Western Han

The first Han dynasty of China, founded in 206 BCE and ending in 9 CE when Wang Mang established the Xin dynasty. Its capital was Chang'an.

Emperor Wu of Han: The Han emperor who ruled from 141 to 87 BCE and greatly expanded the empire and its central institutions. His reign shows the high point of Western Han expansion and imperial consolidation.
Qin dynasty: The first imperial dynasty of China, which unified the Warring States in 221 BCE and fell in 206 BCE. Qin’s collapse created the struggle from which Han rule emerged.
Sima Qian: A Han historian whose Records of the Grand Historian became a foundational work of Chinese historiography. His account preserves narratives of Han origins and the wider ancient world.
Silk Road: A network of overland routes connecting East Asia with Central Asia and regions farther west. Han diplomatic and military expansion helped open routes for sustained exchange across Central Asia.
Commandery system: An administrative system dividing territory into centrally governed commanderies and counties. It gave the court a direct administrative framework across much of the empire.
Chu–Han Contention: The civil war between Liu Bang and Xiang Yu for control of China after the Qin dynasty fell. Liu Bang’s victory established the political foundation of the Han dynasty.
Ban Gu: A Han historian and court official who began the Book of Han, a history of the former Han dynasty. His work became the dynasty’s principal historical record.
Zhang Qian: A Han envoy whose missions to Central Asia in the second century BCE expanded Chinese knowledge of the region. His journeys helped inform Western Han diplomacy and westward policy.
Han–Xiongnu War: A prolonged series of conflicts between Han China and the Xiongnu confederation, especially intense under Emperor Wu. Military pressure on the northern frontier shaped Han policy and expansion.
Emperor Gaozu of Han: The founder of the Han dynasty, born Liu Bang, who ruled from 202 to 195 BCE. His victory and early reign established Western Han institutions and legitimacy.

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Eastern HanNarrower topic: Eastern Han succeeded this earlier Han period after the Xin interregnum.