Who they were
Born Ly Cong Uan, he was raised and educated in Buddhist temples under the monk Vạn Hạnh, and rose to command the palace guard of the Early Lê dynasty. When the last Lê ruler died in 1009, the court and the Buddhist clergy raised him to the throne.
What they did
His great act was the Edict on the Transfer of the Capital (1010), moving the seat of government from cramped Hoa Lu to Dai La, renamed Thăng Long (“Ascending Dragon”) — modern Hanoi. The edict, which survives, cites the site’s central position and its room to prosper. A devout patron of Buddhism, he built temples and eased punishments.
Legacy
Thăng Long became Vietnam’s millennial capital: Hanoi celebrated its 1,000th anniversary in 2010. The dynasty he founded lasted more than two centuries.