Who they were
Dinh Bo Linh (924-979) was the first emperor of independent Vietnam. He rose amid the anarchy of the Twelve Warlords that followed Ngo Quyen’s death. Traditional childhood tales have him drilling his herd-boy playmates with reed-flag banners.
What they did
He defeated or won over every rival warlord and reunified the land. In 968 he proclaimed the state Dai Co Viet and took the imperial title, reigning as Dinh Tien Hoang: he asserted parity with the Chinese emperor while at the same time accepting tributary forms toward the Song. His capital was the fortified valley of Hoa Lu. In 979, as the chronicles record, he and his eldest son were assassinated by a palace official; the crisis brought the general Le Hoan to the throne.
Legacy
The imperial title he claimed became the norm for Vietnamese rulers. The ancient capital of Hoa Lu is a heritage site today.