Chapter 2 : KING AN DƯƠNG VƯƠNG
Under the reign of the 18th Hùng King, Hùng Duệ, in 214 BC, over half million Qin troops invaded our country. Then the court was too weak to be able to gather the mass for a resistance war. At the moment, Thục Phán, leader of the neighboring Âu Việt tribe, took the place to become the leader of the resistance.
In 208 BC, the resistance was ended in success. Thục Phán merged all tribes and acceded the throne as Kinh An Dương who named the country Âu Lạc. He had the Cổ Loa Citadel built in Present-day Đông Anh District, Hà Nội, as one of the best fortifications then. The Citadel comprised many layers of alternate walls and moats, arranged in a spiral pattern. Nowadays, only vestiges of three layers (Outer, Middle and Inner) can be seen. It was also said that King An Dương owned a “magic” crossbows which could fire hundreds of arrows at once.
To read chapter three, click here.
VIETNAM – A BRIEF HISTORY IN PICTURES
Compiled by: HIẾU MINH – HUYỀN TRANG (in Vietnamese language)
With an introduction of Historian DƯƠNG TRUNG QUỐC
Illustrated by TẠ HUY LONG
Translated by: NGUYỄN XUÂN HỒNG
P/s: Completed by the volunteers: Nguyễn Ngọc Bích – Second-year student of Foreign Trade University; Takanori Kano from Japan; Antoine Roels from Belgium; Linh – The coordinator of SJ Vietnam.
