Sima Lun (before 249 exclusive - poison

Poison

In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....

ed June 5, 301), courtesy name Ziyi (子彛), was titled the Prince

Prince

Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...

 of Zhao

Zhao (state)

Zhao was a significant Chinese state during the Warring States Period, along with six others...

 (pinyin

Pinyin

Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...

: zhào wáng, simplified Chinese: 赵王, traditional Chinese: 趙王) and the usurper of the Jin Dynasty

Jìn Dynasty (265-420)

The Jìn Dynasty , was a dynasty in Chinese history, lasting between the years 265 and 420 AD. There are two main divisions in the history of the Dynasty, the first being Western Jin and the second Eastern Jin...

 from February 3 to May 30, 301. He is usually not counted in the list of Jin emperors due to his brief reign, and was often mentioned by historians as an example of a wicked usurper. He was the third of the eight princes commonly associated with the War of the Eight Princes

War of the Eight Princes

The War of the Eight Princes or Rebellion of the Eight Kings or Rebellion of the Eight Princes was a civil war for power among princes and dukes of the Chinese Jin Dynasty from AD 291 to AD 306. It was fought mostly in northern China and devastated the country, later triggering the Wu Hu ravaging...

.

Early career

As Sima Yi

Sima Yi

Sima Yi was a general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He is perhaps best known for defending Wei from Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions...

's youngest son, Sima Lun had a number of minor titles during the Cao Wei

Cao Wei

Cao Wei was one of the states that competed for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period. With the capital at Luoyang, the state was established by Cao Pi in 220, based upon the foundations that his father Cao Cao laid...

 regencies of his brothers Sima Shi

Sima Shi

Sima Shi , style name Ziyuan , was a military general and regent of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. In 249, he assisted his father Sima Yi in overthrowing the emperor Cao Fang's regent Cao Shuang, allowing the Sima family to become paramount authority in the state, and he...

 and Sima Zhao

Sima Zhao

Sima Zhao was a military general, politician and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history...

. After his nephew Sima Yan established Jin Dynasty as Emperor Wu

Emperor Wu of Jìn

Emperor Wu of Jin, , personal name Sima Yan , style name Anshi , was the grandson of Sima Yi and son of Sima Zhao. He became the first emperor of the Jin Dynasty after forcing Cao Huan, last ruler of the state of Cao Wei, to abdicate to him. He reigned from 265 to 290, and after conquering the...

 in 265, Sima Lun was named the Prince of Langye. He served as a general and governor at times during his nephew's reign, but was undistinguished; several times he was accused of crimes, but each time Emperor Wu pardoned him of them. In 277, his principality was moved to Zhao.

During the early reign of Emperor Hui

Emperor Hui of Jin

Emperor Hui of Jin, sim. ch. 晋惠帝, trad. ch. 晉惠帝, py. jìn huì dì, wg. Chin Hui-ti , personal name Sima Zhong , courtesy name Zhengdu , was the second emperor of the Jin Dynasty...

, Sima Lun was in charge of the military command of Qin (秦州, modern eastern Gansu

Gansu

' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...

) and Yong (雍州, modern central and northern Shaanxi

Shaanxi

' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...

) Provinces, but his misgovernance contributed to conditions where the Di

Di (ethnic group)

The Di were an ethnic group in China from the 8th century BCE to approximately the middle of the 6th century CE. Note that the character Di is used to differentiate this group from the Beidi , a generic term for "northern barbarians". They lived in areas of the present-day provinces of Gansu,...

 and the Qiang rebelled under the Di chief Qi Wannian (齊萬年). His chief strategist Sun Xiu (孫秀) was arrested and initially set to be executed, but was spared. Sima Lun and Sun were recalled to the capital 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...

, where he flattered Empress Hui's Empress Jia Nanfeng

Empress Jia Nanfeng

Empress Jia Nanfeng , nickname Shi , of the Jin Dynasty was the daughter of Jia Chong and first wife of Emperor Hui...

 and became trusted by her. Lun then requested a high level office, but was rebuffed by Empress Jia's advisors Zhang Hua

Zhang Hua

Zhang Hua , style name Maoxian , was a Jin Dynasty official and poet. He was a native of Fangcheng County, Zhili.-Background:...

 and Pei Wei (裴頠).

As regent

After Empress Jia, in jealousy, deposed the crown prince

Crown Prince

A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....

 Sima Yu

Sima Yu

Sima Yu , courtesy name Xizu , formally Crown Prince Minhuai was a Chinese crown prince during the Jin Dynasty ....

