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A warlord is a person with power who has military control
Military dictatorship

A military dictatorship is a form of government wherein the political power resides with the military. It is similar but not identical to a stratocracy, a state ruled directly by the military....
 over a subnational area due to armed forces
Armed forces

The armed forces of a country are its government-sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their governing body, and to defend that body and the nation it represents from external and internal aggressors....
 loyal to the warlord and not to a central authority. The term can also mean one who espouses the ideal that war
War

...
 is necessary, and has the means and authority to engage in war
War

...
. The word has a strong connotation that the person exercises far more power than his official title or rank (if any) legitimately permits him or her.






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A warlord is a person with power who has military control
Military dictatorship

A military dictatorship is a form of government wherein the political power resides with the military. It is similar but not identical to a stratocracy, a state ruled directly by the military....
 over a subnational area due to armed forces
Armed forces

The armed forces of a country are its government-sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their governing body, and to defend that body and the nation it represents from external and internal aggressors....
 loyal to the warlord and not to a central authority. The term can also mean one who espouses the ideal that war
War

...
 is necessary, and has the means and authority to engage in war
War

...
. The word has a strong connotation that the person exercises far more power than his official title or rank (if any) legitimately permits him or her. Under feudalism
Feudalism

Feudalism, a term first used in the early modern period , in its most classic sense refers to a Middle Ages European political system composed of a set of reciprocal law and military obligations among the warrior nobility, revolving around the three key concepts of lords, vassals, and fiefs....
, in contrast, the local military leader may enjoy great autonomy and a personal army, but still derives legitimacy from formal fealty to a central authority.

Warlordism was coined to describe chaos at the end of the Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty , also known as the Manchu Dynasty, followed the Ming Dynasty in History of China, and was the last ruling Chinese Dynasties of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 ....
 and the birth of the Republic of China
Republic of China

The Republic of China , also known as Nationalist China is a country in East Asia that has evolved from a single-party state with full global recognition into a multi-party democratic state with Political status of Taiwan....
, especially after the death of Yuan Shikai
Yuan Shikai

Yuan Shikai was an important Chinese people general and politician famous for his influence during the Qing Dynasty#Rule of Empress Dowager Cixi, his role in the events leading up to the abdication of the Pu Yi of China, his autocratic rule as the second President of the Republic of China of the Republic of China, and his short-lived attem...
, as the warlord era of China
Warlord era

The Warlord era is the period in the history of the Republic of China, from 1916 to the late-1930s, when the country was divided among Warlord, a division that continued until the fall of the Nationalist government in the mainland China regions of Sichuan, Shanxi, Qinghai, Ningxia, Guangdong, Guangxi, Gansu, Yunnan, and Xinjiang....
. It can however be used to describe similar periods in other countries or epochs such as in Japan during the Sengoku period, or in China
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
 during the Three Kingdoms
Three Kingdoms

The Three Kingdoms period is a period in the history of China, part of an era of disunity called the Six Dynasties following immediately the loss of de facto power of the Han Dynasty emperors....
, or in Somalia or other failed states today (2006).

The word "warlord" arose as a calque
Calque

In linguistics, a calque or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal, word-for-word or root-for-root translation....
 from the German word "Kriegsherr" with the same meaning. Today the Germans often use the English word, which has overtaken "Kriegsherr" in their language.

Warlordism in the world today

Warlordism appears in so-called failed states: states in which central government and nationwide authorities have collapsed or exist merely formally without actual control over the state territory. They are usually defined by a high level of clientelism
Clientelism

Clientelism refers to a form of social organization common in many developing regions characterized by "patron-client" relationships. In such places, relatively powerful and rich "patrons" promise to provide relatively powerless and poor "clients" with jobs, protection, infrastructure, and other benefits in exchange for votes and other forms...
, low bureaucratic control and a high motivation in prolonging war for the maintenance of their economic system, mainly based on the extraction of natural resources.

