The Later Han Dynasty![]() ![]() 25 AD - 220 ADThe weakness of the administration plagued the Later, or Eastern Han dynasty, from the beginning. As it was under the Earlier Han dynasty, the centeral government was weakened by infant emperors' mothers being appointed to leadership roles. With the help of the court eunuchs, the later emperors were able to get rid of this problem, but at the price of giving the eunuchs power equal to the mothers. This new power of the eunuchs did not sit well with officials, so the government was again divided by factionalism. Between 168 and 170 warfare exploded between the eunuchs and bureaucrats. The new eunuch power threatened the bureaucrat's position, something that the eunuchs thought the bureaucrats should not have had in the first place. By 184, two great rebellions broke out, led by Taoist religious groups. It wasn't until 215 that the great Han general, Ts'ao Ts'ao, was able to calm the rebellious attitude. Go to Three Kingdoms Go Back to Dynasty Shelf |