This extremely long rule of the north of modern Vietnam introduced monarchy, which the nation used from this rule all the way to 1955. This set up the basic economy of the land, including a focus on agriculture which continues to this day.
Under this period of rule, An Dương Vương expanded his empire's land.
Under this rule, the land was expanded further.
The Chinese take over Vietnam for the first time. The Chinese attempted to implement culture, but revolts slowed their progress. Nonetheless, the Vietnamese almost became one with the Chinese, losing a lot of their identity.
These two sisters ruled Vietnam briefly after the overthrowing the first Chinese rule, but were soon reconquered and executed. They are regarded as national heroes in Vietnam.
The Chinese reconquered the Vietnam land and ruled the same they did during their first rule, almost erasing Vietnamese culture.
The Lý Dynasty started after another upheaval of Chinese rule. Originally loved by their people, the Lý family fled to the mountains and ruled much like the Chinese, who the citizens disliked. The eventually took over in the Lý dynasty's footsteps.
The Tang Dynasty introduced very strict military rule over the area. Revolts were swiftly quelled and the rebels punished very severely, including one instance where the generals demanded 80,000 rebels be decapitated and flayed and then stacked into a pyramid!
The first leader of this dynasty, Dương Đình Nghệ, was respected and well-liked. His reign was short, however, as a regional warlord named Kiều Công Tiễn assassinated him. This led to a fierce battle in the area where the Vietnam natives fought Kiều Công Tiễn who was backed by the Chinese. Suprisingly, the natives won and reclaimed their land due to a genius tactic where they filled the Bạch Đằng River with poles. At high tide, boats could pass but infantry were stuck on the opposite side of the river. when the tide lowered, and ships still in the river were impaled and sunk.
Vạn Thắng Vương takes power after the battle and unified the country, bringing peace throughout the land. He saw his country as weak so he strengthened the government. When he died, he had no more surviving family and handed the torch to one of his top generals.
Lê Hoàn first ruled this dynasty. He successfully fought of an invasion by the Chinese Song dynasty. When he died in 1005, his three sons fought over the kingship. The first tried to leave the country but was executed. The second went missing and was never seen from again, and the third became king, but only briefly.
Lý Thái Tổ overthrows the Lê dynasty. His family is finally able to settle and expand the country after several decades of short dynasties. They reformed law and the strength of the economy following the reforms allowed them to maintain rule for over 2 centuries.
This dynasty restored economic stability lost near the end of the Lý dynasty. The Mongols attempt to attack the empire 3 times - two are almost successful. The third is stopped in their tracks by Trần Hưng Đạo's idea to repeat the plan of the Ngô dynasty and fill the Bạch Đằng River with poles. Again, the plan worked and the Mongols lost the battle.
Hồ Hán Thương took over after the fall of the Trần dynasty. However, he is disliked by the citizens and fails to bring order to the empire.
Seeing the government crumbling, the Chinese attack and conquer Vietnam for the final time. They destroyed almost all texts written beforehand in vernacular in an attempt to reinstate Chinese culture. After Lam Sơn uprises and conquers the land for Vietnam, he sends the enemy attackers back to China instead of killing them, a very different move than what was normal at the time.
The last of the long stretches of rule under one family in Vietnam. The empire's land greatly extended southward along the coast, beginning to resemble modern-day Vietnam. A certain ruler, Lê Thánh Tông, is recognized today as an extremely important figurehead. He instituted a wide range of reforms and greatly reduced the corruption in the government. However, he was succeeded by frail rulers who lost the power after a revolt in 1788.
This was a short period of autonomous rule. Nobody completely ruled over the country as the fall of the Lê dynasty had shattered the economy.
The Nguyễn dynasty restored order to the area. They officially named the country Vietnam as well as further increased the size of the nation. However, the last two leaders in the dynasty were widely disliked and thought to be funded by Western countries because of their sudden willingness to establish a republic.
During this 10-year span, Vietnam was a client state of Japan. A monarchy was in place but nobody took charge, leading to an intense race for power.
This was a war between the Communist North, backed by China, North Korea, and the USSR, and the Capitalist South, majorly backed by the United States and South Korea. Surprisingly enough, the North won due to their knowledge of the land and clever, although barbaric traps.
After the collapse of the Nguyễn dynasty, the country was void of a leader. This led to an intense struggle for power. The majorly communist North and majorly capitalist South became the dividing line of the two forerunners to the throne, which led to the country splitting in two to fight in a civil war.
To this day, Vietnam remains a socialist state. Their economy is one of the fastest-growing in the world, although income and gender inequality remain huge issues.
After the North conquered the Southern capital city of Saigon, ending the war, they reunified Vietnam into a socialist republic.