Emperor Xianzong of Western Xia
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| Emperor Xianzong of Western Xia 西夏獻宗 | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emperor of the Western Xia dynasty | |||||||||||||||||
| Reign | 1223–1226 | ||||||||||||||||
| Predecessor | Emperor Shenzong | ||||||||||||||||
| Successor | Emperor Mo | ||||||||||||||||
| Born | 1181 | ||||||||||||||||
| Died | 1226 (aged 44–45) | ||||||||||||||||
| Burial | Unknown, possibly the No. 161 attendant tomb of Western Xia mausoleums[1] | ||||||||||||||||
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| Father | Emperor Shenzong | ||||||||||||||||
Emperor Xianzong of Western Xia (1181–1226), born Li Dewang (Chinese: 李德旺), was the ninth and penultimate emperor of the Western Xia dynasty of China, reigning from 1223 to 1226. He was the second son of the Emperor Shenzong who had abdicated in his favor.
Reign
Emperor Xianzong inherited a weak empire as his predecessors'
Jin dynasty. However, the Jin dynasty was under a barrage of assault from the Mongol Empire
and was unable to help out Western Xia. Emperor Xianzong also changed the policy for Mongols. He decided to fight against the Mongol invaders instead of allying with them. However, the Western Xia armies were exhausted from long, incessant, and costly wars against the Jin, and were unable to repel the Mongol assaults. Xianzong died in 1226.