Examples:

  • Anarchy in Somalia
    Anarchy in Somalia

    Somalia, from 1991 to 2009, is cited as a real-world example of a stateless society and legal system. Since the fall of Siad Barre's government in January 1991 , there has been no permanent national government in Somalia....
    : With the collapse of the central government, groups of rival warlords constitute the only form of authority in some parts of the country.
  • Other countries and territories with warlords include Afghanistan
    Afghanistan

    Afghanistan , officially the Islamic republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country that is located approximately in the center of Asia....
    , Iraq
    Iraq

    Iraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros Mountains, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
    , Chechnya
    Chechnya

    The Chechen Republic , or, informally, Chechnya , sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , Chechnia, Chechenia or Nox?iyn, is a federal subjects of Russia of Russia....
    , Burma (Wa State
    Wa State

    Not to be confused with Wa , Washington , or Washington State UniversityWa State is an unrecognised state in Myanmar and is currently subsumed under the official Wa Special Region 2 of the Northern Shan State....
    ), Colombia
    Colombia

    Colombia , officially the Republic of Colombia , is a country in north-western South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the north west by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean....
    , the Democratic Republic of the Congo
    Democratic Republic of the Congo

    The Democratic Republic of the Congo , is a country in central Africa with a small length of Atlantic coastline. It is the third largest list of African countries in order of geographical area....
    , Sri Lanka
    Sri Lanka

    Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is an island country in South Asia, located about off the southern coast of India....
    , Sudan
    Sudan

    Sudan is a country in northeastern Africa. It is the largest in the African continent and the Arab World, and List of countries and outlying territories by total area by area....
     and Pakistan
    Pakistan

    Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia and borders Central Asia and the Middle East. It has a 1,046 kilometre coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and People's Republic of China in th...
     (Pashtun
    Pashtun people

    Pashtuns , also called Pathans , ethnic Afghans, are an Eastern Iranian ethno-linguistic group with populations primarily in Afghanistan and in the North-West Frontier Province, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Balochistan provinces of western Pakistan....
     Tribal Areas
    Federally Administered Tribal Areas

    The Federally Administered Tribal Areas in Pakistan are areas outside the four Subdivisions of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan, comprising a region of some 27,220 square kilometre ....
    ).


Historical warlordism in China

Warlords exercised widespread rule in China
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
 several times in Chinese history — notably in the period from the Xinhai Revolution
Xinhai Revolution

The Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution , also known as the 1911 Revolution or the Chinese Revolution, began with the Wuchang Uprising on October 10, 1911 and ended with the abdication of Emperor Puyi on February 12, 1912....
, when numerous provinces rebelled and declared their independence from the Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty , also known as the Manchu Dynasty, followed the Ming Dynasty in History of China, and was the last ruling Chinese Dynasties of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 ....
 in 1911, and especially after Yuan Shikai
Yuan Shikai

Yuan Shikai was an important Chinese people general and politician famous for his influence during the Qing Dynasty#Rule of Empress Dowager Cixi, his role in the events leading up to the abdication of the Pu Yi of China, his autocratic rule as the second President of the Republic of China of the Republic of China, and his short-lived attem...
's death, until the Northern Expedition in 1927. This was a period known as the Warlord era
Warlord era

The Warlord era is the period in the history of the Republic of China, from 1916 to the late-1930s, when the country was divided among Warlord, a division that continued until the fall of the Nationalist government in the mainland China regions of Sichuan, Shanxi, Qinghai, Ningxia, Guangdong, Guangxi, Gansu, Yunnan, and Xinjiang....
. Despite the superficial unification of China in 1927 under the rule of the Kuomintang
Kuomintang

The Kuomintang of China , also often translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party, is the founding and the ruling party of the Republic of China ....
 (KMT) under Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek , Order of the Bath , served as Generalissimo of the Nationalist Government of the Republic of China from 1928 to 1948. He was sometimes referred to simply as "the Generalissimo"....
, warlordism remained a problem until the victory of the Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China

The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and the ruling party of the People's Republic of China and the world's largest political party....
 in 1949.

Famous warlords during the Three Kingdoms (190-280)

  • Gongsun Zan
    Gongsun Zan

    Gongsun Zan , styled Bogui . A native of Liaoxi , he was a warlord with fierce reputation during the late Eastern Han Dynasty era of China....
  • Dong Zhuo
    Dong Zhuo

    Dong Zhuo was a powerful warlord during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of China. He seized control of Luoyang in 189 after the capital fell into chaos following the death of Emperor Ling of Han China and a bloody clash between the powerful eunuch faction and the court officials....
  • Yuan Shao
    Yuan Shao

    Yuan Shao was a powerful warlord during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of China. He occupied the northern territories of ancient China during the massive civil war towards the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty and the beginning of the Three Kingdoms era....
  • Yuan Shu
    Yuan Shu

