Ninh Binh （宁平）is a small town about 100km south of Hanoi, which is surrounded by a number of lesser known interesting sites.
Hoa Lu was the capital of Vietnam during the Dinh (968-80) and early Le (980-1009) dynasties. The site was a smart choice for a capital city because of the natural protection afforded by the region's bizarre landscape. The ancient citadel of Hoa Lu most of which has been destroyed, covered an area of about 3 sq km. The outre ramparts encompassed temples, shrines and the king's palace. The royal family lived in the inner citadel.
Yen Ngua Mountain provides a scenic backdrop for Hoa Lu's two remaining temples. Dinh Tien Hoang, was restored in the 17th century and is dedicated to the Dinh dynasty.
Dinh Tien Hoang, growing up in a local village, Đinh Bộ Lĩnh became a local military leader. From this anarchic era, the first independent Vietnam emerged. Faced once more with the threat of a powerful China, Đinh Bộ Lĩnh tried to find ways to reunify the country. Upon the death of the last Ngô king in 963, he seized power and founded the new kingdom in his home province, Hoa Lư. To consolidate his legitimacy, he married a member of the Ngô family.
At first, Đinh Bộ Lĩnh had been careful to avoid antagonizing the Southern Han Empire. But in 966 he adopted the title of Emperor (Hoàng Đế) and declared his independence from Chinese rule. Under the name of Đinh Tiên Hoàng, he founded the Đinh Dynasty and called his kingdom Đại Cồ Việt. Well aware of the new Chinese Song Dynasty's military might, Đinh Bộ Lĩnh obtained a non-aggression treaty of the country's independence in exchange for tributes payable to the Chinese every three years. This arrangement with China was carried out until the 19th century and the advent of French colonization.
In 972, however, he pacified the new Song Dynasty by sending a tribute mission to demonstrate his fealty to the Chinese Emperor. Emperor Taizu of Song, who was ruling China, subsequently recognized the Vietnamese ruler as Giao Chỉ Quận Vương (Head of Giao Chỉ District).
Đinh Bộ Lĩnh energetically reformed the administration and the armed forces to strengthen the foundation of the new Vietnamese state. He established a royal court and a hierarchy of civil and military servants. He instated a rigorous justice system and introduced the death penalty to serve as a deterrent to all who threatened the new order in the kingdom.
However, Đinh Bộ Lĩnh's reign did not last long. In 980 a palace guard killed both Đinh Bộ Lĩnh and his eldest son Đinh Liễn in their sleep. He was succeeded by his six-year old son. In the meantime, the Chinese Emperor wanted to take advantage of the young king by sending an army to attack Đại Cồ Việt.
In this crisis, Lê Hoàn, a general in Đinh Bộ Lĩnh's army, dispossessed the child of Đinh, killed all of his opponents in the court, and entered into illicit relations with the Queen Mother. Lê Hoàn proclaimed himself King, and founded the Prior Lê Dynasty.
Đinh Bộ Lĩnh is also known by his posthumous name Đinh Tiên Hoàng (丁先皇).
丁部領（Đinh Bộ Lĩnh）是越南封建朝代丁朝的締造者，傑出的軍事領袖，後世尊稱為丁先皇（Đinh Tiên Hoàng）。
丁部領（或稱「丁桓」）[1]，其父丁公著乃交趾統治者楊廷藝的牙將，丁部領成年後承襲其位，成為華閭洞的一方主宰。951年吳昌岌、吳昌文兄弟征伐丁部領根據地華閭洞，圍攻一個月未克，只好退兵。之後丁部領攻伐不服其統治之叔父丁預，其叔父畏懼而投降歸順，於是丁部領勢力進一步增強。965年丁部領同十二使君之一的陳覽聯合，陳覽收其為養子，並將兵權與部屬交其統領管轄（「部領」之名因此而來），陳覽逝世後取而代之成為割據越南北部和中部的十二使君之一。
當丁部領擊潰其他十一位使君並統一交趾的割據勢力後，968年建立大瞿越國，兩年後制定年號太平，定都華閭（今寧平省寧平市），尊號大勝明皇帝，冊封其嫡長子丁璉為南越王，隨後派遣丁璉為使者攜帶方物向中國北宋皇朝請封。975年宋太祖封丁部領為「安南都護」、「檢校太尉」、「交趾郡王」，將越南視為「列藩」。但979年丁朝因皇位繼承問題發生了宮廷政變。起因是丁部領寵愛一名妃子，其寵妃生下一子取名丁項郎。丁部領大為喜悅，並冊立丁項郎為皇太子，卻因此和原本該為皇太子的丁璉發生衝突。丁璉憤恨之下派人刺殺丁項郎，結果丁部領和丁璉之間就此起了嫌隙。後來竟在某事件中，丁部領和丁璉同時被宮廷侍衛杜釋逆弒。杜釋原為桐關吏，野心很大，企圖篡奪皇位。於是在某天晚上，杜釋乘丁部領「夜宴醉臥廷中，遂弒之，害及南越王璉。」而後定國公阮匐誅殺杜釋，立丁部領年僅六歲的嫡次子丁璿為帝，並將丁部領遺體葬於華閭山陵（後改名為長安山陵），追崇諡號為先皇帝，丁部領遂稱丁先皇。但執掌丁朝兵權的十道將軍黎桓，卻趁此跟丁璿的生母楊雲娥太后私通，並逐漸奪此朝政而自稱副王（副皇帝），獨攬大權。
980年黎桓篡位，建立前黎朝，丁朝滅亡。
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The second temples, Le Dai Hanh commemorates the rulers of the early Le Dynasty.
