Nguyen Kim (; 1468âÂÂ1545) was a Vietnamese statesman who was the ancestor of the famous Nguyá» n Lords who later ruled south Vietnam (and much later, all of Vietnam). During his rule, the war with the Mạc dynasty started.
Nguyá» n Kim claimed descent from Nguyá» n Trãi, one of the top aides of Lê Lợi. He was the son of Nguyá» n Hoang Du, one of the leaders of the first revolt against Mạc ÃÂÃÂng Dung). After the first revolt was crushed and his father executed, a second revolt against Mạc ÃÂÃÂng Dung took place in response to Dung's usurpation of the throne in 1527. This second revolt was led by Nguyá» n Kim and his son-in-law, Trá»Ânh Kiá»Âm.
In 1527, a high-rank military officer of the weakened court, Mạc ÃÂÃÂng Dung, seized power of ÃÂại Viá»Ât. He deposed the ruling Lê monarch, Lê Cung Hoàng and made himself ruler of ÃÂại Viá»Ât. In 1529, Nguyá» n Kim who was a loyalist of the old royal family, went to Laos and submitted to the Laotian king Photisarath (r. 1520 â 1547). Photisarath granted for Nguyá» n Kim administrator the territory of Xam Neua. In ÃÂại Viá»Ât, Mạc ÃÂÃÂng Dung suppressed the Lê loyalist in Thanh Hóa, forced the Lê remnant to seek refuge in Nguyá» n Kim's domain. In 1533, Nguyá» n Kim proclaimed prince Lê Ninh (son of emperor Lê Chiêu Tông) as king of ÃÂại Viá»Ât. Photisarath acknowledged this claim and allocated resources to support it. Envoys were sent to Ming China in 1536 and 1537 to denounce Mạc ÃÂÃÂng Dung as a usurper and to request an intervention aid in restoring the legitimate dynasty.
However the Ming canceled their intervention. The struggle continued as with aided by members of two powerful Thanh Hóa military clans, the Nguyá» n and Trá»Ânh, the Lê family slowly made their way back to power. This effort continued through most of the sixteenth century, and in the course of the long seesaw struggle with the Mạc, a rivalry emerged between the two families, represented by their principal figures, Nguyá» n Kim and Trá»Ânh Kiá»Âm (1503âÂÂ1570). This tension developed even though the families were not merely allied militarily, but were also linked through marriage. Nguyá» n Kim had married one of his daughters to Trá»Ânh Kiá»Âm, thus binding the two families in a time-honored fashion. Neither the military nor the marital connections, however, could forestall Trá»Ânh Kiá»Âm's personal ambitions. The ongoing contest for political supremacy gradually saw the Trá»Ânh gain the upper hand, a position that was secured when the Nguyá» n paterfamilias was murdered at the hands of a surrendering Mạc general in 1545. Eager to eliminate his rivals, Trá»Ânh Kiá»Âm arranged to have the elder Nguyá» n son killed. His youngest son, Nguyá» n Hoàng, saw in this act his own fate unless he took measures to protect himself. Through his sister, Kiá»Âm's wife, Hoàng requested that he be appointed governor general of the distant southern frontier territories of ThuáºÂn Hoá and Quảng Nam. Remote exile of this political challenger suited the Trá»Ânh overlord, and he agreed to the request. Shortly thereafter, in 1558, Nguyá» n Hoàng entered the southern realms, marking the beginnings of a political division that would have lasted for 250 years.