    Yuan Shu was a warlord during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of China. He rose to prominence following the collapse of the Han court in 189....
  • Sun Ce
    Sun Ce

    Sun Ce was a military general and warlord during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era in ancient China. He was the eldest of five sons and one daughter of Sun Jian, who was killed in battle when Sun Ce was only sixteen....
  • Sun Quan
    Sun Quan

    Sun Quan , son of Sun Jian, courtesy name Zh?ngm?u , formally Emperor Da of Wu was the founder of Eastern Wu, during the Three Kingdoms period, in China....
  • Cao Cao
    Cao Cao

    C?o Cao was a warlord and the penultimate Chancellor of China of the Eastern Han Dynasty who rose to great power during its final years in ancient China....
  • Liu Bei
    Liu Bei

    Liu Bei , Chinese style name Xu?nd? , was a general, warlord, and later the founding emperor of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of China....
  • Liu Biao
    Liu Biao

    Li? Biao was the governor of the Jingzhou during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of China. He was a member of the same extended family as the Han emperors....
  • Liu Zhang
    Liu Zhang

    Liu Zhang may refer to:* Liu Zhang , Western Han imperial clan member involved in overthrowing the L? clan during the L? Clan Disturbance* Liu Zhang , warlord in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, who controlled Yi Province....
  • Lu Bu
  • Ma Teng
    Ma Teng

    Ma Teng was a warlord during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of China. He controlled the Liangzhou region together with his sworn brother Han Sui....


Powerful warlords during the Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty

The Tang Dynasty was an Dynasties in Chinese history preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire....
 (618-907)

Tang Dynasty was the most quantity of warlords in Chinese history, and turn become the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms was an era of political upheaval in China, beginning in the Tang Dynasty and ending in the Song Dynasty . During this period, five dynasties quickly succeeded one another in the north, and more than 12 independent states were established, mainly in the south....
 at last.
  • An Shi Rebellion
    An Shi Rebellion

    The An Shi Rebellion took place in China during the Tang Dynasty, from December 16 755 to February 17 763. It is also known as the Tianbao Rebellion , because An Lushan started it in the 14th year of that namesake era name....


Powerful warlords during the Jin Dynasty
Jin Dynasty

Jin Dynasty may refer to:* Jin Dynasty , Chinese dynasty, subdivided into the Western and Eastern Jin periods* Later Jin Dynasty , one of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period in China....
 (1115-1234)

  • Puxian Wannu
    Puxian Wannu

    Puxian Wannu was a Jurchen warlord who established a short-lived kingdom in the 13th century.He originally served the dying Jin Dynasty under pressure from the Mongol Empire....
  • Fang Xi


Powerful warlords during the Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty

The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was both the continuation of the Mongol Empire and the Mongol founded historical state in Mongolia and China, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368....
 (1271-1368)

  • Bayan
    Bayan of the Merkid

    Bayan of the Merkid was a Mongol Empire general and official in the Yuan Dynasty. At the turn of the 13th/14th centuries he, together with the Turkish people El Tem?r, was a member of the group around Qaishan....
  • El Temur


Powerful warlords during the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty , or Empire of the Great Ming , was the ruling Dynasties in Chinese history of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty....
 (1368-1644)

  • Chen Youliang
    Chen Youliang

    Chen Youliang was the founder of the rebel Dahan regime in late Yuan Dynasty in China.Chen was born with the surname Xie to a fishermen family in Mianyang ....
  • Mao Wenlong
    Mao Wenlong

    Mao Wenlong was a famed marine corps commander of the Ming Dynasty who battled the Manchus in Yellow Sea. He was known to have excelled in artillery warfare and successfully incorporated western tactics into the East....
    (marine corps)
  • Zheng Zhilong
    Zheng Zhilong

    Zheng Zhilong also known as Nicholas Iquan Gaspard was a 17th century China merchant, pirate and admiral for the Ming dynasty. He was the father of Zheng Chenggong , also a List of military commanders....
    (navy)


Powerful warlords during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)

  • Revolt of the Three Feudatories
    Revolt of the Three Feudatories

    The Three Feudatories were territories in southern China bestowed by the early Manchu rulers on three Chinese generals . In the second half of the 17th century, these generals revolted against the Manchu Qing Dynasty....
  • Wu Sangui
    Wu Sangui

