War of the Eight Princes The War of the Eight Princes , Rebellion of the Eight Kings or Rebellion of the Eight Princes ( ) was a civil war for power among princes and dukes ( " wang " ch . " 王 " ) of the Chinese Jin Dynasty from AD 291 to AD 306 . The term stems from biographies of eight princes collected in chapter 59 of the " History of Jin Dynasty " ( " Jinshu " ) . Technically , the term " War of the Eight Princes " is somewhat of a misnomer : rather than one continuous conflict , the War of the Eight Princes saw intervals of peace interposed with short and intense periods of internecine conflict . At no point in the whole conflict were all of the eight princes on one side of the fighting ( as opposed to , for example , the Rebellion of the Seven States ) . The literal Chinese translation , Disorder of the Eight Princes , may be more appropriate in this regard . While initial conflicts were relatively minor and confined to the imperial capital of Luoyang and its surroundings , the scope of the war expanded with each new prince that entered the struggle . At its conclusion , the War devastated the Jin heartlands in northern China , and was a major cause of the Wu Hu ravaging that ended the Western Jin . The Eight Princes . While many princes participated in the conflict , the eight major players in this conflict were : Other people of note included Emperor Hui of Jin ( 晉惠帝 ) , Co - regent Yang Jun ( 楊駿 ) , Empress Dowager Yang ( 楊皇太后 ) , the Empress Jia Nanfeng ( 賈南風 ) , and the senior minister Wei Guan ( 衛瓘 ) . Background . Sima Yi , from whom the Sima clan began its rise to power , had managed to take control of Cao Wei due to the lack of a Cao nobility that had the means to contest the authority of the Sima Yi - controlled central government . In 266 , Sima Yan forced Cao Huan to abdicate and established the Jin Dynasty . Mindful of historical precedent , Sima Yan sought to bolster the power of the Sima clan by enfeoffing his uncles , cousins and sons . Big enfeoffments were entitled to an army of five thousand ; intermediate enfeoffments an army of three thousand , and small enfeoffments an army of one thousand five hundred . As time passed , these princes and dukes were also given administrative powers over their lands , and also were granted the power to levy taxes and employ central officials . Following the death of Sima Yan , i . e . Emperor Wu , in 290 , a complex power struggle began amongst the Sima clan . The new emperor , Emperor Hui , was developmentally disabled . Initially , the emperor ' s stepmother , Empress Dowager Yang , exerted the most power at court , and empowered her family , the Yang consort clan , with her father Yang Jun given the most power . The emperor ' s wife , Empress Jia Nanfeng , who was not happy with being excluded from this state of affairs , enlisted the help of Sima Wei and Sima Liang . Sima Wei ' s troops entered Luoyang unilaterally and unopposed by the central government . In 291 , Empress Jia issued an edict accusing Yang Jun of treason . Sima Wei ' s troops killed Yang Jun , the empress dowager was starved to death under house arrest , and 3000 members of the Yang clan were executed . Thus began the intervention of the princes in the affairs of the central government . 1 . Empress Jia versus the Prince of Runan , Sima Liang , 291 . Power was now in the hands of Sima Liang , the emperor ' s grand - uncle , and Wei Quan . However , Empress Jia remained unsatisfied with her lot . She thus plotted with Sima Wei , who was in control of a battalion of the imperial guards , and was himself under pressure from Sima Liang to return to his fief of Jing Province . Again issuing an imperial edict accusing Sima Liang of treason , the empress and Sima Wei killed Sima Liang ( Sima Wei ' s grand - uncle ) and Wei Quan . 2 . Empress Jia versus the Prince of Chu , Sima Wei , 291 . Immediately following the killing of Sima Liang , Sima Wei was advised to expand his power at the expense of Empress Jia . Sima Wei hesitated . Two days after Sima Liang ' s death , Empress Jia spread a rumor around Sima Wei ' s camp accusing him of forging the imperial edict that killed Sima Liang . Deserted by his followers , Sima Wei ( Empress Jia ' s brother - in - law ) was captured and executed . Empress Jia thus became the sole power at court , with members of her consort clan and trusted subordinates being promoted to high positions . The political situation from 291 to 299 was relatively stable , but rumors began to spread of Empress Jia ' s personal debauchery and tyrannical behavior , laying the seeds of discontent that would surface by the end of the decade . 