World History: AD 40s

AD 40–43 · Southeast Asia · War

Trưng sisters' rebellion

The Trưng sisters' rebellion was an uprising in the Jiaozhi province of Han dynasty between 40 CE and 43 CE. In 40 CE, the Lạc Việt leader Trưng Trắc and her sister Trưng Nhị rebelled against Chinese authorities. In 42 CE, Han China dispatched General Ma Yuan to lead an army to strike down the uprising. In 43 CE, the Han army fully suppressed the uprising and regained complete control. The Trưng sisters were captured and beheaded by the Han forces, although Vietnamese chronicles of the defeat record that the two sisters, having lost to Han forces, decided to commit suicide by jumping down the Hát Giang river, so as not to surrender to the Han.