ABSTRACT
The Western Han dynasty lasted for ninety-three years after the death of Emperor Wu in 87 BCE. After a series of mostly young and weak emperors, a high official related to the imperial family through one of the earlier empresses seized the throne, creating a short-lived “New” dynasty. This was the Wang Mang Interregnum. Afterwards the Han royal lineage, the Liu, regained dynastic control, although the restored Han never matched the dynasty’s former glory.
