Chu–Han Contention

The Chu–Han Contention (楚漢相爭), also known as the Chu–Han War (楚漢戰爭), was an interregnum in Imperial China between the fall of the Qin dynasty and the establishment of the Han dynasty. After the Qin dynasty was overthrown in 206 BCE, the empire was divided into the Eighteen Kingdoms ruled by enfeoffed rebel leaders and surrendered Qin generals according to arrangement by Xiang Yu, the hegemon warlord. Due to dissatisfaction among the rebels, a civil war soon broke out, most prominently between two major powers – Xiang Yu and Liu Bang, who were the rulers of the Western Chu and Han kingdoms, respectively. Other contending kingdoms also waged war against Chu and Han and among themselves, but these were largely insignificant compared to the Chu-Han conflict. The war ended with a total victory to Han at the Battle of Gaixia in 202 BCE, during which Xiang Yu committed suicide after losing all his men in a last stand. Liu subsequently proclaimed himself emperor of the newly established Han dynasty.