Lê Hoàn (941–1005; Hán tự: 黎桓), posthumous name Lê Đại Hành, was a king of Vietnam under the Anterior Lê Dynasty. He was the commander in chief of the armies of Emperor Đinh Bộ Lĩnh, but also had an illicit relationship with the Empress Dowager, dethroned Đinh Bộ Lĩnh’s heir and proclaimed himself king in 980. He retained the capital in Hoa Lư and succeeded in warding off several Chinese invasions by the Song Court, but continued paying them tributes every three years in exchange for a peaceful relations.
Lê Đại Hành’s reign marked the first attempt to consolidate the Vietnamese nation. He devoted a great deal of energy to developing the road network in order to better administer the country’s different regions. However, the local forces were still reluctant to toe the line to the central authority and mounted a succession of revolts.
Lê Hoàn’s 25 year reign was marked by foreign wars. The Song Dynasty in China had hoped to take advantage of the instability in Vietnam by launching an invasion of its ex-dependency, but Lê Hoàn defeated the Chinese armies in 981 (see: Battle of Bạch Đằng (981)) and obtained official Chinese recognition of Vietnamese independence.
On the domestic scene, the reign of Lê Hoàn was marked by efforts to strengthen the fragile structure of the infant Vietnamese state. He relied to a considerable degree on his sons, several of whom he appointed as governors of key provinces. Lê Hoàn died in 1005, leading to a fratricidal strife among his heirs. The victor himself died two years later, leaving an infant son as successor. Through intrigues at court, a mandarin by the name of Lê Công Uẩn was placed on the throne and founded a new Lý Dynasty.
In 1005, after 24 years of difficult rule, Lê Đại Hành died. The Tiền Lê dynasty eventually collapsed after the death of one of Lê Đại Hành’s heirs in 1009.
His successor, Lê Trung Tông, neglected to give him a posthumous name in accordance with other East Asian royalties. He is thus known by the default name, Lê Đại Hành (黎大行, literally "Lê The Departed").
黎桓（Lê Hoàn）是越南前黎朝的開國君主，由於即位時稱號（也是歿後諡號）大行皇帝，後世對他稱呼作黎大行（Lê Đại Hành）。
黎桓的先祖來自現在中國廣西的桂林市陽朔縣，他原任丁朝軍隊的最高統帥十道將軍。979年因丁朝開國君主丁部領與其子丁璉同時遭到宮廷侍衛杜釋行刺身亡，繼任君主丁璿年幼無法處理朝政，黎桓趁此跟丁部領遺孀楊雲娥太后私通並逐漸奪權。丁朝舊臣定國公阮匐、外甲丁佃、范盍等人不滿黎桓的逾越行徑而起兵反抗，結果被掌握朝廷兵力優勢的黎桓一一擊敗並消滅其反對勢力。980年黎桓被朝臣擁立為皇帝，建立前黎朝，稱號大行皇帝，尊號明乾應運神武昇平至仁廣孝皇帝。中國宋朝聞訊丁朝君主被權臣篡位，起兵南下征討，卻慘遭越南軍隊的伏擊而潰敗。之後黎桓為求宋冊封，與宋通好。993年宋封其為「交趾郡王」。997年又加封其為「南平王」，承認前黎朝政權。
982年黎桓起兵親征占城，攻陷其王都，迫使占城稱臣納貢。對內實行軍事統治，嚴刑峻法。開鑿運河，發展經濟。分封其十一子為王，鎮守各地，以鞏固統治。1002年改全國十道為路、州、府。但因諸王間的內爭、地方強豪的爭鬥和山區酋長的反叛頻繁，農民起義與少數民族的反抗不斷爆發，國勢不穩，黎桓遂進行殘酷鎮壓。率軍平定少數民族芒人河蠻洞（今清化省石城縣）等四十九洞，並剿平各地。1005年逝世，享壽六十四歲，葬德陵。
但黎桓逝世後數年，大將李公蘊被擁立為帝，創建李朝，前黎朝遂亡。越南和中國史料記載：「黎桓性本凶狠」，黎桓及其後代均為貪酒好淫之徒。就黎桓本人來說，後宮美女成群，其生活極為糜爛，揮金如土，肉林酒池。黎桓有十一子，各被封為東城王、南封王、開明王、中國王……等。黎桓晚年，諸子爭位十分激烈，尤其以東城王黎龍錫和開明王黎龍鋌爭奪王位最為突出。南封王黎龍鉞為黎桓第三子，最為寵愛，黎桓臨終時命其繼承皇位。但黎龍鉞即位後僅三日，竟被黎龍鋌所殺。
我不喜欢历史，但却无法避开它。没有它，就没有今天的我。今天的国家，是从多少年来的斗争所得，但历史的前鉴是否让人改进呢？
