Cao Wei

Cao Wei, sometimes called the Former Wei, was one of the three major states of China's Three Kingdoms period, ruling northern China from 220 to 266. It was formally established in 220 when Cao Pi forced the last Han emperor to abdicate in his favor, building on the power his father Cao Cao had accumulated after being named Duke of Wei in 213 and King of Wei in 216 under the nominal authority of the Eastern Han court. Its capital stood first at Xuchang from 220 to 226 and then at Luoyang from 226 until the state's end. Cao Wei's fall came in 266, when Sima Yan forced the last Wei emperor, Cao Huan, to abdicate in turn, replacing the Cao dynasty with the Jin dynasty after the Sima family had spent years consolidating power behind a succession of increasingly powerless Wei emperors.