Trịnh Kiểm
Template:Contains Vietnamese text Trịnh Kiểm(Hán tự: 鄭檢 , 1503 - 1570) ruled part of Vietnam from 1545 to 1570.
Trịnh Kiểm is the founder of the famous Trịnh Lords who ruled Vietnam while a succession of figurehead kings nominally ruled the country. During his rule, the war with the Mạc Dynasty continued.
Trịnh Kiểm claimed descent from Trịnh Khả, who was one of the top aides of Lê Lợi and later became the top governmental official during the reign of the child-king Lê Nhân Tông. His relationship to the General Trịnh who defeated a rebel army in 1511 and then rebelled himself in 1517 is unknown. Also unknown is his relationship to Trịnh Duy Dai and Trịnh Duy Sản (two of the leaders of the first revolt against Mạc Đăng Dung). What is known is that a second revolt against Mạc Đăng Dung took place not long after Dung usurped the throne and proclaimed himself the new king of Vietnam in 1527. This second revolt was led by Nguyễn Kim and his second-in-command was his son-in-law, Trịnh Khiem (who married Kim's daughter Ngoc Bao). The second revolt was successful to the point where the Nguyễn-Trịnh army captured the Western Palace (Tay Do) and enthroned their own King, Lê Trang Tông, in 1533.
The Nguyễn-Trịnh alliance then sent a formal embassy to China which denounced the usurpation of Mạc Đăng Dung and asked for help. In 1536, the Chinese delegation concluded that Dung had usurped the throne of the Lê king. After hearing the report, the Jiajing Emperor dispatched an army to set things right, it arrived on the border of Vietnam in 1537. However, with protestations of loyalty to the Ming Dynasty and the offer of a piece of north Vietnam to the Chinese, Mạc Đăng Dung was able to get the Chinese army to leave. The official position of the Chinese government was, the MAC should rule in the north, and the Lê should rule in the south. The Nguyễn-Trịnh alliance refused to accept this settlement, and so the war continued.
In 1541, Mạc Đăng Dung died and his grandson, Phước Hải, took over. In 1545, Nguyễn Kim was assassinated by a supporter of the Mạc. Nguyễn Kim had two young sons (Nguyễn Hoàng and Nguyen Uong) but it was Trịnh Khiem who took control of the Royal army.
The Nguyễn-Trịnh alliance, now under the command of Trịnh Khiem, continued their war against the Mạc. A new king was enthroned as Lê Trung Tông in 1548, then another Lê king, Lê Anh Tông, was enthroned in 1556. In 1558 the eldest son of Kim, Nguyễn Hoàng, was sent to the south to take control over the recently conquered province of Quang Nam. By 1665, the Royal (Trịnh) army had captured all the provinces south of the Red River and were threatening Hanoi.
In 1569, in failing health, Trịnh Khiem passed authority over to his oldest son, Trịnh Coi. In 1570, Trịnh Khiem died. In the same year, Trịnh Coi was defeated by a Mạc army and was replaced by his younger, and much more capable brother, Trịnh Tùng.
See also
Sources
- Annam and its Minor Currency Chapter 16 (downloaded May 2006)
- A Glimpse of Vietnams History (downloaded May 2006)
- Genealogy of the Royal Nguyen Family (downloaded May 2006)