Jiankang was the capital city of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317–420 CE) and Southern Dynasties

Southern dynasties

The Southern dynasties comprise the Liu Song, Southern Qi, Liang Dynasty and Chen Dynasty, whose capital were at Jiankang , and Emperor Yuan of Liang, as well as the later Western Liang emperors , also set their...

. Its walls are extant ruins in the modern municipal region

Prefecture-level city

A prefectural level city , prefectural city or prefectural level municipality is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China, ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure. Prefectural level cities form the second level of the administrative...

 of Nanjing

Nanjing

' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...

.

History

Before the Eastern Jin the city was known as Jianye (建業 Jiànyè), and the capital of the kingdom of Wu

Eastern Wu

Eastern Wu, also known as Sun Wu, was one the three states competing for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period after the fall of the Han Dynasty. It was based in the Jiangnan region of China...

 during the Three Kingdoms period. Renamed Jiankang in 313 CE, it served as the capital of the Eastern Jin and Southern Dynasties

Southern dynasties

The Southern dynasties comprise the Liu Song, Southern Qi, Liang Dynasty and Chen Dynasty, whose capital were at Jiankang , and Emperor Yuan of Liang, as well as the later Western Liang emperors , also set their...

. It rivaled Luoyang

Luoyang

Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...

 in terms of population and commerce and at its height in the sixth century was home to around one million people. During the rebellion of Hou Jing

Hou Jing

Hou Jing , courtesy name Wanjing , was a general for the Chinese states Northern Wei, Eastern Wei, and Liang Dynasty, and briefly, after controlling the Liang imperial regime for several years, usurped the Liang throne, establishing a state of Han...

, Jiankang was captured in 549 CE after a year-long siege that devastated the city, with most of the population killed or starved to death. During the Sui Dynasty

Sui Dynasty

The Sui Dynasty was a powerful, but short-lived Imperial Chinese dynasty. Preceded by the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it ended nearly four centuries of division between rival regimes. It was followed by the Tang Dynasty....

 national reunification it was completely destroyed. At the time of the Tang Dynasty

Tang Dynasty

The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...

 it was rebuilt and given the name Jinling (金陵). By the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms was between 907–960/979 AD and an era of political upheaval in China, between the fall of the Tang Dynasty and the founding of the Song Dynasty. During this period, five dynasties quickly succeeded one another in the north, and more than 12 independent states were...

 it was called Jiangning (江寧); in the Southern Song Dynasty

Song Dynasty

The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...

 the name of Jiankang was revived. Eventually it was renamed Nanjing (南京) during the Ming Dynasty

Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...

.

The Tang historian Xu Song

Xu Song

Xu Song , an independent musician in pop music in China. He was born in Hefei, Anhui Province, in 1986. His English name is Vae.- In 2006 :...

 (许嵩, Xǔ Sōng), in his work Jiankang Shilu (建康实录, Jiànkāng Shílù), coined the term "Six Dynasties

Six Dynasties

Six Dynasties is a collective noun for six Chinese dynasties during the periods of the Three Kingdoms , Jin Dynasty , and Southern and Northern Dynasties ....

" as a mnemonic to mark the various regimes which had centred their power on the site :

• Eastern Wu
  Eastern Wu
  Eastern Wu, also known as Sun Wu, was one the three states competing for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period after the fall of the Han Dynasty. It was based in the Jiangnan region of China...
  
   (222–280 CE)
• Eastern Jin Dynasty (317–420 CE)
• Liu-Song Dynasty (420–479 CE)
• Qi Dynasty
  Qi Dynasty
  Qi Dynasty can refer to one of two dynasties in the Southern and Northern Dynasties period of Chinese history:* Southern Qi, ruled by the Xiao family from 479 to 502* Northern Qi, ruled by the Gao family from 550 to 577...
  
   (479–502 CE)
• Liang Dynasty
  Liang Dynasty
  The Liang Dynasty , also known as the Southern Liang Dynasty , was the third of the Southern dynasties in China and was followed by the Chen Dynasty...
  
   (502–557 CE)
• Chen Dynasty
  Chen Dynasty
  The Chen Dynasty , also known as the Southern Chen Dynasty, was the fourth and last of the Southern dynasties in China, eventually destroyed by the Sui Dynasty....
  
  (557–589 CE)