the capital and largest city of Thái Nguyên Province. The city is listed as a first class city and is the ninth largest city in Vietnam. It has long been famous throughout Vietnam for its Tân Cư� ...

to the descendants of the Mạc family. Despite the reluctance of the Lê dynasty's rulers and officials, they had no choice but to allow the Mạc family to control Cao Bằng. The Mạc family ruled over Cao Bằng for five generations until 1677 when the

Trịnh lord Trịnh is a Vietnamese family name. It exists in equivalent forms in other languages of the Sinosphere such as ( 鄭, Zheng, Cheng) in Chinese and Korean (Jeong, Chung). Families that bear the surname Trịnh are exclusively Vietnamese. The surn ...

attacked and conquered it, using the Mạc family's alliance with the traitor

Wu Sangui Wu Sangui (; 8 June 1612 – 2 October 1678), courtesy name Changbai () or Changbo (), was a Chinese military leader who played a key role in the fall of the Ming dynasty and the founding of the Qing dynasty. In Chinese folklore, Wu Sangui is r ...

as justification. The title of "Commandant of Annan" (; ''An Nam Đô thống sứ'') was maintained until 1647, when the Lê dynasty’s Retired emperor

Lê Thần Tông Lê Thần Tông (黎神宗, 19 November 1607 – 2 November 1662) was the 17th emperor of Vietnamese Later Lê dynasty. Biography Lê Thần Tông's birth name is Lê Duy Kỳ (黎維祺). He was born in 1607 and reigned in 1619–1643 following ...

was formally reinstated as "King of Annan" (; ''An Nam Quốc vương'') by the

Southern Ming The Southern Ming (), also known in historiography as the Later Ming (), officially the Great Ming (), was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and a series of rump states of the Ming dynasty that came into existence following the ...

’s

Yongli Emperor The Yongli Emperor (1623–1662; reigned 24 December 1646 – 1 June 1662), personal name Zhu Youlang, was the fourth and last emperor of the Southern Ming dynasty, reigning in turbulent times when the former Ming dynasty was overthrown and the ...

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History

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