The Han Dynasty lasted for 400 years from 206 BC to 220AD. The founder was a peasant named
Liu Bang. The Han emperors, of which there were a total of 19, built on the legal and administrative infrastructure established by preceding
Qin Dynasty but eased some of the severity of the
Qin laws and sought to make the system more reflective of Confucian principles.
The Western Han Dynasty began to decline from the reign of Emperor
Cheng onwards. In 9 AD, Wang
Mang, a Senior Minister of War ascended the throne and changed the dynasty title to
Xin. The power interruption was lasted for 15 years which finally saw
Liu Xiu leads his 400,000 strong army captured the capital of
Xin in
Chang'an and killed Wang
Mang.
When the Han Dynasty was restored in 24 AD it was known as the Eastern Han Dynasty with its capital in the eastern city of Luoyang. Finally, the falls of Eastern Han Dynasty was caused by the rising power of corrupt enunchs also known as "The Ten Regular Attendants" and the uprsing in 184 AD leads by Zhang Jiao's forces also known as Yellow Turban Rebellion.