Mạc dynasty

The Mạc dynasty (Nhà Mạc/Mạc triều; Hán-Nôm: 茹莫/莫朝) (1527-1677), officially Great Việt (Đại Việt; Chữ Hán: 大越), was a Vietnamese dynasty which ruled over a unified Vietnam between 1527 and 1540, and northern Vietnam from 1540 until 1593. The Mạc dynasty lost control over the capital Đông Kinh (modern Hanoi) for the last time in its wars against the Later Lê dynasty and the Trịnh Lords in 1592. Subsequent members of the Mạc dynasty ruled over the province of Cao Bằng with the direct support of the Chinese Ming and Qing dynasties until 1677 (with members of the Mạc dynasty accepted as officials of the Later Lê dynasty from 1627). Mạc Đăng Dung The founder of the Mạc dynasty was a descendant of the famed Trần dynasty scholar Mạc Đĩnh Chi. Mạc Đăng Dung chose to enter the military and ascended the ranks to become the senior general in the Lê dynasty army. Later he seized power and ruled Vietnam from 1527 till his death in 1541. Mạc Đăng Dung, got his start as a bodyguard for Lê Uy Mục, the unpopular Lê Emperor, around 1506. Over time, despite the deaths of several emperors, Mạc Đăng Dung increased his power and gained many supporters. However, he also gained the enmity of other rivals for power. After a series of political crises that made both Lê Uy Mục and his successor Lê Tương Dực assassinated, Mạc Đăng Dung continued to gain power and rank in the military. With the enthronement of the young emperor Lê Chiêu Tông in 1516, a power struggle in the court ensued to the level of a civil war. From 1516 to 1520, the warlords of Nguyễn Hoàng Dụ and Trịnh Duy Sản, Nguyễn Kính and Trần Cao were fighting for power. Mạc Đăng Dung initially led the forces loyal to King Lê Chiêu Tông against the warlords, he eventually defeated the warlords and gained enough power to force Lê Chiêu Tông to abdicate in 1522 and install the puppet Emperor Lê Cung Hoàng to the throne. Lê Chiêu Tông fled the court with the support of the warlord Trịnh Tuy to Thanh Hóa where they fought against Mạc Đăng Dung until they were defeated and captured in 1526.