Henan Commandery ( zh, 河南郡) was a

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 ...

in China from

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...

, located in modern northern

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

province. During the reign of

King Xuanhui of Han King Xuanhui of Han () (died 312 BC), known as Marquess Wei of Han () before 323 BC, was a ruler of the state of Han during the Warring States period in Chinese history. In 325 BC, he met with King Hui of Wei, who honoured him as "king". However, ...

, Sanchuan Commandery (三川郡) was established. It was named Sanchuan ("Three Rivers") because the

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan ...

, Yi River and Luo River flowed through its jurisdiction. In 249 BC, Sanchuan was annexed by the

state of Qin Qin () was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Traditionally dated to 897 BC, it took its origin in a reconquest of western lands previously lost to the Rong; its position at the western edge of Chinese civilization permitted ...

. After the establishment of

, in 205 BC, Sanchuan was renamed Henan ("south of the Yellow River"). Its seat was Luoyang, the former capital of

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by ...

. In 113 BC, its western half was split off to form

Hongnong Commandery Hongnong Commandery ( zh, 弘農郡), also known as Hengnong Commandery ( zh, 恒農郡), was a Jun (country subdivision), commandery of China from Han dynasty to Tang dynasty, located in modern western Henan and southeastern Shaanxi. Hongnong wa ...

. In 2 AD, the commandery had 274,666 households and a population of 1,740,279. It administered 22 counties:

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...

(雒陽),

Xingyang Xingyang (), is a county-level city of Henan Province, South Central China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Zhengzhou. It is situated 15 kilometers to the west of Zhengzhou city proper. The population of Xingyang i ...

(滎陽),

Yanshi Yanshi District () is a district in the prefecture-level city of Luoyang in western Henan province, China. Yanshi lies on the Luo River and is the easternmost county-level division of Luoyang. History After the Zhou conquest of Shang in mid-11th ...

(偃師), Jing (京), Pingyin (平陰),

Zhongmu Zhongmu County (; postal: Chungmow) is a county of Henan Province, South Central China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan. It has an area of and a population of 680,000. Located in th ...

(中牟), Ping (平), Yangwu (陽武),

(河南), Goushi (緱氏), Quan (卷), Yuanwu (原武), Gong (鞏), Gucheng (穀成), Gushi (故市), Mi (密), Xincheng (新城),

Kaifeng Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the N ...

(開封), Chenggao (成皋), Yuanling (苑陵), Liang (梁) and

Xinzheng Xinzheng () is a county-level city of Henan Province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Zhengzhou, the provincial capital. The city has a population of 600,000 people and covers an area of , of which is urban. ...

(新鄭). In Eastern Han dynasty, the capital was moved to Luoyang, and Henan Commandery was renamed Henan Yin (河南尹, "Intendant of Henan") after the name of the chief administrative office of the area, following the naming of

Jingzhao Jingzhao ( zh, 京兆) was a historical region centered on the ancient Chinese capital of Chang'an. Han dynasty In early Han dynasty, the governor of the capital Chang'an and its vicinities was known as ''You Neishi'' (), and the region was also ...

Yin in Western Han dynasty. In 140 AD, the commandery had 208,486 households and a population of 1,100,827. In the Western Jin dynasty, the name "Henan Commandery" was restored. In 266, Xingyang Commandery was established from 8 counties in Henan. After the establishment of Sui dynasty, Henan Commandery was abolished and merged into Luo Prefecture (洛州). In 607, the old name was restored. The commandery administered 18 counties, and had 202,230 households. In

, Henan Commandery was an alternative name of Luo Prefecture, also known as Henan Prefecture (河南府). In 741 AD, it had 194,746 households and the population was 1,183,092.'' New Book of Tang'', Chapter 38.

References

{{Han dynasty provinces Commanderies of the Han dynasty Commanderies of the Jin dynasty (266–420) Commanderies of the Sui dynasty Commanderies of the Qin dynasty Commanderies of the Northern dynasties