    Wu Sangui was a Ming Dynasty who was instrumental in the succession of rule to the Qing Dynasty in 1644. Considered by most people to be a traitor to both the Ming and the Qing dynasties, Wu declared himself Emperor of China as ruler of the Zhou Dynasty in 1678, but his revolt was quelled by the Qing Kangxi Emperor....
  • Oboi
    Oboi

    Oboi was a highly decorated Manchu military commander and courtier who served in various military and administrative posts under three successive Emperor of Chinas of the early Qing Dynasty....
  • Nian Gengyao
    Nian Gengyao

    Nian Gengyao was a Chinese race military commander of the Qing Dynasty. He was born a member of the Chinese Bordered Yellow Eight Banner system and had extensive military experience on the western frontier of the Qing empire....
  • Yuan Shikai
    Yuan Shikai

    Yuan Shikai was an important Chinese people general and politician famous for his influence during the Qing Dynasty#Rule of Empress Dowager Cixi, his role in the events leading up to the abdication of the Pu Yi of China, his autocratic rule as the second President of the Republic of China of the Republic of China, and his short-lived attem...


Powerful warlords during the Republic of China

There were twelve warlords who served as Area Commanders officially:
  • Zhang Zuolin
    Zhang Zuolin

    Zhang Zu?l?n , nicknamed the "Old Marshal" , "Rain Marshal" ....
     (Chang Tso-lin) — "Old Marshal", "Rain Marshal" or "Mukden Tiger".
  • Zhang Xueliang
    Zhang Xueliang

    Zhang Xueliang or Chang Hs?eh-liang , nicknamed the "Young Marshal" , became the effective ruler of Manchuria and much of North China after the assassination of his father Zhang Zuolin by the Japanese on 4 June 1928....
     (Chang Hsüeh-liang) — "Young Marshal".
  • Zhang Zongchang
    Zhang Zongchang

    Zhang Zongchang , nicknamed the "Dogmeat General" , was a China warlord in Shandong in the early 20th century.Born in poverty in Yi County in Shandong, he joined a bandit gang in 1911 and rose quickly after the bandits took service in the forces of the warlord of Jiangsu....
     (Chang Tsung-ch'ang) — "The Dogmeat General".
  • Feng Yuxiang
    Feng Yuxiang

    Feng Yuxiang was a warlord during history of the Republic of China.As the son of an officer in the Qing Dynasty Qing_Dynasty#Transition_and_modernization, Feng spent his youth immersed in the military life....
     (Feng Yü-hsiang) — "The Christian General".
  • Bai Chongxi
    Bai Chongxi

    Bai Chongxi , also spelled Pai Chung-hsi, was a Hui people general in the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China . He was a warlord with a sphere of influence centred around Guangxi Province, commanding his own troops and governing Guangxi with autonomy, though part of the Republic of China....
     (Pai Ch'ung-hsi) — "The Muslim General".
  • Yan Xishan
    Yan Xishan

    File:Yen Hsi-shan.JPGYen Hsi-shan, was a China warlord who served in the politics of the Republic of China....
     (Yen Hsi-shan) — "The Model Governor".
  • Wu Peifu
    Wu Peifu

    Wu Peifu or Wu P'ei-fu , was a major Chinese warlord in the struggles between the warlords who dominated History of the Republic of China from 1916 to 1927....
     — "The Jade Marshal".


Historical warlordism in Europe

Warlordism in Europe is usually connected to various mercenary
Mercenary

A mercenary is a person who takes part in an armed conflict, who is not a national or a party to the conflict, and is "motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain and, in fact, is promised, by or on behalf of a party to the conflict, material compensation substantially in excess of that promised or p...
 companies and their chieftains, which often were de facto power-holders in the areas where they resided. Such free companies would arise in a situation when the recognized central power had collapsed, such as in the Great Interregnum in Germany (1254-1278) or in France during the Hundred Years' War
Hundred Years' War

The Hundred Years' War was a prolonged conflict lasting from 1337 to 1453 between two royal houses for the French throne, which was vacant with the extinction of the senior House of Capet line of French kings....
 after the Battle of Poitiers
Battle of Poitiers (1356)

The Battle of Poitiers was fought between the Kingdoms of Kingdom of England and France in the Middle Ages on 19 September 1356 near Poitiers, resulting in the second of the three great English victories of the Hundred Years' War: Battle of Cr?cy, Poitiers, and Battle of Agincourt....
.

