kingdom · China, Tibet and Mongolia
Later Yan
Origins
Murong Chui, a Former Yan prince who had served Former Qin, rebelled after the Fei River defeat, proclaimed himself King of Yan in 384 and emperor in 386, with his capital at Zhongshan (modern Dingzhou, Hebei). He reconquered much of the Former Yan heartland.
Rule and society
Later Yan combined Xianbei military power with Chinese administration on the North China Plain. Murong Chui destroyed the rival Western Yan in 394. His son Murong Bao, however, led an army against the rising Northern Wei and was crushed at Canhe Slope in 395. Murong Chui died in 396 after a final campaign.
Decline and legacy
Northern Wei took Zhongshan in 397, and the court retreated to Longcheng in Liaoning. A branch under Murong De founded Southern Yan. The last emperor, the extravagant Murong Xi, was killed in 407 by Feng Ba and Gao Yun, who founded Northern Yan.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (3)
- Zhai Wei was conquered by Later Yan392 CE
- Western Yan was conquered by Later Yan394 CE
- Southern Yan split from Later Yan398 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Later Yan. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/later-yan
- MLA
- “Later Yan.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/later-yan. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Later Yan.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/later-yan.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Later Yan’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/later-yan (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