On This Day

Ming Dynasty Chinese military general Cao Qin stages a coup against the Tianshun Emperor

The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty.

The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of China ruled by the Han people, the majority ethnic group in China. Although the primary capital of Beijing fell in 1644 to a rebellion led by Li Zicheng (who established the short-lived Shun dynasty), numerous rump regimes ruled by remnants of the Ming imperial family, collectively called the Southern Ming, survived until 1662.

The Ming dynasty's founder, the Hongwu Emperor (r. 1368–1398), attempted to create a society of self-sufficient rural communities ordered in a rigid, immobile system that would guarantee and support a permanent class of soldiers for his dynasty: the empire's...

Historical Significance

The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty.

Events Before

  1. Fra Mauro completes his Map of the World in Venice for King Alfonso V of Portugal - largest known world map from Medieva

    Fra Mauro completes his Map of the World in Venice for King Alfonso V of Portugal - largest known world map from Medieval Europe and the first to show Africa as a free-standing continent [1]

  2. Battle of Wakefield: Duke of York is killed and his forces are soundly defeated by those of King Henry VI in northern En

    Battle of Wakefield: Duke of York is killed and his forces are soundly defeated by those of King Henry VI in northern England during the Wars of the Roses

  3. University of Basel is founded in the Swiss Confederacy

    The Old Swiss Confederacy began as a late medieval alliance between the communities of the valleys in the Central Alps, at the time part of the Holy Roman Empire, to facilitate the management of...

  4. Courtyard of the episcopal palace in Atrecht (akak Arras) has witch burnings

    Courtyard of the episcopal palace in Atrecht (akak Arras) has witch burnings

  5. Juan Ponce de León is born

    Juan Ponce de León is born

Events After

  1. Battle of Świecino [Battle of Żarnowiec]: Kingdom of Poland decisively defeats a 2,700-man army of the Teutonic Knights

    Battle of Świecino [Battle of Żarnowiec]: Kingdom of Poland decisively defeats a 2,700-man army of the Teutonic Knights near Krokowa, Poland during the Thirteen Years' War

  2. Albert VI of Habsburg lays siege to his brother Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III occupying Vienna

    Albert VI of Habsburg lays siege to his brother Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III occupying Vienna

  3. French poet Francois Villon banished from Paris

    François Villon is the best known French poet of the Late Middle Ages. He was involved in criminal behavior and had multiple encounters with law enforcement authorities.

  4. First meeting of the States General of the Netherlands

    The States General of the Netherlands‿ɣenəˈraːl] ) is the supreme bicameral legislature of the Netherlands consisting of the Senate (Dutch: Eerste Kamer) and the House of Representatives (Dutch:...

  5. Battle of Hexham: English Yorkist troops led by John Neville, Earl of Montagu defeat Lancastrian force headed by Henry B

    Battle of Hexham: English Yorkist troops led by John Neville, Earl of Montagu defeat Lancastrian force headed by Henry Beaufort, Duke of Somerset. Neville has Somerset beheaded. [1]

More from the 1460s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on August 7, 1461?
The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of China ruled by the Han people, the majority ethnic group in China. Although the primary capital of Beijing fell in 1644 to a rebellion led by Li Zicheng (who established the short-lived Shun dynasty), numerous rump regimes ruled by remnants of the Ming imperial family, collectively called the Southern Ming, survived until 1662.
Why is Ming Dynasty Chinese military general Cao Qin stages a coup against the Tians... significant?
The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty.

Explore More