Free company mercenary captains, such as Sir Leigh-Anne Hendrick, Roger de Flor
Roger de Flor

Roger de Flor , also known as Rutger von Blum, was a military adventurer active in Sicily, Italy and the Byzantine Empire. He held the title Count of Malta for a year....
 of Catalan Company
Catalan Company

The Catalan Company of the East , officially the Company of the Army of the Franks#Crusaders and other Western Europeans as "Franks" in Byzantine empire, sometimes called the Grand Company and widely known as the Catalan Company, was a free company of mercenary founded by Roger de Flor in the early 14th-century....
 or Hugh Calveley
Hugh Calveley

Sir Hugh Calveley was an English soldier and commander, who took part in the Hundred Years' War, gaining fame during the War of the Breton Succession and the Castilian Civil War....
 could be considered as warlords. Several condottieri
Condottieri

Condottieri were the mercenary soldier leaders of the professional, military Free company contracted by the Italian city-states and the Papacy, from the late Middle Ages until the mid-sixteenth century....
 in Italy can also be classified as warlords.

Ygo Gales Galama
Ygo Gales Galama

Ygo Gales Galama was a 15th century Frisian warlord and Galama-patriarch....
 was a famous Frisian warlord, and so was his descendant Pier Gerlofs Donia
Pier Gerlofs Donia

Pier Gerlofs Donia was a Frisian warrior, pirate and rebel. He is best known by his West Frisian language nickname "Grutte Pier" , or by the Dutch language translations "Grote Pier" and "Lange Pier", or, in Latin, "Pierius Magnus", which referred to his legendary size and strength....
, who was also the leader of the legendary Arumer Black Heap. All these legendary warriors can be considered warlords.

The Imperial commanders-in-chief during the reign of Emperor Maximilian I
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor

Maximilian I of Habsburg was Holy Roman Empire from 1508 until his death, but had ruled jointly with his father for the last ten years of his reign, from circa 1483....
 did hold the title Kriegsherr of which the direct translation was "warlord", but they were not warlords in sense of the word defined.

Russian Civil War

  • Free Territory, a anarchist state in Ukraine
    Ukraine

    Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south....
     led by Nestor Makhno
    Nestor Makhno

    Nestor Ivanovych Makhno was an anarchist communism guerrilla leader turned army commander who led an independent anarchist army in Ukraine during the Russian Civil War....
  • Cossack
    Cossack

    The term Cossacks is applied to specific militaristic communities of various ethnicities living in the southern steppe regions of Ukraine and Russia....
     ataman Semyonov
    Grigory Semyonov

    Grigory Mikhaylovich Semyonov, or Semenov , was a Japanese-supported leader of the White movement in Transbaikal and beyond from December 1917 to November 1920, Lieutenant General and Ataman of Baikal Cossacks ....
  • Admiral Kolchak
  • Ungern von Sternberg - Bloody Baron


Historical warlordism in Japan

During most of the 16th century, before the Tokugawa
Edo period

The , or , is a division of History of Japan running from 1603 to 1868. The period marks the governance of the Edo or Tokugawa shogunate, which was officially established in 1603 by the first Edo shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu....
 era, Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
 was tormented by repeated wars among rival warlords (see Sengoku Era). Each warlord had several castle
Castle

A castle is a defensive structure seen as one of the main symbols of the Middle Ages. The term has a history of scholarly debate surrounding its exact meaning, but it is usually regarded as being distinct from the general terms fort or fortress in that it describes a residence of a monarch or noble and commands a specific defensive territor...
s, neighbouring land with peasant
Peasant

A peasant is an agriculture worker who subsists by working a small plot of ground. The word is derived from 15th century French language pa?sant meaning one from the pays, or rural, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district ....
s and a private army of samurai
Samurai

is the term for the military nobility of Pre-industrial society Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character ? was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau....
.

