Emperor Mo of Western Xia

Emperor Mo of Western Xia (d. 1227), personal name Li Xian (Chinese: 李晛), was the tenth and last emperor of the Western Xia dynasty of China, ruling from 1226 to 1227. His reign saw the collapse of the Western Xia as forces of the Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan overran and conquered it following the defiance of earlier emperors.

Emperor Mo of Western Xia
西夏末帝
Emperor of the Western Xia dynasty
Reign1226–1227
PredecessorEmperor Xianzong
Died1227
Names
Weiming Xian (嵬名晛)[1]
Li Xian (李晛)
Era name and dates
Baoyi (寶義): 1226–1227
Posthumous name
None
Temple name
None
Emperor Mo of Xia
Chinese夏末帝
Literal meaning"Last Emperor of Xia"
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinXià Mòdì
Emperor Mozhu of Xia
Chinese夏末主
Literal meaning"Last Ruler of Xia"
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinXià Mòzhǔ
Li Xian
Chinese李晛
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinLǐ Xiàn

Reign

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He was a nephew of his predecessor Emperor Xianzong. Faced with the threat of the Mongols, Li Xian and his officials rallied around the capital Zhongxing, trying to use its large walls to hold off the Mongol cavalries. However, Zhongxing suffered from a massive earthquake, which resulted in pestilence and food shortage. In 1227, Li finally surrendered to the Mongol Empire, but the Mongols killed him and his entire family out of fear that the Western Xia would rebel again. His death marked the end of the Western Xia dynasty.

The Mongols gave the last ruler of the Western Xia the name Shidurghu (ᠱᠢᠳᠤᠷᠭᠤ), meaning "simple, right, just", and in 18th century European sources he is referred to as Schidascou or Shidaskû from his Mongolian name.

References

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  1. ^ 辞海编辑委员会 [Ci hai bian ji wei yuan hui] (2000). 辞海:1999年版缩印本 [Ci hai: 1999 nian ban suo yin ben]. Shanghai: 上海辞书出版社 [Shanghai ci shu chu ban she]. p. 2548. ISBN 7532608395. OCLC 222462793. 末主(嵬名𪾢)