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Cao Cao

155 CE – 220 CE

Retrace Cao Cao's life across the map — 34 events in chronological order, from a cinematic flythrough to a full timeline.

Life journey

1. Battle of Xingyang190 CE
   The Battle of Xingyang was fought in c.April 190 in the late Eastern Han dynasty as part of the campaign against Dong Zhuo. It took place when Dong Zhuo's forces, led by Xu Rong, encountered the pursuing armies of Cao Cao at Xingyang. The battle ended in a victory for Dong Zhuo's forces, with Cao Cao being forced to retreat.
2. Cao Cao's invasion of Xu Province193 CE
   Cao Cao's invasion of Xu Province was a punitive invasion launched by the warlord Cao Cao against Tao Qian, the Governor of Xu Province, in the late Eastern Han dynasty. The casus belli for the invasion was the murder of Cao Cao's father, Cao Song, in Xu Province. Although Tao Qian's culpability was questionable, Cao Cao nonetheless held him responsible. The invasion took place in two separate waves in 193 and 194, during each of which Cao Cao captured a number of towns and engaged in collective punishment of the civilian populace.
3. Battle of Fengqiu193 CE
   The Battle of Fengqiu was fought between Cao Cao and Yuan Shu in the spring of 193 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. Cao Cao emerged victorious against Yuan Shu's forces.
4. Battle of Yan Province194 CE
   The Battle of Yan Province was fought between the warlords Cao Cao and Lü Bu for control of Yan Province in the late Eastern Han dynasty. The battle lasted for at least one hundred days with an indecisive conclusion.
5. Cao Cao receives Emperor Xian at Xu196 CE
   Cao Cao welcomed the fugitive Emperor Xian to Xu, ruling in the emperor's name.
6. Battle of Wancheng197 CE
   The war between Cao Cao and Zhang Xiu was fought between the warlords Cao Cao and Zhang Xiu between 197 and 199 in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. It concluded with Zhang Xiu's surrender to Cao Cao.
7. Battle of Xiapi199 CE
   The Battle of Xiapi was fought between the forces of Lü Bu against the allied armies of Cao Cao and Liu Bei from the winter of 198 to 7 February 199 towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty in China. The battle concluded with victory for Cao Cao and Liu Bei, with Lü Bu being subsequently executed.
8. Battle of Yan Ford200 CE
   The Battle of Yan Ford took place along the southern banks of the Yellow River in the late Eastern Han dynasty. The battle was closely preceded by the Battle of Boma, and was part of a series of engagements leading to the decisive confrontation between the rival warlords Yuan Shao and Cao Cao at the Battle of Guandu in 200. Following the death of one of Yuan Shao's elite generals, Yan Liang, in the previous battle, the death of another famed general Wen Chou in this battle greatly demoralised Yuan's army, which was heading towards Guandu.
9. Battle of Boma200 CE
   The Battle of Boma or Battle of Baima was the first of a series of battles that led to the decisive Battle of Guandu between the warlords Yuan Shao and Cao Cao in northern China in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Although Cao Cao won the battle and Yuan Shao lost his elite general Yan Liang, Cao eventually abandoned his position in Boma to entrench at the strategically important Guandu.
10. Battle of Guandu200 CE
    The Battle of Guandu was fought between the warlords Cao Cao and Yuan Shao in 200 AD in the late Eastern Han dynasty. Cao Cao's decisive victory against Yuan Shao's numerically superior forces marked the turning point in their war. The victory was also the point at which Cao Cao became the dominant power in northern China, leading to the establishment of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period.
11. Battle of Cangting201 CE
    The Battle of Cangting was part of a mop-up operation undertaken by the warlord Cao Cao after his victory over his rival Yuan Shao at the Battle of Guandu in 200 in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. The battle was also mentioned in the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms as the final clash between the forces of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao before Yuan Shao died.
12. Battle of Liyang202 CE
    The Battle of Liyang, fought between October 202 and June 203 in the late Eastern Han dynasty, was an invasion attempt by the warlord Cao Cao against the brothers Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan, the sons of Cao's rival Yuan Shao. The battle in October 202 was the first between the two factions since the death of Yuan Shao four months earlier. Although it ended in Cao Cao's withdrawal, events in this battle brought tensions between the Yuan brothers to the surface as Yuan Tan mutinied against his younger brother Yuan Shang after Cao Cao's temporary exit from the scene.
