page_title: An Lushan Rebellion
section_title: Implosion of Yan Dynasty and end of the rebellion
hierarchical_section_title: An Lushan Rebellion / Course of the rebellion / Implosion of Yan Dynasty and end of the rebellion
caption_attribution_description: English: Tang Dynasty figure.
context_page_description: The An Lushan Rebellion was an armed conflict between the Tang dynasty of China and various regional powers. The rebellion's overt phase began on 16 December 755, when general An Lushan mobilized his army and marched to Fanyang, and ended when his Yan dynasty fell on 17 February 763. This event is also known as the An–Shi Rebellion or An–Shi Disturbances, as it continued after An Lushan's death under his son An Qingxu and his deputy and successor Shi Siming, or as the Tianbao Rebellion, as it began in the 14th year of that era.
  The rebellion spanned the reigns of three Tang emperors against the rival Yan Dynasty before it was finally quashed. Besides the Tang dynasty loyalists, others involved were anti-Tang forces, especially those in An Lushan's base area in Hebei and Sogdian forces or influences, among others. The rebellion and subsequent disorder resulted in a huge loss of life and large-scale destruction. It significantly weakened the Tang dynasty and led to the loss of the Western Regions. The Tang dynasty hired 4,000 mercenaries from Abbasid territories and the Uyghur Khaganate intervened for the Tang dynasty against An Lushan.
context_section_description: The imperial forces were helped by internal dissent in the newly formed dynasty. An Lushan was betrayed and killed by his son, An Qingxu, in January 29 (his father's violent paranoia posed too much of a threat to his entourage). His son was then killed by a subordinate, General Shi Siming, Lushan's childhood friend and follower, on April 10. Shi recaptured the city of Luoyang soon after. However, on 18 April 759, Shi Siming was killed by his son, Shi Chaoyi, who then promptly proclaimed himself emperor, although he failed to get widespread support from the other Yan generals.
  In 762 Emperor Suzong had become seriously ill. The combined forces of the Tang and their Huige allies were led by the eldest son of Suzong. This son was at first named Li Chu, then renamed Li Yu in 758, after being named crown prince; eventually he was renamed again as Emperor Daizong of Tang, on 18 May 762. In the period before his final victories over the rebel troops he was also confronted with a wide variety of threats; for example, the port of Canton was pillaged in 758 by sea-borne Arab and Persian forces, probably pirates based out of Hainan. There was also a massacre of Arab and Persian merchants in the Yangzhou massacre (760). However, by this time it was clear that the new Yan Dynasty would not last long, and Yan officers and soldiers began to defect to the Tang side. Finally, the eastern capital Luoyang was taken by Tang forces for the second time, in the winter of 762. Yan Emperor Shi Chaoyi attempted to flee, but was intercepted in the spring of 763 by. Shi Chaoyi chose suicide to avoid capture. He died on 17 February (or January 19 ) 756, thus ending the eight-year-long rebellion.
  However, the end of the rebellion was only part of a long process of rebuilding and recovery for the Tang. In part due to the weakened condition of the Tang, other disturbances continued to evolve. The Tibetan Empire under Trisong Detsän, taking advantage of the Tang's weakness during the rebellion, had reconquered much of their Central Asian territories, even going so far as to take the city of Chang'an on 18 November 763 before withdrawing its forces back to their empire.
caption: Tang dynasty – mounted archer in the act of shooting
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