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 period in ancient China between the fall of the Qin dynasty and the establishment of the Han dynasty. After the third and last Qin ruler, Ziying, unconditionally surrendered to rebel forces in 206 BCE, the former Qin Empire was divided by rebel leader Xiang Yu into the Eighteen Kingdoms, which were ruled by various rebel leaders and surrendered Qin generals. A civil war soon broke out, most prominently between two major contending powers – Xiang Yu's Western Chu and Liu Bang's Han. Some of the other kingdoms also waged war among themselves but these were largely insignificant compared to the main conflict between Chu and Han. The war ended in 202 BCE with a Han victory at the Battle of Gaixia, during which Xiang Yu committed suicide after making a last stand. Liu Bang subsequently proclaimed himself emperor and established the Han dynasty as the ruling dynasty of China.