Powerful Japanese warlords

  • Oda Nobunaga
    Oda Nobunaga

    was a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of History of Japan. He was the second son of Oda Nobuhide, a deputy shugo with land holdings in Owari province....
  • Uesugi Kenshin
    Uesugi Kenshin

    was a daimyo who ruled Echigo province in the Sengoku period of Japan.He was one of the many powerful lords of the Sengoku period. He is famed for his prowess on the battlefield, the legendary rivalry with Takeda Shingen, his military expertise, strategy and his belief in the god of war — Vaisravana#Vai.C5.9Brava.E1.B9.87a in Japan....
  • Takeda Shingen
    Takeda Shingen

    of Shinano Province and Kai Provinces, was a preeminent daimyo or feudal lord with military prestige who sought for the control of Japan in the late stage of Sengoku period or "warring states" period....
  • Hojo Soun
    Hojo Soun

    was the first head of the Late Hojo clan, one of the major powers in Japan's Sengoku period. Born Ise Moritoki, he was originally known as Ise Shinkuro, a samurai of Taira lineage from a family of little importance or power, he fought his way up, gaining territory and changing his name to the illustrious Hojo clan....
  • Toyotomi Hideyoshi
    Toyotomi Hideyoshi

    was a Sengoku period daimyo who unified Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, after Hideyoshi's castle....
  • Masamune Date
  • Ieyasu Tokugawa
  • Mitsuhide Akechi
  • Yukimura Sanada
  • Yoshikage Asakura
  • Katsuie Shibata
  • Nagamasa Azai


Historical warlordism in Korea

During the last years of the Kingdom of Silla
Silla

Silla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and the longest sustaining dynasty in Asian history. Although it was founded by King Bak Hyeokgeose of Silla, who is also known to be the originator of the Korean family name Park , the dynasty was to see the Kyungju Kim clan hold rule for most of its 992-year history....
, also known as the Later Three Kingdoms
Later Three Kingdoms

The Later Three Kingdoms of Korea consisted of Silla, Hubaekje , and Taebong . The latter two were viewed as heirs to the earlier Three Kingdoms of Korea, which had been united by Silla....
, various warlords rebelled against the government and were in de facto
De facto

De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning the fact" or in practice but not necessarily ordained by law. It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or technique that are found in the common experience as created or developed without or contrary to a regulation....
 control of the Korean Peninsula
Korean Peninsula

The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. It extends southwards for about 684 miles from continental Asia into the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by the Sea of Japan on the east, the East China Sea to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west, the Korea Strait connecting the first two bodies of water....
. The warlordism in Korea plagued the nation until Goryeo Dynasty finally defeated and merged all the warlords and united the country once again.

Powerful Korean warlords

  • Wang Gun
    Taejo of Goryeo

    Taejo of Goryeo , was the founder of the Goryeo Dynasty, which ruled Korea from the 10th to the 14th century....
  • Gung Ye
    Gung Ye

    Gung Ye was the king of a short-lived Taebong on the Korean peninsula. Although he was a member of the Silla royal family, he became a victim of power struggle among royal family members at the late 9th century Silla and at last became rebel leader against the unpopular Silla government, which almost abandoned the affairs of common people...
  • Gyeon Hwon
    Gyeon Hwon

    Gyeon Hwon was the monarch and founder of Hubaekje, one of the Later Three Kingdoms of Korea. Some records render his name as "Jin Hwon" . He was also the progenitor of the Hwanggan Gyeon clan....
  • Yang Gil
  • Gi Hwon
  • Ajagae
    Ajagae

    Ajagae was a military leader in the Sangju area during the waning years of Unified Silla. He led a local rebellion which seized Sangju. He is remembered today primarily as the father of Gyeon Hwon, the king of Hubaekje....
  • Wang Sunsik


Historical warlordism in Mongolia


After the fall of Mongol Empire
Mongol Empire

The Mongol Empire was the List of largest empires#Contiguous Empires empire and the largest bar none. It emerged from the unification of Mongols and Turkic peoples tribes in modern day Mongolia, and grew through Mongol invasions, after Genghis Khan had been proclaimed ruler of all Mongols in 1206....
, Mongolia
Mongolia

Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia and Central Asia. It borders Russia to the north and People's Republic of China to the south, east and west....
 was divided between Eastern Mongols and Western Mongols. At the time of disintegration, many warlords tried to enthrone themselves or rule the khanate jointly, however, there were powerful de facto
De facto

De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning the fact" or in practice but not necessarily ordained by law. It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or technique that are found in the common experience as created or developed without or contrary to a regulation....
s in all parts of the Mongol Empire before.

