Lê Long Đĩnh

Lê Long Đĩnh (黎龍鋌, 15 November 986 – 19 November 1009), also known as Lê Ngọa Triều, was the last emperor of the Early Lê dynasty of the kingdom of Đại Cồ Việt, ruling from 1005 to 1009. After killing his predecessor and brother Lê Long Việt, he took the throne and named his era Cảnh Thụy. His death at the age of 23 led to the fall of the Early Lê dynasty, and power was seized by the Lý dynasty. In some history books, he is portrayed as a self-indulgent and cruel emperor. However, a lot of temples were created where people still worship him, and recently, some historians have proved that some rumours about his ruling style were exaggerated, and possibly fabrications.

Background
Lê Long Đĩnh, who was also named Lê Chí Trung, was born on 15 November 986 by the Western calendar. He was the fifth son of Emperor Lê Hoàn, but historians do not note the background of his mother, only information regarding a concubine. He was the half-brother of the duke of Nam Phong (Nam Phong vương), Lê Long Việt.

The Complete Annals of Đại Việt (Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư) recorded that in 992 he was granted the title Prince of Khai Minh (Khai Minh Vương, ) and ruled over Đằng county (now Hưng Yên province). In 1004 the crown prince and duke of Kinh Thiên, Lê Long Khâu, died; the emperor made Lê Long Việt the crown prince of Đại Cồ Việt and Lê Long Đĩnh the duke of Khai Minh.

Struggle for the throne
In 1005, Lê Hoàn died in Trường Xuân palace. Crown Prince Lê Long Việt contested the crown with his three brothers: Tích, Kính, and Đĩnh. The four princes pitted their armies against each other, plunging the country into civil war. In October 1005, Việt defeated Tích, forcing him to flee to Champa where he was subsequently killed by locals at the Cơ La estuary. The victorious Việt was proclaimed emperor with the title Trung Tông hoàng đế ('Emperor Trung Tông').

Three days after his ascension, however, Trung Tông was murdered by assassins in Lê Long Đĩnh's employ. All of his supporters fled except for Lý Công Uẩn, who embraced the body of the emperor and wept. In the winter of 1005, Lê Long Đĩnh took the throne with the regnal name Khai Thiên Ứng Vận Thánh Văn Thần Vũ Tắc Thiên Sùng Đạo Đại Thắng Minh Quang Hiếu Hoàng đế and gave his mother the title Hưng Quốc Quảng Thánh Hoàng Thái Hậu.

Foreign relations
After news of the death of Emperor Lê Hoàn in China, Song dynasty officials urged the Song emperor Taizong to dispatch forces to invade Đại Cồ Việt. However, Taizong chose to respect the tributary status that Đại Cồ Việt had towards the Song Empire, and he left the country alone. Some trading activities occurred between both nations.

Sponsorship of Buddhism and education
In spring 1007, Lê Long Đĩnh ordered his brother to gift a white pangolin (or white rhinoceros) as a gift to the Song dynasty in exchange for Buddhist sutras to be sent to Vietnam. In the Vietnamese Buddhist records of Zen Buddhist Thích Mật Thể, in the 14th year of the Ứng Thiên era (1008), Lê Long Đĩnh sent an envoy to Song to pay tribute and asked for nine classic texts and sutras to take back to Vietnam. The Song emperor approved the request and gave the requested works to the Vietnamese ambassador. The nine classics included I Ching, Classic of Poetry, Book of Documents, Book of Rites, Spring and Autumn Annals, Classic of Filial Piety, Analects, and Mencius. These were the first classics of Chinese civilization to come to Vietnam.

Controversies
According to the Complete annals of Đại Việt, Lê Long Đĩnh was one of the most brutal and sadistic rulers of Vietnam's dynastic era. His reign was considered a "reign of terror" at the time. He has been compared to the Roman emperors Caligula and Commodus in their traits of cruelty and paranoia.

He is alleged to have often executed innocent people who were condemned to death for entertaining purposes, by ways such as tying them with hay to burn to death, or by ordering an executioner called Liêu Thủ Tâm from Song China to mutilate victims to death slowly using dull swords and axes. When the victims cried out in agony, this executioner would manipulate the victims into thinking they were not dying. The emperor was said to have delighted in the deaths of his victims.

After capturing prisoners of war, he is said to have ordered his soldiers to march the prisoners to rivers and cram them into cages that were tied along the riverbanks. When the high tides came in at dusk, he would watch them drown slowly.

The emperor himself is said to have often stabbed livestock such as pigs or cows to death before he allowed servants to prepare them for feasts. At court banquets, he killed cats and served them to his guests and court officials and made them eat the cats. Afterwards, he would play around with their severed heads in front of the court audience, frightening them and reducing their chances of questioning him.

Later life
According to historical records, he developed hemorrhoids and often held court while lying down, earning the popular name Lê Ngọa Triều (ngọa means 'lie' and triều means 'court'). He was not given a temple name because his successor ended the Early Lê dynasty and started the Lý dynasty.

He held the throne for four years, until 1009, when he died at the age of 23. His son Sạ was a child at the time, under the supervision of an official named Đào Cam Mộc. When Lý Thái Tổ became emperor of the Lý dynasty, all the officials enthroned him without any debate, and the Early Lê dynasty was abolished after only three emperors.