Middle Ages
Tang Dynasty
- Period
- AD 623 – AD 910
- Duration
- approx. 287 years
- Greatest extent
- around AD 661
- Area (max.)
- approx. 8.7 million km²
Profile
Strength
Professional troops and militias (fubing), strong cavalry; the capital Chang'an, with about a million people, was among the largest cities in the world.
Famous figures
- Emperor Taizong
- Li Jing
- Wu Zetian
- Emperor Xuanzong
- Guo Ziyi
Wars & battles won
- Defeat of the Eastern Turks (630)
- Conquest of Goguryeo (668)
Wars & battles lost
- Battle of Talas (751)
- An Lushan Rebellion (755–763)
- Tibetans occupy Chang'an (763)
Languages
- Middle Chinese
Period and duration
Tang Dynasty — according to the map data from AD 623 to AD 910, roughly 287 years. The dates refer to the time the empire is drawn as its own territory on the world map; historians sometimes date its founding and end differently.
Greatest extent
Tang Dynasty — greatest extent around AD 661: the mapped borders then cover about 8.7 million km², roughly 5.9% of Earth's land area. The area is calculated from the border lines of the map and is therefore an approximation.
Predecessors and successors
States that ruled the same territory directly before and after:
Before (AD 622)
After
- Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms
- Later Liang Dynasty
- Qocho Kingdom
Neighbours around AD 661
The largest states in the region at the same time:
Learn more
- Open the world map in AD 661 — tap the empire for a detailed description
- Tang Dynasty on Wikipedia
- All 371 empires at a glance
Borders and dates: Cliopatria / Seshat Global History Databank (CC BY 4.0). Coastlines: Natural Earth. Text: Centaurian.