Nan Commandery ( zh, 南郡, "Southern Commandery") was a Chinese commandery that existed from the

Warring States period The Warring States period in history of China, Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and ...

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

. Its territories covered present-day central and western

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

province, as well as parts of

Chongqing ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...

. The seat was Jiangling, present-day Jingzhou, Hubei.

History

Nan Commandery was established by Qin in the 29th year of King Zhao (278 BC), after Qin had conquered the Chu capital Ying. After the fall of Qin, Nan Commandery became the fief of Gong Ao, a noble of Chu, and his son Gong Wei, until it was conquered by

Emperor Gaozu of Han Emperor Gaozu of Han (2561 June 195 BC), also known by his given name Liu Bang, was the founder and first emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning from 202 to 195 BC. He is considered by traditional Chinese historiography to be one o ...

. In the Western Han dynasty, the commandery consisted of 18 counties: Jiangling (江陵), Linju (臨沮), Yiling (夷陵), Huarong (華容), Yicheng (宜城), Ying (郢), Zhi (踬), Dangyang (當陽), Zhonglu (中盧), Zhijiang (枝江), Xiangyang (襄陽), Bian (編), Zigui (秭歸), Yidao (夷道), Zhouling (州陵), Ruo (若), Wu (巫) and Gaocheng (高成). The total population in 2 AD was 718,540 individuals, in 125,579 households. By 140 AD, the population had grown to 747,604, in 162,570 households. During the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...

era, three new commanderies – Yidu (宜都), Jianping (建平) and Xiangyang were formed in the region, and multiple new counties were created as well. By the time when Jin dynasty reunited China (280 AD), the territory of Nan had been reduced to 11 counties, namely Jiangling, Bian, Dangyang, Huarong, Ruo, Zhijiang, Jingyang (旌陽), Zhouling, Jianli, Songzi, and Shishou. The recorded population was 55,000 households. Nan Commandery briefly served as the fief of Sima Wei, Prince of Chu, until the outbreak of the

War of the Eight Princes The War of the Eight Princes, Rebellion of the Eight Kings, or Rebellion of the Eight Princes ( zh, t=八王之亂, s=八王之乱, p=bā wáng zhī luàn, w=pa wang chih luan) was a series of coups and civil wars among kings/princes (Chinese: '' ...

in 291. In Liu Song dynasty of Southern and Northern dynasties era, only 6 counties remained in the commandery, while the population had decreased further to 75,087 individuals in 14,544 households by mid-5th century. 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 ...

after reunification. In Sui dynasty and early

, Nan Commandery became an alternative name of Jing Prefecture. The commandery administered 10 counties, and had a population 58,836 households.'' Book of Sui'', Chapter 31.

References

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