Mongol Empire


Yuan Dynasty
  • Bayan of the Merkid
    Bayan of the Merkid

    Bayan of the Merkid was a Mongol Empire general and official in the Yuan Dynasty. At the turn of the 13th/14th centuries he, together with the Turkish people El Tem?r, was a member of the group around Qaishan....
  • El Temur of the Kypchaks or the Karchins

Golden Horde
  • Nogai Khan
    Nogai Khan

    Nogai , also called Isa Nogai, was a general and de facto ruler of the Golden Horde and a great-grandson of Genghis Khan. His father was Baul/Teval Khan, the 7th son of Jochi....
  • Mamai
    Mamai

    Mamai was a powerful military commander of the Blue Horde in the 1370s, who resided in the western part of this nomadic state, which is now the Southern Ukraine Steppes and the Crimean Peninsula....
  • Edigu
    Edigu

    Edigu, or Edigey, also Ideg?y or Edege Mangit was an emir of the White Horde who founded the new political entity, which came to be known as the Nogai Horde....


Ilkhanate
  • Chupan
    Chupan

    Amir Chupan, also known as Choban or Coban , , was a Chupanids prince of the Ilkhanate, and the eponym of the dynasty. His father was named Malek of Mongol Suldus clan....
  • Hasan Buzurg
    Hasan Buzurg

    Shaikh Hasan, called "Buzurg" , was the first of several de facto independent Jalayirids rulers of Iraq and central Iran. He was the son of Husain and ?ljetey....
  • Hasan Kucek


Chagatai Khanate
  • Qazaghan
  • Amir Bulaji of the Dughlat, who raised Tughlugh Timur
    Tughlugh Timur

    Tughlugh Timur was the Khan of Moghulistan from c. 1347 until his death. He is believed to be the son of Esen Buqa I. His reign is known for his conversion to Islam and his invasions of Transoxiana....
     Khan.
  • Timur, who would become great Tamerlane


Northern Yuan Dynasty

  • Toghan of the Oirats
    Oirats

    Oirat is the common name of several pastoral nomadic tribes of Mongolian origin whose ancestral home is in the Dzungaria and Amdo regions of western Mongolia and also western China....
  • Arughtai Tayshi of the Asud
    Asud

    Asud was a guard and military group of Alani origin. The Mongol clan Asud is the plural of As, the Arabic name for the Alans.After the Mongol invasion of Rus, many Alans submitted to the Mongol Empire....
  • Esyn Tayshi, the Oirat leader who enthrone himself the Khan of the Mongols and captured the Emperor of Ming China.
  • Iburai Taishi of the Kharchin
    Kharchin

    Kharchin is a Mongol tribe residing mainly in North-western Liaoning and Chifeng, Inner Mongolia. There are Khalkha-Kharchin Mongols in Dorno-Gobi province and in Ulaanbaatar....
     or Uyghurstan.
  • Bekersen of the Monggoljin


Bogd Khanate Mongolia


  • Dambijaa


Further reading

  • Sasha Lezhnev: Crafting Peace: Strategies to Deal with Warlords in Collapsing States. Plymouth 2005, ISBN 978-0-7391-1765-1.


See also

  • Feud
    Feud

    A 'feud' is a long-running argument or fight between parties—often, through guilt by association, groups of people, especially family or clans....
  • Anarchy
    Anarchy

    Anarchy may refer to any of the following:* "No ruler ship or enforced authority." * "Absence of government; a state of lawlessness due to the absence or inefficiency of the supreme power; political disorder."...
  • Outlaw
    Outlaw

    An outlaw or bandit is a person living the lifestyle of outlawry; the word literally means "outside the law", by folk-etymology from the original meaning "laid outside" of the Old Norse word ?tlagi, from which the word outlaw was borrowed into English....
  • Plutocracy
    Plutocracy

    Plutocracy is rule by the wealthy, or power provided by wealth.In a plutocracy, the degree of economic inequality is high while the level of social mobility is low....
  • Despotism
    Despotism

    Despotism is a form of government by a single authority, either an autocracy or oligarchy, which rules with absolute political power. In its classical form, a despotism is a state where a single individual wields all the power and authority embodying the state, and everyone else is a subsidiary person....
  • Strongman (politics)
    Strongman (politics)

    A strongman is a political leader who rules by force and runs an authoritarian regime. The term is often used interchangeably with "dictator," but differs from a "warlord"....
  • List of countries by Failed States Index
    List of countries by Failed States Index

    This is a list of countries by order of appearance in the Fund For Peace's Failed state Index. A failed state has several attributes. Common indicators include a state whose central government is so weak or ineffective that it has little practical control over much of its territory; non-provision of public services; widespread corruption and crimi...