XIN DYNASTY

The 'Xin Dynasty' (; 9-23) was a "dynasty" (contrary to the usual meaning of a dynasty, it had only one emperor). It followed the Western Han Dynasty and preceded the Eastern Han Dynasty.
The sole emperor of the Xin Dynasty, Wang Mang (王莽), was the nephew of Grand Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun, and he became powerful after the death of her step-grandson, Emperor Ai in 1 BC. After several years of cultivating a personality cult, he finally took over as emperor in 8 AD. However, while he was a creative scholar and politician, he was an incompetent ruler, and his capital Chang'an was sieged in 23 AD by peasant rebels. He died in the siege, and the Han Dynasty was restored under the original Liu Family.

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★ ''Book of Han'', vol. 69, parts , , .

★ ''Zizhi Tongjian'', vols. , , , .