Emperor Suzong of Tang

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Categories: 711 births | 762 deaths | Tang Dynasty emperors | Chinese royalty stubs

Li Heng redirects here. For his 5th generation descendant, see Emperor Muzong of Tang.

Emperor Tang Suzong (肅宗; 711–762; r. 756–762), born Li Heng (李亨), he was the seventh emperor of the Tang Dynasty and the son of emperor Xuanzong. Suzong ascended the throne after his father abdicated while fleeing to Sichuan during the An Shi Rebellion in 756; Suzong himself had fled in the opposite direction, to Lingzhou (today called Lingwu, in Ningxia). Much of Suzong's reign was spent in quelling the aforementioned rebellion, which was ultimately put down in 763.

During his reign, eunuchs started to gain power and meddled in affairs of state. Suzong appointed a eunuch, Li Fuguo (李輔國), as a top officer of the government and gave Li control of the military and the financial department. Li killed the empress in a power struggle and shortly after that, Suzong died of myocardial infarction. He was succeeded by his son who finally had Li executed.