Emperor Gia Long (1802-1820), the posthumous name of Thanh To.

Emperor Gia Long’s real name is Nguyen Phuc Anh; his other name is Chung và Noan. He is the third son of Lord Nguyen Phuc Con (Luan) and Madam Nguyen Thi Hoan. Nguyen Phuc Anh was born on January 15th, the lunar year of Nham Ngo (on February 8th 1762 of the solar calender).

In 1775, taking full advantage of the Nguyen Lords dynasty’s decline caused by the Tay Son Insurgent Movement, the Trinh army fought and occupied Phu Xuan (Nguyen Lords' headquarters) and this made Nguyen Phuc Anh run away to the South. After that, he traveled miserably, finding ways to gather his force in order to seize back authority for his family.

In 1792, after Emperor Quang Trung’s death, the Tay Son insurgent army was getting weaker and weaker while the Nguyen army was gaining strength. In 1801, the Nguyen army led by Nguyen Phuc Anh fought and occupied Quy Nhon and Thuan Hoa (two administrative headquarters of brothers Tay Son).

On February 1st 1802, Nguyen Phuc Anh came to the throne in Phu Xuan with the title of Gia Long, and officially established the Nguyen dynasty. On March 1804, Emperor Gia Long renamed the country Vietnam.

Emperor Gia Long ruled the country for 18 years (1802-1820). He passed away on the 19th January of the lunar year of Ky Mao (on February 3rd 1820 of solar calendar) at the age of 58. His tablet was worshiped in the The Mieu temple with the posthumous title of The To.

Emperor Gia Long had 31 children (including 13 sons and 18 daughters).