Emperor He of Han (79–106)
Born 79 CE, died 106 CE.
Emperor He of Han (Chinese: 漢和帝; pinyin: Hàn Hédì; Wade–Giles: Han Ho-ti; 79 – 13 February 106) was an emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty who ruled from 88 to 106. He was the 4th emperor of the Eastern Han, and the 20th emperor of the Han dynasty. Emperor He was a son of Emperor Zhang and, the then Empress Dou. He ascended the throne at the age of nine and ruled for 17 years. It was during Emperor He's reign that the Eastern Han dynasty began its decline. Strife between consort clans and eunuchs began when Empress Dowager Dou (Emperor He's adoptive mother) made her own family members important government officials. Her family was corrupt and intolerant of dissension. In 92, Emperor He was able to fix the situation by removing the empress dowager's brothers with the aid of the eunuch Zheng Zhong and his half-brother Liu Qing the Prince of Qinghe. This in turn created a precedent for eunuchs to be involved in important affairs of state. The trend would continue to escalate for the next century, contributing to the eventual end of the Han dynasty in 220.
Text from the Wikipedia article Emperor_He_of_Han, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.