Huế is the capital of Thừa Thiên Huế province in the North Central Coast region of Vietnam, located near the center of Vietnam. Huế was the capital of Đàng Trong from 1738 to 1775 and of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945. The city served as the old Imperial City and administrative capital for the Nguyễn dynasty and later functioned as the administrative capital of the protectorate of Annam during the French Indochina period. It contains a UNESCO-designated site, the Complex of Huế Monuments, which is a popular tourist attraction. Alongside its moat and thick stone walls the complex encompasses the Imperial City of Huế, with palaces and shrines; the Forbidden Purple City, once the emperor's home; and a replica of the Royal Theater.
The Hồ dynasty, officially Great Peace, was a short-lived Vietnamese dynasty consisting of the reigns of two monarchs, Hồ Quý Ly and his second son, Hồ Hán Thương. The practice of bequeathing the throne to a designated son was similar to what had happened in the previous Trần dynasty and was meant to avoid sibling rivalry. Hồ Quý Ly's eldest son, Hồ Nguyên Trừng, played his part as the dynasty's military general. In 2011, UNESCO declared the Citadel of the Hồ Dynasty in Thanh Hóa Province a world heritage site. The Hồ dynasty was conquered by the Chinese Ming dynasty in 1407.
The Lê dynasty, also known in historiography as the Later Lê dynasty, officially Great Việt, was the longest-ruling Vietnamese dynasty, having ruled from 1428 to 1789, with an interregnum between 1527 and 1533. The Lê dynasty is divided into two historical periods: the Initial Lê dynasty before the usurpation by the Mạc dynasty, in which emperors ruled in their own right, and the Revival Lê dynasty, in which emperors were figures reigned under the auspices of the powerful Trịnh family. The Revival Lê dynasty was marked by two lengthy civil wars: the Lê–Mạc War (1533–1592) in which two dynasties battled for legitimacy in northern Vietnam and the Trịnh–Nguyễn Wars between the Trịnh lords in North and the Nguyễn lords of the South.
Lê Lợi, also known by his temple name as Lê Thái Tổ (黎太祖) and by his pre-imperial title Bình Định vương, was a Vietnamese rebel leader who founded the Later Lê dynasty and became the first king of the restored kingdom of Đại Việt after the country was conquered by the Ming dynasty. In 1418, Lê Lợi and his followers rose up against Ming rule. He was known for his effective guerrilla tactics, including constantly moving his camps and using small bands of irregulars to ambush the larger Ming forces. Nine years later, his resistance movement successfully drove the Ming armies out of Vietnam and restored Vietnamese independence. Lê Lợi is among the most famous figures of Vietnamese history and one of its greatest heroes.
The Nguyễn lords, also known as the Nguyễn clan, were the rulers of southern Đại Việt during the Revival Lê dynasty and ancestors of Nguyễn dynasty's emperors. The territory they ruled was known contemporarily as Đàng Trong and by Europeans as Cochinchina, in opposition to the Trịnh lords ruling northern Đại Việt, known then as Đàng Ngoài. Both Nguyễn and Trịnh lords were de jure subordinates of the Lê dynasty.
Nguyen Kim was a Vietnamese statesman who was the ancestor of the famous Nguyễn Lords who later ruled south Vietnam. During his rule, the war with the Mạc dynasty started.
Hoàn Kiếm Lake, also known as Sword Lake or Tả Vọng Lake, is a fresh water lake, measuring some 12 ha in the historical center of Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam.
The Yangtze giant softshell turtle, also known commonly as the Red River giant softshell turtle, the Shanghai softshell turtle, the speckled softshell turtle, and Swinhoe's softshell turtle, is an extremely rare species of turtle in the family Trionychidae. It may be the largest living freshwater turtle in the world. The species is native to eastern and southern China and northern Vietnam. With a known population of only two or three individuals, and with the last known females dying out, this species is considered functionally extinct.
The Hoàn Kiếm turtle, also Rafetus leloii, was an obsolete or controversial taxon of turtle from Southeast Asia, based on specimens from Hoàn Kiếm Lake in Hanoi, Vietnam. Most experts classify this turtle as synonymous with the rare Yangtze giant softshell turtle, although some Vietnamese biologists asserted that R. leloii is a distinct species. If the two taxa are to be considered distinct, R. leloii may be considered extinct.
Phú Xuân (富春) was the historic capital of the Nguyễn lords, the Tây Sơn dynasty, and later became the Nguyễn dynasty's capital.
Turtle Tower, also called Tortoise Tower, is a small tower in the middle of Hoan Kiem Lake in central Hanoi, Vietnam. It is one of the most iconic, symbolic and most recognizable pieces of architecture representing Hanoi and the entirety of Vietnam.
Thuận Hóa was a historic territory in central Vietnam. It consisted of the modern provinces of Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị, and Thừa Thiên–Huế.
Dream memoir of Southern Man is a memoir written by Vietnamese official Hồ Nguyên Trừng during his exile in Ming dynasty in the early 15th century.
Thánh Gióng, also known as Phù Đổng Thiên Vương, Sóc Thiên Vương, Ông Gióng and Xung Thiên Thần Vương is a mythical folk hero of Vietnam's history and one of The Four Immortals. According to the legend, Gióng was a boy who rode on an iron horse and won against the enemy of the state. The most well known version of the legend had him battle against the Chinese army, thus, he is considered the first anti-invasion hero of the Vietnamese. Some researchers believe he is the Vietnamese version of Vaiśravaṇa.
Vietnamese mythology comprises folklore, national myths, legends, or fairy tales from the Vietnamese people with aspects of folk religion in Vietnam. Vietnamese folklore and oral traditions may have also been influenced by historical contact with neighbouring Tai-speaking populations, other Austroasiatic-speaking peoples, as well as with people from the region now known as Greater China.
The Lam Sơn uprising was a Vietnamese rebellion led by Lê Lợi in the province of Jiaozhi from 1418 to 1427 against the rule of Ming China. The success of the rebellion led to the establishment of the Later Lê dynasty by Lê Lợi in Đại Việt.
The Lê–Mạc War was a 59 year-long civil war waged between two Vietnamese dynasties, the Mạc and Revival Lê, during the Southern and Northern Dynasties period of Vietnamese history.
The abdication of Bảo Đại took place on 25 August 1945 and marked the end of the 143-year reign of the Nguyễn dynasty over Vietnam ending the Vietnamese monarchy. Emperor Bảo Đại abdicated in response to the August Revolution. A ceremony was held handing power over to the newly established Democratic Republic of Vietnam, which was established during the end of World War II in Asia as Vietnam had been occupied by French and later Japanese imperialists.
Kim Quy or Thanh Giang sứ giả is a mythical golden turtle god appearing in several Vietnamese legends.