 (born not of her but of her husband's concubine Consort Xie Jiu) in 299, there was a conspiracy to overthrow her and restore the crown prince. Sima Lun was persuaded to join the conspiracy, but Sun had another plan for him: instead encourage Empress Jia to assassinate the crown prince in exile, and then use the assassination as the excuse to overthrow her. Sima Lun accepted the plan and persuaded her to assassinate the crown prince, which she did in 300. He then declared a coup against her and arrested her, slaughtering her clan and her associates (including Zhang and Pei). He then forced her to commit suicide.

Sima Lun then became regent for the developmentally disabled

Developmental disability

Developmental disability is a term used in the United States and Canada to describe lifelong disabilities attributable to mental or physical impairments, manifested prior to age 18. It is not synonymous with "developmental delay" which is often a consequence of a temporary illness or trauma during...

 Emperor Hui, but was described to be not particularly more intelligent than Emperor Hui. Even though he carried the regent title, true power was in Sun Xiu's hands. Under Sun Xiu's persuasion, he deposed Emperor Hui and declared himself emperor in 301, offering Emperor Hui the honorific title of retired emperor but putting him under house arrest. Emperor Hui's grandson, the crown prince Sima Zang (司馬臧), was executed.

As emperor

The act of usurpation brought widespread anger. In order to appease those who might be angry at his usurpation, Sima Lun rewarded many people with honors. Sun, in particular, was issuing edicts based on his own whims. Suspecting three key princes -- Sima Jiong

Sima Jiong

Sima Jiong , courtesy name Jingzhi , formally Prince Wumin of Qi , was an Jin Dynasty imperial prince who briefly served as Emperor Hui's regent after overthrowing the usurper Sima Lun in 301...

 the Prince of Qi (Emperor Hui's cousin and the son of Emperor Hui's uncle, Prince You of Qi), Sima Ying

Sima Ying

Sima Ying , courtesy name Zhangdu , was a Jin Dynasty imperial prince who served briefly as his brother Emperor Hui's regent and crown prince. He was the sixth of eight princes commonly associated with the War of the Eight Princes...

 the Prince of Chengdu (Emperor Hui's brother), and Sima Yong

Sima Yong

Sima Yong , courtesy name Wenzai , was a Jin Dynasty imperial prince and briefly a regent for Emperor Hui. He was the seventh of eight princes commonly associated with the War of the Eight Princes...

 the Prince of Hejian (the grandson of Emperor Hui's great-granduncle Sima Fu

Sima Fu

Sima Fu was a politician of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history.-Biography:Sima Fu was a younger brother of Sima Yi, and for this reason he served the state of Cao Wei. It was said that although he did not have the extraordinary abilities of his older brother, he was well...

 the Prince of Anping), each of whom had strong independent military commands—Sun sent his trusted subordinates to be their assistants. Prince Jiong refused and declared a rebellion to restore Emperor Hui. Prince Ying, Sima Ai

Sima Ai

Sima Ai or Sima Yi , courtesy name Shidu , formally Prince Li of Changsha , was a Jin Dynasty imperial prince who briefly served as regent for his brother Emperor Hui. He was the fifth of the eight princes commonly associated with the War of the Eight Princes...

 the Prince of Changshan (Emperor Hui's brother), and Sima Xin (司馬歆) the Duke of Xinye (the son of a granduncle of Emperor Hui) all declared support for Prince Jiong. Prince Yong initially sent his general Zhang Fang (張方) with intent to support Sima Lun, but then heard that Princes Jiong and Ying had great forces, and so declared for the rebels instead. Sima Lun's forces were easily defeated by Princes Jiong and Ying's forces, and after just declaring himself emperor for three months, Sima Lun was captured by officials in Luoyang who declared for the rebellion as well, and forced to issue an edict returning the throne to Emperor Hui. He was then forced to commit suicide. Sun and other associates of Sima Lun were executed, as were all of Sima Lun's sons.

Personal information

• Father
  • Sima Yi
    Sima Yi
    Sima Yi was a general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He is perhaps best known for defending Wei from Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions...
    
    
• Mother
  • Lady Bai (柏夫人)
• Children
  • Sima Kua (司馬荂), the Crown Prince (created and executed 301)
  • Sima Fu (司馬馥), the Prince of Jingzhao (created and executed 301)
  • Sima Qian (司馬虔), the Prince of Guangping (created and executed 301)
  • Sima Xu (司馬詡), the Prince of Bacheng (created and executed 301)