Origin and rise to power

The Đinh family originated from the village of Hoa Lư, Jinghai kingdom in modern-day Ninh Bình province, northern Vietnam. Đinh Bộ Lĩnh's father, Đinh Công Trứ had served both Dương Đình Nghệ and Ngô Quyền as governor of Hoan Châu (modern-day the city of Vinh). According to Chinese accounts, Bộ Lĩnh succeed his father as Duke of Hoan.^[4] His father died when he was a child and he lived with his mother and other family members in a holy temple near a mountain in Hoa Lư.^[5][6] Đinh Bộ Lĩnh had a sister named Đinh Quế Hương.

Around 940s, the young Đinh Bộ Lĩnh emerged as a leader of villages youth, who played "royal games" in which Bộ Lĩnh was the king. The tradition folk said he had them collect wood for his mother, who slaughtered a pig and put on a feast. Villagers sensed a grim future leader: "We’d better follow him now before it is too late." They delivered their youths to Bộ Lĩnh, and he set up a base on land of his uncle, who refused to submit to him. Bộ Lĩnh sent his friends to attack the uncle, who pursued him, found him trapped under a collapsed bridge, and almost intended to kill him, but then saw two yellow dragons flying above. The uncle withdrew and later submitted to him.^[6] Historian Oliver W. Wolters termed the story as a "man of prowess" possessing the "soul stuff" befitting a chief.^[6]

In 951, he began challenging the royal authority of the ruling Ngô family. Two king Ngô Xương Ngập and Ngô Xương Văn sent a force tried suppressing Bộ Lĩnh that failed but captured Đinh Bộ Lĩnh's son, Đinh Liễn as a hostage. The two kings suspended Lien from a pole in plain view of Bộ Lĩnh and shouted that he would be killed unless Bộ Lĩnh submitted. Bộ Lĩnh angrily replied, "How can a great man compromise a great affair simply because of his son?" Bộ Lĩnh ordered more than ten arrows shot in Liễn's direction. The two kings were horrified and withdrew their troops.^[6]

After Đinh Liễn was able to escaped and returned to Hoa Lư, Đinh Bộ Lĩnh went to convinced Trần Lãm, another warlord who occupied Bố Hải Khẩu (modern-day Thái Bình province) as his ally.^[7] When king Ngô Xương Văn was killed during a battle in 965 and the country fells into chaotic civil wars between warlords, Đinh Bộ Lĩnh and Đinh Liễn commanded their army subdued the highland tribes, then took capital Cổ Loa in the same year. Two years later, he defeated or had all the warlords submitted, pacified the country at the age of 43. In 967, Bộ Lĩnh assigned his son Liễn the title "King of Nam Viet".^[8] The only survivor of the previous Ngô family, Ngô Nhật Khánh submitted to Bộ Lĩnh, and he gave one of his own daughters, Princess Phất Kim in marriage with Nhật Khánh. After that, Ngô Nhật Khánh took his wife and fled to the south. He scolded her face and hatred of her father, and he went exiled in Champa.^[9]

Ruling period

In 968, Đinh Bộ Lĩnh established the kingdom of Đại Cồ Việt, relocated the capital to his home in Hoa Lư. At first he styled himself as Vạn Thắng Vương (Great Vanquishing King), then proclaimed the title emperor.^[9] In 970 Đinh Bộ Lĩnh made his reign era Thái Bình (chữ Hán: 太平), issued the coin mining and started the tradition of Vietnamese cash coins.^[10] Đinh Bộ Lĩnh established 5 queens.^[11] In 971, Đinh Bộ Lĩnh officially published his appointments to the chief court positions. Nguyễn Bặc was placed at the head of the nobility, with the title "Nation Establishing Duke" (Định Quốc Công).^[12] Lê Hoàn, a 35-year-old military officer from Ái (Thanh Hoá) was appointed as the commander of the royal army.^[12]

The Đinh family established the official religious organization in incorporating Taoists and Buddhists in an administrative hierarchy.^[13] Bộ Lĩnh awarded additional titles such as "Buddhist Priest Overseer" to Đại Việt's ranking monks, and in 971 assigned Buddhism's top position, that of great preceptor (đại sư) for reforming the Việt (khuông Việt), to the patriarch of the Vô Ngôn Thông sect, Ngô Chân Lưu, who occupied the post until his death forty years later.^[12][14] Another Buddhist priest, Trương Ma-ni and a Taoist priest, Đặng Huyền Quang were given the title "Buddhist Priest Overseer" (Tăng lực đạo sĩ) and "Noble and Upright Majesty".^[15] Đinh Bộ Lĩnh also established shrines to the gods of earth and agriculture.^[11] In 973, Prince Đinh Liễn erected one hundred ratanadhvaja stone columns contain Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī sutras (written in Classical Chinese) in order to generate merits to help liberate the spirit of his deceased brother. Liễn established another hundred tantric pillars in 979, aiming to gain a healthy perpetuation of the kingdom. Archaeological efforts from 1963 to 1987 have recovered 20 of those stone pillars.^[16]

In 972 Đinh Bộ Lĩnh sent tribute envoys include cloth, rhinoceros horns, elephant tusks and perfumed tea to the Song dynasty of China. The Song responded by sending an embassy to Dai Viet and awarding the title "King of Jiaozhi Prefecture" to Bộ Lĩnh; that title was given to Vietnamese monarchs by the Song emperors until 1174.^[17][18]

Assassination and dynasty transition

In October 979, a eunuch named Đỗ Thích killed the emperor Đinh Bộ Lĩnh and prince Đinh Liễn while they were sleeping in the palace at night. The general Lê Hoàn took power as regent while five-year-old Đinh Toàn occupied the throne. Rebellions erupted.^[19] At this juncture, the Song sent troops under Hou Renbao in attempt to restore the throne of the young prince. However, the threat of renewed Chinese intervention in Vietnam caused court officials to support Lê Hoàn's bid for power. They urged him to become king and establish a more stable government, prepare for the Chinese invasion. In 980, officials and generals gathered at Hoa Lư and empress Dương Vân Nga brought out the emperor's robe to put on Lê Hoàn, offered him the throne,^[20] and subsequently ended the rule of the Đinh dynasty and transferred power to the Lê family.

Descendants

After 980, Đinh Bộ Lĩnh's deposed son Đinh Toàn still held a position in the military. However, in 1000 a rebellion erupted in Phong (modern-day Phú Thọ province), Mường rebels trapped the royal army on the Đà River, and Đinh Toàn was killed on his boat.^[21]