An Lushan rebellion: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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===General An Lushan===

[[File:Tang Dynasty sancai pottery camel and man.JPG|thumb|Tang Dynasty sancai pottery camel and man]]

An Lushan was a general of uncertain birth origin, but thought to have been adopted by a [[Sogdiana|Sogdian]] father and [[Ashina|Tujue]] mother;<ref>Beckwith, 145, note 19</ref> eventually, he managed to become a favorite of the reigning Emperor of China: his success in this regard shown, for example, by the luxurious house which Emperor Xuanzong had built for him in Chang'an, in 751, furnished with such things as gold and silver objects and a pair of ten foot long by six foot wide couches appliqued with rare and expensive sandalwood.<ref>Schafer, 137</ref> He was appointed by [[Emperor Xuanzong of Tang|Emperor Xuanzong]] (following the suggestion of Xuanzong's favourite concubine [[Yang Guifei]] and with the agreement of [[Li Linfu]]) to be [[Jiedushi|commander]] (节度使) of three garrisons in the north—[[Pinglu District|Pinglu]], [[Fanyang]] and [[Hedong Commandery|Hedong]]. In effect, An was given control over the entire area north of the lower reaches of the [[Yellow River]], giving him power and land in his control that included garrisons about 164,000 strong). He took advantage of various circumstances, such as the synchronous Sogdian-involved [[Umayyad Dynasty#Insurrection|Abbasid Rebellion]] against the [[Umayyad Dynasty]],<ref name="beckwith2">Beckwith, 146</ref> and eventually including the absence of strong troops guarding the palace and of popular discontent with an extravagant Tang court coupled with a string of natural disasters. He was a favorite in the Tang court, even calling himself the adopted son of Yang Guifei. He was thus protected from criticism, even when her relative the Chief Minister, [[Yang Guozhong]], demanded his dismissal.

==Course of the rebellion==