The first ruler of the Early Le Dynasty was Emperor Le Hoan. He came from the Ai region on the Ma River. He rose to prominance under the reign of Emperor Dinh Bo Linh, eventually becoming commander-in-chief of the imperial army. In 979 Emperor Dinh Bo Linh died and was succeeded by his 5-year-old son. The nation fell into confusion and disorder and Le Hoan seized control of the government in 980 as King Le Dai Hanh of the Le Dynasty. He reigned for 25 years and became famous for his many victories in battle over Vietnam's enemies.
At this time China was under the rule of the Sung Dynasty and they still had hopes of reconquering Vietnam. The chaos following Dinh Bo Linh's death seemed like the perfect time to regain their southern provinces and they launched a massive invasion against the Tonkin region of Vietnam. However, much to their surprise the Chinese were soundly defeated by Le Hoan and all of their successive incursions into Vietnamese territory were thrown back. In 981 Le Hoan finally recieved official Chinese recognition of Vietnam's independence.
With China no longer a threat, Le Hoan began plans to extend his nation to the south. He successfully invaded Champa and captured the area around modern Quang Nam. He seized the capitol and burned the Champa citadel, forcing them to move their government south to Vijaya. This proved to be important for the unique culture of modern Vietnam since due to this conquest a great deal of Cham style music and dance was adopted by the Vietnamese.
At home Le Hoan worked to strengthen the government and centralize authority and made several of his sons governors of strategic provinces. After Le Hoan's death in 1005 a great deal of sibling rivalry broke out and it was not long before the Le Dynasty was succeeded by the Ly Dynasty founded by Le Cong Uan. |