13. Battle of Bowang202 CE
    The Battle of Bowang, also known as the Battle of Bowang Slope, was fought between the warlords Cao Cao and Liu Bei in 202 in the late Eastern Han dynasty.
14. Battle of Ye204 CE
    The Battle of Ye or Battle of Yecheng took place in 204 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. It was fought between the warlord Cao Cao and Yuan Shang, son and successor of Cao Cao's rival Yuan Shao, in the Yuan clan's headquarters Ye. Cao Cao had been allied with Yuan Shang's elder brother Yuan Tan, who rebelled in a succession feud, and it was by Yuan Tan's request that Cao Cao laid siege to Ye. The successful siege of the city dislodged Yuan Shang's power from Ji Province, and Cao Cao would later use the city of Ye as a major base of his military power.
15. Battle of Nanpi205 CE
    The Battle of Nanpi happened in the first month of 205, during the period known as the end of the Han dynasty. The battle spelled the annihilation of Yuan Tan, one of Yuan Shao's sons vying to succeed their father, by their common enemy Cao Cao, one of the serving Three Ducal Ministers. Having already dealt a major blow to another son Yuan Shang, Cao Cao's victory at Nanpi gave him uncontested control of the North China Plain, while the remnant Yuan power blocs were chased further north.
16. Battle of White Wolf Mountain207 CE
    The Battle of White Wolf Mountain was fought in 207 in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China, preceding the Three Kingdoms period. The battle took place in northern China, beyond the frontiers of the ruling Eastern Han dynasty. It was fought between the warlord Cao Cao and the nomadic Wuhuan tribes, who were allied with Cao Cao's rivals Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi. The victory attained by Cao Cao dashed the hopes of a Wuhuan dominion, and the Wuhuan eventually became weakened, lost importance, and were gradually absorbed into the Han population or the Xianbei tribes, although they would continue to exist under different names until the 10th century AD.
17. Battle of Yiling208 CE
    The Battle of Yiling was fought between the warlords Sun Quan and Cao Cao in 208 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. The battle was an integral part in the Red Cliffs campaign, as it was fought immediately after the major engagement at Wulin during the Battle of Red Cliffs. The Battle of Yiling was also the prelude to the subsequent Battle of Jiangling.
18. Battle of Hefei208 CE
    The Battle of Hefei was fought between the warlords Cao Cao and Sun Quan between late 208 and early 209 in the late Eastern Han dynasty.
19. Battle of Jiangling208 CE
    The Battle of Jiangling was fought by the allied forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei against Cao Cao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. The battle was an integral part of the Red Cliffs campaign, and was fought immediately after the Battle of Yiling in 208, and the preceding engagement at Wulin on land and the marine Battle of Red Cliffs where Cao Cao's navy was destroyed. Note that the battle at Wulin was a byproduct of the Battle of Red Cliffs, and they were not the same battle.
20. Battle of Red Cliffs208 CE
    The Battle of Red Cliffs, also known as the Battle of Chibi, was a decisive naval battle in China that took place during the winter of 208–209 AD. It was fought on the Yangtze River between the forces of warlords controlling different parts of the country during the end of the Han dynasty. The allied forces of Sun Quan, Liu Bei, and Liu Qi based south of the Yangtze defeated the numerically superior forces of the northern warlord Cao Cao. By doing so, Liu Bei and Sun Quan prevented Cao Cao from conquering any lands south of the Yangtze, frustrating Cao Cao's efforts to reunify the territories formerly held by the Eastern Han dynasty.
21. Battle of Changban208 CE
    The Battle of Changban was fought between the warlords Cao Cao and Liu Bei in October 208 in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. The battle took place at Changban.
22. Lu county rebellion209 CE
    The Lu County Rebellion took place in 209 CE in Lu County after the Battle of Red Cliffs in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Chen Lan (陳蘭) and Mei Cheng (梅成), two former subordinates of the warlord Yuan Shu, started the rebellion. The warlord Cao Cao, who controlled the Han central government, sent two separate forces to suppress the rebellion: Yu Jin and Zang Ba were to attack Mei Cheng, while Zhang Liao, with Zhang He and Niu Gai (牛蓋) as his deputies, were to attack Chen Lan.
