The Jin dynasty or the Jin Empire was a Chinese dynasty traditionally dated from 266 to 420. It was founded by Sima Yan, son of Sima Zhao, who himself was made the King of Jin and posthumously declared one of the founders of the dynasty, along with Sima Zhao's older brother Sima Shi and father Sima Yi. It followed the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 AD), which ended with the conquest of Eastern Wu by Jin, culminating in the reunification of China.
There are two main divisions in the history of the dynasty. The Western Jin (266–316) was established as a successor state to Cao Wei after Sima Yan usurped the throne, and had its capital at Luoyang and later Chang'an (modern Xi'an); Western Jin reunited China in 280, but fairly shortly thereafter fell into a succession crisis, civil war, and suffered from the invasions instigated by the "Five Barbarians (Wu Hu)".
The rebels and invaders began to establish new self-proclaimed states along the Yellow River valley in 304, inaugurating the "Sixteen Kingdoms" era. These states immediately began fighting each other and the Jin Empire, leading to the second division of the dynasty, the Eastern Jin (317–420), when Sima Rui moved the capital to Jiankang (modern Nanjing). The Eastern Jin dynasty was eventually overthrown by Liu Yu and replaced with the Liu Song in 420. More details
There are two main divisions in the history of the dynasty. The Western Jin (266–316) was established as a successor state to Cao Wei after Sima Yan usurped the throne, and had its capital at Luoyang and later Chang'an (modern Xi'an); Western Jin reunited China in 280, but fairly shortly thereafter fell into a succession crisis, civil war, and suffered from the invasions instigated by the "Five Barbarians (Wu Hu)".The rebels and invaders began to establish new self-proclaimed states along the Yellow River valley in 304, inaugurating the "Sixteen Kingdoms" era. These states immediately began fighting each other and the Jin Empire, leading to the second division of the dynasty, the Eastern Jin (317–420), when Sima Rui moved the capital to Jiankang (modern Nanjing). The Eastern Jin dynasty was eventually overthrown by Liu Yu and replaced with the Liu Song in 420. More details
