Reign 1398–1400 Successor none Mother Queen Thánh Ngâu House Tran Dynasty Great-grandparent Trần Minh Tông | Predecessor Trần Thuận Tông Father Trần Thuận Tông Parents Trần Thuận Tông Grandparents Hồ Quý Ly, Trần Nghệ Tông | |
Successor Hồ Quý Ly
(Emperor of Hồ Dynasty) Died Imperial Citadel of Thăng Long, Hanoi, Vietnam People also search for Trần Thuận Tông, Trần Nghệ Tông, Hồ Quý Ly | ||
Trần Thiếu Đế (born 1396, date of death unknown), given name Trần An, was the twelfth and the last emperor of the Trần Dynasty who reigned over Đại Việt from 1398 to 1400. At the age of only three, he was chosen to succeed his father Trần Thuận Tông who was forced by Hồ Quý Ly to resign and hold the title Retired Emperor. Only two years after Thiếu Đế's coronation, Hồ Quý Ly overthrew the Emperor to establish his own dynasty, the Hồ Dynasty.
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Background
Thiếu Đế (Young Emperor) was born in 1396 as Trần An, first child of the Emperor Trần Thuận Tông, and his wife, the Queen Thánh Ngâu who was daughter of Hồ Quý Ly. On March 15 of the Lunar calendar, 1398, under pressure of Hồ Quý Ly, Thuận Tông had to cede the throne to his three-year-old son, now Trần Thiếu Đế, and held the position of retired emperor. According to Đại Việt sử kí toàn thư, actually Hồ Quý Ly wanted to overthrow Thuận Tông but before his death, the Retired Emperor Trần Nghệ Tông made Quý Ly promise him supporting the Emperor therefore Hồ Quý Ly decided to force Thuận Tông to resign before taking over the throne from the new emperor. After the coronation, Thiếu Đế changed the era name to Kiến Tân (建新, 1398–1400).
As emperor
Only one year after his resignation, Thuận Tông was killed after the order of Hồ Quý Ly. Hồ Quý Ly also issued the execution of over 370 persons who opposed his dominance in royal court including several prominent mandarins or the Emperor's relatives with their families, such as Trần Khát Chân, Trần Hãng, Phạm Khả Vĩnh or Lương Nguyên Bưu. In June 1399, Hồ Quý Ly took another step when he self-entitled Quốc Tổ Chương Hoàng (King Chương Father of the Nation) and began to use ceremonials which were reserved exclusively for the Emperor. Profiting the chaotic situation in royal court, Nguyễn Nhữ Cái gathered thousands of people to rise a revolt against Trần's rulers in the northwestern region. This revolt was put down in December by the troops of general Nguyễn Bằng Cử.
Ultimately, the end of the Trần Dynasty was tolled on February 28 of the Lunar calendar, 1400 when Hồ Quý Ly decided to overthrow Thiếu Đế and established a new dynasty, the Hồ Dynasty. Being Hồ Quý Ly's own grandson, Thiếu Đế was only downgraded to Prince Bảo Ninh instead of being killed like his father.