# Annan command

Annan command, Annam command, or Annan dutongshisi (simplified Chinese: 安南都统使司; traditional Chinese: 安南都統使司; pinyin: Ānnán Dūtǒngshǐsī; Vietnamese: An Nam Đô thống sứ ty), is the administrative region name of the Ming dynasty of China.
In 1527, An Hưng vương Mạc Đăng Dung, a powerful minister of the Later Lê dynasty in Đại Việt (present-day northern Vietnam), forced Lê Cung Hoàng to abdicate and established the Mạc dynasty, with the capital still in Thăng Long, and adopted Minh Đức as his era name. Nguyễn Kim, the former general of the Later Lê dynasty, fled to Lan Xang (Ai Lao) with his family after Mạc Đăng Dung's usurpation. He then recruited soldiers in an attempt to restore the Lê dynasty.
In an effort to resist the remaining forces of the Lê dynasty, Mạc Đăng Dung and dozens of officials surrendered to Ming officials on 30 November 1540. They bound themselves and knelt down as they entered the Zhennan Pass, requesting to cede land. As a result, the Ming dynasty demoted the kingdom of Annan (An Nam quốc) to the position of Annan command.

## History

In 1532, Nguyễn Kim discovered Lê Chiêu Tông's young son, Lê Ninh, in Ai Lao and declared him emperor, known as Lê Trang Tông. This sparked a tumultuous situation in Đại Việt as the Revival Lê dynasty in the south clashed with the Mạc dynasty in the north.
At the end of 1529, Mạc Đăng Dung abdicated the throne to his son, Mạc Đăng Doanh. In January of the following year, Đăng Doanh officially ascended the throne and became known as Mạc Thái Tông, changing the era name to Đại Chính. Đăng Dung declared himself as the retired emperor. In 1537, Lê Trang Tông sent envoys to Beijing to accuse the Mạc family of usurping the throne and requested the Ming dynasty to attack them.
In the year following, the Jiajing Emperor appointed Qiu Luan as the commander-in-chief and Mao Bowen as the military advisor. Together, they stationed troops at the southern border and made preparations to attack the Mạc dynasty. Due to the overwhelming presence of the Ming army, Mạc Đăng Dung was forced to send envoys to the Zhennan Pass in March 1539, surrendering and offering the land and household registers of Annan to the Ming dynasty.
On 30 November 1540, Mạc Đăng Dung and dozens of officials surrendered to Ming officials at the Zhennan Pass, binding themselves and kneeling down as a sign of submission. This event marked the Ming dynasty's decision to demote Annan from a vassal state (國; guo; quốc) to a subordinate territory (都統使司; dutongshisi; Đô thống sứ ty). The thirteen provinces (đạo) of the (Lê) Mạc dynasty were renamed as thirteen pacification commissions (宣撫司; xuanfusi; Tuyên phủ ty), each with a pacification commissioner (宣撫使; xuanfushi; Tuyên phủ sứ), pacification associate commissioner (同知; tongzhi; Đồng tri), pacification vice commissioner (副使; fushi; Phó sứ), and pacification assistant commissioner (僉事; qianshi; Thiêm sự), all under the authority of the commandant (都統; dutong; Đô thống).
Mạc Đăng Dung was appointed as the Commandant of Annan with a second-class hereditary rank and was required to pay tribute every three years. This was seen as a symbolic return of Đại Việt to Chinese territory. However, Mạc Đăng Dung showed no concern and continued to refer to himself as the commandant to the Ming dynasty and as the emperor to his own people. As a result, he was often criticized by Vietnamese historians as a traitor.
In 1592, the southern (Lê-Trịnh) army captured Thăng Long, leading to the revival of the Lê dynasty. Lê Thế Tông sent envoys to the Ming court, requesting the restoration of the previous title of "King of Annan". However, due to the unstable situation, the Ming court only granted the temporary title of "Commandant of Annan".
From then until the fall of the Ming dynasty, Đại Việt remained as an autonomous administrative unit within the Ming Empire. In addition, the Ming dynasty also ordered the Lê dynasty to cede Cao Bằng and Thái Nguyên to the descendants of the Mạc family.
Despite the reluctance of the Lê dynasty's rulers and officials, they had no choice but to allow the Mạc family to control Cao Bằng. The Mạc family ruled over Cao Bằng for five generations until 1677 when the Trịnh lord attacked and conquered it, using the Mạc family's alliance with the traitor Wu Sangui as justification.
The title of "Commandant of Annan" (安南都統使; An Nam Đô thống sứ) has been inherited until the end of the Ming dynasty, when the Southern Ming emperors restored the title of "King of Annan" (安南國王; An Nam Quốc vương) for the emperors of the Lê dynasty.