23. Battle of Tong Pass211 CE
    The Battle of Tong Pass, also known as the Battle of Weinan, was fought between the warlord Cao Cao and a coalition of forces from Guanxi between April and November 211 in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. The battle was initiated by Cao Cao's western expansion, which triggered uprisings in Guanxi. Cao Cao scored a decisive victory over the Guanxi coalition and established a hold of the Guanzhong region.
24. Battle of Ruxukou213 CE
    The Battle of Ruxu, also known as the Battle of Ruxukou, was fought between the warlords Cao Cao and Sun Quan in 213 during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. The battle consisted of multiple attacks led by Cao Cao, but all were eventually lifted after efforts by Sun Quan's forces.
25. Siege of Jicheng213 CE
    The siege of Jicheng was a part of the campaign Ma Chao initiated in an attempt to retake Liang Province after the coalition of Guanxi was defeated at the Battle of Tong Pass in the winter of 211 in the late Eastern Han dynasty.
26. Battle of Qi Mountains214 CE
    The Battle of Qi Mountains was fought in 214 CE between the forces of the warlords Cao Cao and Zhang Lu. The battle was part of Ma Chao's multiple attacks on Cao Cao following the Battle of Tong Pass in 211.
27. Battle of Xiaoyao Ford214 CE
    The Battle of Xiaoyao Ford, also known as the Battle of Leisure Ford, Battle of Hefei, and Hefei Campaign, was fought between the warlords Cao Cao and Sun Quan between 214 and 215 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. The two contending sides were fighting for control over a strategic fortress at Hefei, which was defended by Cao Cao's general Zhang Liao. Towards the end of the campaign, Zhang Liao made use of force concentration and launched a sneak counteroffensive on Sun Quan at Leisure Ford, where Sun only had 1,000 soldiers with him at the time. Amidst the chaos, Sun Quan barely escaped capture with the aid of his general Ling Tong. This action raised Zhang Liao to primacy among Cao Cao's generals.
28. Battle of Baxi215 CE
    The Battle of Ba was fought between the warlords Liu Bei and Cao Cao between December 215 and April 216 during the prelude to the Three Kingdoms period. Following his victory over Zhang Lu at Yangping, Cao Cao appointed Pu Hu (朴胡), Ren Yue (任約) and Du Huo (杜濩) as Administrator of the three Ba commanderies but they were defeated by Huang Quan. Zhang He would later try to relocate citizens from Ba to Hanzhong but was also defeated by Zhang Fei.
29. Battle of Yangping215 CE
    The Battle of Yangping, also known as the Battle of Yangping Pass, was fought between the warlords Cao Cao and Zhang Lu from roughly April 215 to January 216 during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. The battle concluded with a victory for Cao Cao.
30. Battle of Ruxu217 CE
    The Battle of Ruxu, also known as the Battle of Ruxukou, was fought between the warlords Sun Quan and Cao Cao in 217 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. Two years earlier, Sun Quan attempted to take control of Hefei fortress, but failed due to a sudden plague and the staunch resistance put up by Cao Cao's forces under Zhang Liao. Since then, Cao Cao had been making preparations for a counterattack on Sun Quan, and he personally led his navy to Ruxu to fight a decisive battle.
31. Battle of Mount Dingjun218 CE
    The Battle of Mount Dingjun was fought between the warlords Liu Bei and Cao Cao in February 219 during the prelude to the Three Kingdoms stretch of Chinese history. Liu Bei's victory in the battle marked a major milestone in his Hanzhong Campaign and allowed him to kill the commander of the Wei's forces, Xiahou Yuan and later taking Hanzhong Commandery.
32. Battle of Fancheng219 CE
    The Battle of Fancheng or the Battle of Fan Castle was fought between the warlords Liu Bei and Cao Cao in 219 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. It is named after Fancheng in present-day Xiangyang, Hubei, a fortress that played a significant role in the battle.
33. Battle of Han River219 CE
    The Battle of Han River was fought between the warlords Liu Bei and Cao Cao in April 219 during the prelude to the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. The battle was the last major engagement in the Hanzhong Campaign, in which Liu Bei emerged victorious and subsequently declared himself King of Hanzhong.
34. Cao Pi founds the Wei dynasty220 CE
    Cao Pi accepted the Han emperor's abdication and proclaimed the Wei dynasty, ending the Han.

Event data from Wikipedia/Wikidata (CC-BY-SA). Spotted a mistake? Email [email protected].