Ngô Quyá»Ân () (17 April 898 â 14 February 944), often referred to as Tiá»Ân Ngô Vðáng (Ã¥ÂÂå³çÂÂ; "First King of Ngô"), was a warlord who later became the founding king of the Ngô dynasty of Vietnam. He reigned from 939 to 944. In 938, he defeated the Southern Han dynasty at the Battle of Bạch ÃÂằng River north of modern Haiphong. The battle is celebrated in Vietnamese national history as it ended 1,000 years of Chinese rule over Vietnam dating back to 111 BC under the Western Han dynasty. A central district in modern Haiphong is named after him.
Ngô Quyá»Ân was born in 898 AD in ÃÂðá»Âng Lâm (modern-day Sán Tây District, Hanoi of northern Vietnam) during the Tang dynasty. He was the son of Ngô Mân, an influential official in Phong, Annan (today Phu Tho province). Ngô Mân's ancestor was Wu Ridai (Ngô NháºÂt ÃÂại), a local tribal chief from Fuluzhou, Annan (Modern-day Ha Tinh Province). In 722, Wu Ridai and his family migrated to Aizhou (Modern-day Thanh Hoa Province) after the defeat of Mai Thúc Loan. According to the family's stele erected in 1631, the family claimed to have dated back to the Hung kings period. Ngô Quyá»Ân's birth, according to Vietnamese tradition, that he was bathed with strange luminosity while three strange black moles were seen on the baby's back, were signs of his future greatness, and the mother named him "Quyá»Ân", meaning authority and power.
Since 905, the Tang dynasty lost control of Jinghai to locals and native chieftains. The Khúc family ruled Annam independently until in 930 the Chinese kingdom of Southern Han invaded Jinghai and removed the Khúc family from power. A formal vassal of the Khúc family, Dðáng ÃÂình Nghá» launched a revolt in 931 that ousted the Chinese.
In 931, he served under Dðáng ÃÂình Nghá» (the governor of Jinghai circuit/principality) and quickly rose through the military ranks and government administration; by 934, he was promoted to the post of military governor of ÃÂi Châu. Dðáng ÃÂình Nghá» loved his talent and gave him one of his daughters, Lady Dðáng, in marriage and placed him in charge of ÃÂi Châu (Nghá» An province at present). The province was Dðáng ÃÂình Nghá»Â's hometown and military power base. By giving Ngô Quyá»Ân command of this region Dðáng ÃÂình Nghá» recognized Ngô Quyá»Ân's loyalty and talent.
After Dðáng ÃÂình Nghá» was assassinated in a military coup in 937 by a usurper named Kiá»Âu Công Tiá» n, he took control of the military and was well received. That same year, Ngô Quyá»Ân's forces defeated the rebel Kiá»Âu Công Tiá» n and had him executed. This transpired into an opportunistic pretense for wrestling control of Annam by the new Southern Han regime due to its strategic geographical location. Ngô Quyá»Ân foresaw the Southern Han intention. He quickly mobilized the armed forces and made war preparations well in advance. His victory at the Battle of Bach Dang paved the way for Vietnamese independence.
In 938, the Southern Han emperor Liu Yan dispatched a naval fleet to subdue Jinghai. Ngô Quyá»Ân calculated that the Southern Han would sail down the Bạch ÃÂằng River to unload their troops right in the middle of Giao Châu to do the most damage. To prevent this incursion, Ngô Quyá»Ân strategized and ordered the waters of Bạch ÃÂằng embedded with thousands of large wooden pikes hidden just beneath the rising tide water. He used boats with shallow drafts to instigate and lure the Southern Han toward the traps after the tide had risen. When the hundreds of Southern Han ships were punctured and caught against the deadly traps, Ngô Quyá»Ân led his forces in the attack. Hundreds of trapped ships were burned and sabotaged and thousands of Southern Han soldiers were killed, while some managed to retreat and were chased out relentlessly by the forces of An Nam. In the thick of battle, most of the Southern Han army, including the Admiral Liu Hongcao (the prince of the Southern Han Emperor), were killed. Similar tactics were later repeated by Lê Hoàn in 981 and Trần Hðng ÃÂạo against the Mongols in 1288.
After overthrowing the Chinese government in Vietnam and proclaimed as king, Ngô Quyá»Ân transferred the capital to Cá» Loa citadel, the capital of ÃÂu Lạc, the ancient Yue kingdom, thus affirming the continuity of the traditions of the Lạc Viá»Ât people. He strengthened old rituals, and also provided feathered accessories, yellow banners, brass gongs, and deerskin drums for all the ancient dances with sword and battle axe, reminiscent of scenes depicted on ÃÂông Sán drums. However, despite having defeated Southern Han, Quyá»Ân also imposed a Chinese style administration that followed Chinese etiquette down to the color of dress that was worn.
His new realm quickly succumbed to prolonged civil conflict, beginning with internecine struggles between members of the Dðáng and Ngô families, who continued to alternate in power until the mid-960s. Ngô Quyá»Ân's immediate heirs proved unable to maintain a unified state. After his death in 944, Dðáng Tam Kha usurped the throne for a brief time, until Ngô Quyá»Ân's two sons, Ngô Xðáng VÃÂn and Ngô Xðáng NgáºÂp, finally established a joint rule, which lasted until the collapse of the royal family in 966.
The first history of Dai Viet by Lê VÃÂn Hðu (13th century), Anthology of Palace Spirits of Lý Tế Xuyên (14th Century), and successive histories all recognized the importance of Ngô Quyá»Ân.