The Dynasty with the Most Kings in Vietnamese Feudal History
The Late Le Dynasty is the dynasty with the most kings in Vietnam with a total of 26 kings. Among them, the Early Le dynasty had 10 kings (some documents mention 11 kings) and the Late Le dynasty had 16 kings.
According to the Vietnamese History Book, the 10 kings of the Early Le dynasty spanned over 6 generations including: Le Thai To, Le Thai Tong, Le Nhan Tong, Le Thanh Tong, Le Hien Tong, Le Tuc Tong, Le Uy Muc, Le Tuong Duc, Le Chieu Tong, and Le Cung Hoang. This was the period when the Le kings held absolute power, and it was the golden age of the Vietnamese feudal system. Some documents suggest that the Early Le dynasty had 11 kings. The remaining king mentioned is Le Nghi Dan who took the throne after overthrowing Le Nhan Tong. However, less than a year later, he was overthrown by the noble officials for being seen as incompetent and rebellious. He was demoted to Duke Le Duc and was not recognized as a legitimate monarch of the Late Le Dynasty in historical records.
The 16 kings of the Late Le dynasty are: Le Trang Tong, Le Trung Tong, Le Anh Tong, Le The Tong, Le Kinh Tong, Le Than Tong, Le Chan Tong, Le Huyen Tong, Le Gia Tong, Le Hy Tong, Le Du Tong, Le De Duy Phuong, Le Thuan Tong, Le Y Tong, Le Hien Tong, and Le Man De (Le Chieu Thong).
The King Who Took the Throne Twice and Married a Foreign Queen
In Vietnamese feudal history, very few kings have their books and legends mention interesting and mysterious stories about their wives and children, like Le Than Tong. Although there is not much data about this issue, it still arouses surprise and special interest, especially the foreign wives and an adopted child with “blue eyes, blonde hair” of this emperor.
He was the eldest son of King Le Kinh Tong and Lady Trinh Thi Ngoc Trinh (the second daughter of Trinh Tung). Le Than Tong ascended the throne for the first time in 1619 at the age of 12. The Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu book wrote: “The king had a high nose, a dragon face, was intelligent, well-educated, deeply strategic, proficient in literature, and admirable as a skilled king.” He ruled for 25 years, then abdicated the throne to his 13-year-old son Le Duy Huu (known as Chan Tong) and became the Supreme Emperor. However, after only six years on the throne, Le Chan Tong fell ill and passed away. The Supreme Emperor Than Tong returned to the throne for the second time. This time, he ruled until he fell ill and passed away. He held the throne for an additional 13 years.
The Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu book records: “In the year Canh Ngo 1630… the king married Vương’s daughter (Trinh Trang) named Trinh Thi Ngoc Truc and made her the queen. Before that, Ngoc Truc was married to the king’s cousin, Duke Le Tru, and gave birth to 4 children. At that time, Le Tru was imprisoned, so Vương married Ngoc Truc to the king. The mandarins Nguyen Truc and Nguyen Danh The sent many petitions, but the king refused and said, ‘It’s done, and I’ve married, what can you do about it?’ In the book “Travels to Outer Land” (Historie du Royaume de Tunquin), the French priest Alexandre de Rhodes wrote many stories about the Le – Trinh period. It includes a passage mentioning the 6th wife of King Le Than Tong, who was a Dutch concubine. Her name was Orona, the daughter of the Dutch governor in Taiwan, China. The book also records that the ruler of Outer Land sought the help of Dutch merchants who had occupied Java (Indonesia) at that time, asking for some round ships… The Dutch agreed immediately because they knew that the ruler of Outer Land needed those ships to attack the Vietnamese ruler.”
Vietnamese history books record that King Le Than Tong had 6 official wives. In addition to Orona, the Dutch concubine, King Than Tong also married 3 other wives of foreign nationalities. Among them, the second wife was from Siam (Thailand), the fourth wife was from Han (China), and the fifth wife was from Ai Lao (Laos).
400 years of ruling, 31 kings, setting the record for the most reigns in Vietnamese history
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