3 . The Prince of Zhao , Sima Lun versus Empress Jia , 300 . The heir to the Jin Dynasty , Sima Yu , was the son of Emperor Hui and Consort Xie , and as such posed a political threat to Empress Jia . In 299 , Empress Jia convinced a drunk Sima Yu to copy a text that said , amongst other things , that Emperor Hui should abdicate in favor of Sima Yu . Empress Jia then presented the copied text to Emperor Hui , who after discussion decided to execute his son . Empress Jia desired the punishment to be carried out immediately ; but Emperor Hui decided instead to merely depose Sima Yu and keep him under house arrest for the time being . Sima Lun , at this time , was the tutor to the prince and considered a member of Empress Jia ' s inner circle . Unbeknownst to Empress Jia , however , Sima Lun was actually plotting to overthrow Empress Jia . However , his advisor Sun Xiu argued that , because of Sima Lun ' s reputed loyalty to the Empress , Sima Lun ' s actions would only lead to the accession of Sima Yu , who would then exact revenge on Sima Lun himself . Sima Lun thus decided to have Empress Jia kill Sima Yu first before acting , and thus encouraged Empress Jia to kill Sima Yu ( Sima Lun ' s great grand - nephew ) . All went according to plan and Empress Jia murdered Sima Yu . Then Sima Lun , producing an edict allegedly from Emperor Hui , arrested Empress Jia and put her under house arrest , and later forced to commit suicide in 300 . Sima Lun , again by way of forged imperial edict , first appointed himself as Grand Vizier and , in 301 , crowned himself emperor , putting Emperor Hui under house arrest . 4 . The Princes of Qi , Hejian and Chengdu ( Simas Jiong , Yong and Ying ) versus the Prince of Zhao , Sima Lun , 301 . Sima Lun ' s usurpation of the throne was hotly contested by the other princes . Three major princes allied themselves to oppose him : in Xuchang , the Prince of Qi Sima Jiong ; in Chang ' an , the Prince of Hejian Sima Yong , and in Chengdu the Prince of Chengdu Sima Ying . After a campaign lasting 60 days and with tens of thousands dead on both sides , Sima Lun ' s forces were defeated and he was himself put under house arrest , being forced to commit suicide not long after . The supporters of Sima Lun were also hunted down and exterminated . Sima Jiong reinstated Emperor Hui as the rightful ruler of Jin , and appointed himself Grand Marshal . Simas Yong and Ying were also given high positions . Sima Jiong , however , abused his position , acting as if he was himself emperor . 5 . The Princes of Hejian and Changsha ( Simas Yong and Ai ) versus the Prince of Qi , Sima Jiong , 302 . In 302 , Sima Yong , claiming that the Emperor had secretly ordered him to fight Sima Jiong ( his second cousin once removed ) , rose in rebellion and marched towards Luoyang . Sima Yong , intending to take Luoyang with as little casualties as possible , hatched a ruse against Sima Jiong . Sima Yong claimed that the Prince of Changsha , Sima Ai , was actually his contact in Luoyang . Upon hearing the news , Sima Jiong sent troops to kill Sima Ai ; however , Sima Ai escaped and fled to the imperial palace for protection . There , using both imperial guards and his own personal forces , Sima Ai fought Sima Jiong ( his second cousin ) within Luoyang itself for three days . Sima Jiong lost and was killed , and his supporters exterminated . Sima Yong was not happy about this state of affairs . He had expected Sima Ai to lose , thus allowing Sima Yong to enter Luoyang , kill Sima Jiong , replace Emperor Hui with the Prince of Chengdu , Sima Ying ( Emperor Hui ' s and Ai ' s brother and Sima Yong ' s second cousin once removed ) , and appoint himself as Prime Minister . The stage was set for another conflict . 6 . The Princes of Hejian , Chengdu and Donghai ( Simas Yong , Ying and Yue ) versus the Prince of Changsha , Sima Ai , 303 - 304 . Unhappy with Sima Ai ' s influence at court , Sima Yong attempted to assassinate Sima Ai , but his efforts were in vain . So in 303 , he allied himself with the Prince of Chengdu , Sima Ying , raised an army of 270 , 000 men and moved against Luoyang . In response , Emperor Hui appointed Sima Ai as Grand Commander and sent him to combat the rebellious princes . Sima Ai ' s armies killed tens of thousands of enemy forces , but were forced to withdraw back to Luoyang due to logistical issues . Seeing this , Minister of Works Sima Yue kidnapped and put Sima Ai ( his second cousin once removed ) under house arrest . Later , fearing the consequences should Sima Ai escape , Sima Yue sent Sima Ai to Sima Yong ( Sima Yue ' s second cousin ) , who burnt Sima Ai alive . The armies of Simas Yong and Ying entered Luoyang in triumph . Simas Yue and Yong were appointed to high posts in government , while Sima Ying was enfeoffed with an additional 20 commanderies , and designated the imperial heir . 