Prior to the abdication of Bảo Đại on 30 August 1945 in the aftermath of the August Revolution, Vietnam was ruled by a series of dynasties of either local or Chinese origin. The following is a list of major dynasties in the history of Vietnam.

Background

Naming convention

In Vietnamese historiography, dynasties are generally known to historians by the family name of the monarchs. For example, the Đinh dynasty (Nhà Đinh; ) is known as such because the ruling clan bore the family name Đinh. Similar to Chinese dynasties, Vietnamese dynasties would adopt a quốc hiệu ("name of the state") upon the establishment of the realm. However, as it was common for several dynasties to share the same official name, referring to regimes by their official name in historiography would be potentially confusing. For instance, the quốc hiệu "Đại Việt" was used by the Lý dynasty (since the reign of Lý Thánh Tông), the Trần dynasty, the Later Trần dynasty, the Later Lê dynasty, the Mạc dynasty, and the Tây Sơn dynasty. In the Vietnamese language, the word for "dynasty" may be written as either nhà or triều depending on the context. The former is generally used to denote the ruling family whereas the latter refers to the dynastic regime. For instance, the Mạc dynasty can be rendered as "Nhà Mạc" or "Mạc triều".

Origin of dynasties

Apart from over one millennium of direct Chinese rule, Vietnam was ruled by a series of "local" dynasties, although some of which could have their origins traced to China. The founder of the legendary Hồng Bàng dynasty, Lộc Tục, was recorded as a descendant of the mythical Chinese ruler Shennong. According to two historical Vietnamese texts, the Complete Annals of Đại Việt and the Imperially-commissioned Annotated Text Reflecting the Complete History of Việt, Thục Phán of the Thục dynasty was from Sichuan, China, which was previously under the rule of the ancient Chinese State of Shu. The Triệu dynasty, established by Zhao Tuo from the Chinese Qin dynasty, was considered an orthodox local regime by traditional Vietnamese historiography. However, modern Vietnamese historians generally regard the Triệu dynasty to be a foreign regime that ruled Vietnam. The founder of the Early Lý dynasty, Lý Bôn, was descended from Chinese refugees who fled Wang Mang's seizure of power in the final years of the Western Han in China. The first emperor of the Lý dynasty, Lý Công Uẩn, could have his paternal bloodline traced to modern-day Fujian, China. Lý Công Uẩn's father, Lý Thuần An, escaped to Quanzhou from Hebei after Lý Công Uẩn's grandfather, Li Song, was wrongly accused of treason and executed by the Emperor Yin of Later Han. The origin of the Trần dynasty was traced to modern Fujian, where the ancestor of the Trần imperial clan, Trần Kính, migrated from in the 11th century CE. The Later Trần dynasty was ruled by the same imperial clan as the earlier Trần dynasty. The Hồ dynasty was ruled by the Hồ family which migrated from present-day Zhejiang, China to Vietnam under the leadership of Hồ Hưng Dật during the 10th century CE. The Hồ dynasty claimed descent from the Duke Hu of Chen, the founder of the ancient Chinese State of Chen. The Duke Hu of Chen was in turn descended from the legendary Emperor Shun, who was recognized by Hồ Quý Ly as the progenitor of the Hồ imperial family. Accordingly, the Hồ dynasty adopted the official quốc hiệu "Đại Ngu" ("Great Ngu"); "Ngu" was derived from the Emperor Shun's lineage name, Youyu (有虞). Rulers of the Tây Sơn dynasty, initially surnamed Hồ, were descended from the same line as the Hồ dynasty.

Familial relations among dynasties

Several Vietnamese dynasties were related:

Champa

Champa (Chăm Pa; ) existed as an independent polity until its annexation by the Nguyễn dynasty in 1832 CE, thereby laying the foundation for the territories of the modern Vietnamese state. Most of the rulers of Champa were of Cham descent, an Austronesian ethnic group distinct from the majority Kinh ethnicity of Vietnam. There were 15 dynasties in the history of Champa. According to Chinese historical sources, Champa officially used the quốc hiệu "Lâm Ấp" from the 1st to 4th dynasties, "Hoàn Vương" during the 5th dynasty, and "Chiêm Thành" from the 6th to 15th dynasties.

List of dynasties in Vietnamese history

This list includes the various dynasties in the history of Vietnam, of both local and Chinese origins. Dynasties of China that ruled Vietnam are highlighted in orange. The Triệu dynasty is highlighted in light orange due to its disputed status.

Timeline of dynasties in Vietnamese history

Legend: