Northern Yan

Yan, known in historiography as the Northern Yan (Chinese: 北燕; pinyin: Běi Yān; 407 or 409–436), Eastern Yan (simplified Chinese: 东燕; traditional Chinese: 東燕; pinyin: Dōng Yān) or Huanglong (simplified Chinese: 黄龙; traditional Chinese: 黃龍), was a dynastic state of China during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms. Some historians consider Gao Yun, a member of the Goguryeo royal family, to be the first Northern Yan monarch, while others consider Feng Ba of Han ethnicity to be the founder. All rulers of the Northern Yan took the title of Tiān Wáng (Heavenly King). The Northern Yan inherited what was left of the preceding Later Yan regime, whose territory occupied western Liaoning and parts of northeastern Hebei. In historiography, they are given the prefix of "Northern" to distinguish it with the contemporaneous Southern Yan, and unlike the Later Yan, their capital remained at Longcheng in the north throughout their existence.