7 . The Princes of Chengdu and Hejian ( Simas Ying and Yong ) against the Prince of Donghai ( Sima Yue ) , 304 . From his base in Ye , the Prince of Chengdu Sima Ying lived a lavish lifestyle and his ambition to become Emperor soon was apparent . Sima Yue and Emperor Hui therefore led an army of 100 , 000 against Sima Ying ( Sima Yue ' s second cousin once removed ) . However , the imperial forces were defeated at the Battle of Dangyin . Emperor Hui was captured by Sima Ying , who relocated him to Ye . Luoyang fell to the troops of Sima Yong , who decided to assist Sima Ying . Sima Yue fled back to his base in Donghai ( southeastern Shandong ) . Power was thus further consolidated under Sima Ying . Sima Ying , under the pretext of familial love , urged Sima Yue to return to the imperial court , but Sima Yue rejected his offers . 8 . The Princes of Hejian and Donghai ( Simas Yong and Yue ) versus the Prince of Chengdu ( Sima Ying ) , 304 . Sima Yue ' s brother , the Duke of Dongying Sima Teng ( Traditional Chinese : 東瀛公 司馬騰 ) rose up against Sima Ying in You Province . Enlisting the help of barbarians such as Wuhuan , he defeated Sima Ying ' s forces . With Sima Teng ' s forces menacing Ye , Sima Ying ' s forces melted away . One commander , Liu Yuan , went back to Bing Province where he declared himself King . Sima Ying fled with Emperor Hui to Luoyang , which was then occupied by Sima Yong . Sima Yong took possession of Emperor Hui ( his second cousin once removed ) , moved him to Chang ' an , and stripped Sima Ying of his position as heir . Sima Yong , now the power behind the throne , offered to share the regency with Sima Yue , an offer that was rebuffed . Sima Yong intended to send Sima Ying with a token force to garrison Ye ( thereby removing him from imperial politics ) , but these plans were disrupted when Sima Yue again rebelled against the central government . 9 . The Prince of Donghai ( Sima Yue ) versus the Prince of Hejian ( Sima Yong ) 305 . Sima Yue rebelled against Sima Yong in 305 , enlisting the help of his brothers in the North China Plain . Sima Yong attempted to deprive Sima Yue of legitimacy by officially stripping him of all titles , but in response Sima Yue claimed that he was " rescuing the Emperor from his kidnappers and returning him to Luoyang " . The forces of Sima Yong and Sima Yue met in central Henan . Although Sima Yong was initially victorious , timely reinforcements from the Prince of Fanyang , Sima Chu ( Sima Yue ' s cousin ) , mostly consisting of barbarian troops , helped turn the tide . By 306 Sima Yue had conquered Chang ' an , which his forces plundered . Sima Yong fled to Mount Taibai , while Sima Ying fled towards Ye . Sima Yue became the latest prince to dominate the imperial court , which he moved back to Luoyang . 10 . The Prince of Donghai emerges victorious , 306 - 307 . While fleeing , Sima Ying was captured and put under house arrest by Sima Chu ( to whom Sima Ying was a second cousin once removed ) . A month later , however , Sima Chu died under mysterious circumstances . Owing to the fact that Sima Ying had deep roots in Ye , the subordinates of Sima Chu murdered Sima Ying and his family , using a false edict as justification . Meanwhile , Sima Yong had taken up arms again and captured Chang ' an , but was unable to advance much further than the Guanzhong region . Both sides therefore settled down into a stalemate . Emperor Hui died under mysterious circumstances in 307 ( possibly poisoned by Sima Yue ) . The new Emperor , Emperor Huai , was a brother of the former ruler . As part of the accession rituals , Emperor Huai issued an edict ordering Sima Yong to come to court as Minister over the Masses . As Sima Yong was on his way , however , forces loyal to the Prince of Nanyang Sima Mo killed him and his family . Conclusion . While other princes still existed , the position of Sima Yue , the Prince of Donghai , was uncontestable . However , his victory was short - lived . Already by 308 the barbarian state of Han Zhao was able to conquer Xuchang in central Henan ; by 309 Sima Yue was already fighting a civil war against another minister , Gou Xi ; and by 311 Sima Yue would die amidst an empire - wide campaign , led by Emperor Huai , to exterminate him . In an eerily analogous manner to the fall of the Roman Empire on the other side of Eurasia , barbarian tribes , taking advantage of the turmoil within the Western Jin and aided by the liberal use of mercenaries by the various Princes , began establishing self - governing kingdoms within China proper . By 311 the largest barbarian state , Han Zhao , would conquer the Jin capital at Luoyang ; and by 316 , would capture the co - capital of Chang ' an as well , thus ending the Western Jin and ushering in a two - centuries - long division of China . The War of the Eight Princes severely damaged the traditional Chinese economic heartlands in the lower Yellow River . Coupled up with the subsequent barbarian invasions , this led to large - scale population and economic shifts from the North China Plain to the lower Yangtze and Sichuan Basin . It was also a major contributing factor in the Sinicization of southern China . For example , the modern inhabitants of Fujian are largely descendants of Jin refugees from Northern China ; this is reflected in the similarities that Min languages have with Old Chinese .