Country history · Asia

History of Vietnam

43 recorded states lay in what is now Vietnam, from Van Lang (700 BCE) to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. 4 of them have a full profile, and 9 outside powers ruled here.

ProfileState (capital or seat)12 without a known seat not shownOpen in the atlas →

Profiles

Empires that ruled here

Timeline

8th century BCE

  1. Van Lang700 BCE – 258 BCE · chiefdom

3rd century BCE

  1. Au Lac257 BCE – 179 BCE · kingdom
  2. Nanyue204 BCE – 111 BCE · kingdom

1st century

  1. Funan50 CE – 627 CE · kingdom

2nd century

  1. Champa192 CE – 1832 CE · kingdom

6th century

  1. Early Ly dynasty544 CE – 602 CE · kingdom
  2. Chenla550 CE – 802 CE · kingdom

7th century

  1. Protectorate General to Pacify the South679 CE – 866 CE · protectorate

8th century

  1. Water Chenla707 CE – 802 CE · kingdom

9th century

  1. Tinh Hai Circuit866 CE – 938 CE · other

10th century

  1. Southern Han917 CE – 971 CE · kingdom
  2. Ngo dynasty939 CE – 965 CE · kingdom
  3. Dinh dynasty968 CE – 980 CE · kingdom
  4. Early Le dynasty980 CE – 1009 CE · kingdom

11th century

  1. Ly dynasty1009 CE – 1225 CE · kingdom

13th century

  1. Tran dynasty1225 CE – 1400 CE · kingdom

15th century

  1. Ho dynasty1400 CE – 1407 CE · kingdom
  2. Jiaozhi Province (Ming)1407 CE – 1427 CE · other
  3. Later Tran dynasty1407 CE – 1414 CE · kingdom
  4. Later Le dynasty1428 CE – 1789 CE · profile

16th century

  1. Mac dynasty1527 CE – 1592 CE · kingdom
  2. Trinh lords1545 CE – 1787 CE · other
  3. Nguyen lords1558 CE – 1777 CE · other
  4. Mac rule in Cao Bang1593 CE – 1677 CE · kingdom

18th century

  1. Ha Tien Principality1707 CE – 1832 CE · principality
  2. Tay Son dynasty1778 CE – 1802 CE · kingdom

19th century

  1. Nguyen dynasty1802 CE – 1945 CE · profile
  2. French Cochinchina1862 CE – 1949 CE · colony
  3. French protectorate of Annam1883 CE – 1945 CE · protectorate
  4. French protectorate of Tonkin1884 CE – 1945 CE · protectorate
  5. French Indochina1887 CE – 1954 CE · profile
  6. Kingdom of Sedang1888 CE – 1890 CE · kingdom

20th century

  1. Democratic Republic of Vietnam1945 CE – 1976 CE · republic
  2. Empire of Vietnam1945 CE – 1945 CE · other
  3. Autonomous Republic of Cochinchina1946 CE – 1948 CE · republic
  4. Nung Autonomous Territory1947 CE – 1954 CE · other
  5. Provisional Central Government of Vietnam1948 CE – 1949 CE · other
  6. Tai Federation1948 CE – 1954 CE · other
  7. State of Vietnam1949 CE – 1955 CE · other
  8. Crown Domain of the Nguyen Dynasty1950 CE – 1955 CE · other
  9. Republic of Vietnam1955 CE – 1975 CE · republic
  10. Republic of South Vietnam1969 CE – 1976 CE · republic
  11. Socialist Republic of Vietnam1976 CE – present · profile

In the encyclopedia

Shared histories

States that also lay in other present-day countries:

States of Mainland Southeast Asia → States of China, Tibet and Mongolia → All country histories →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). History of Vietnam. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/countries/vietnam
MLA
“History of Vietnam.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/countries/vietnam. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “History of Vietnam.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/countries/vietnam.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘History of Vietnam’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/countries/vietnam (Accessed: ).