Emperor Zhongzong of Tang (656–710)
Born 656 CE, died 710 CE.
Emperor Zhongzong of Tang (26 November 656 – 3 July 710), personal name Li Xian, and at other times Li Zhe or Wu Xian, was the fourth and seventh emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, ruling briefly in 684 and again from 705 to 710. During the first period, he did not have actual power, which was in the hands of his mother Empress Wu Zetian, and he was overthrown on her orders after opposing his mother. During his second reign, most of the power was in the hands of his consort Empress Wei. Emperor Zhongzong was the son of Emperor Gaozong of Tang and Empress Wu (later known as Wu Zetian), and during the reign of his father, Emperor Zhongzong's mother Empress Wu, not Emperor Gaozong, was in actual control of power as empress consort and power behind the emperor. He succeeded his father in 684, But as emperor, he had no true power, and all authority remained in the firm hands of his mother, Empress Dowager Wu. His mother, however, deposed him less than two months later in favor of his younger brother Emperor Ruizong. The former emperor, demoted to a princely rank, was exiled to the provinces and placed under house arrest.
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