Dian Kingdom

Dian 滇
8th century BCE[1]–109 BCE[1]
Dian and the southwestern peoples in the early Han period. Red means nomadic, yellow is semi-nomadic, and purple is sedentary.
Dian Kingdom horserider, from a bronze cowry container.
Capital	Today's Jinning District 24°40′00″N 102°35′30″E / 24.666667°N 102.591667°E / 24.666667; 102.591667
Government	Monarchy
History
• Established	8th century BCE[1]
• Annexed by the Han dynasty	109 BCE[1]
Succeeded by Han dynasty
Today part of	China

Dian (Chinese: 滇) was an ancient kingdom established by the Dian people, a non-Han metalworking civilization that inhabited around the Dian Lake plateau of central northern Yunnan, China from the late Spring and Autumn period until the Eastern Han dynasty. The Dian buried their dead in vertical pit graves.^[2] The Dian language was likely one of the Tibeto-Burman languages.^[3] The Han Empire's annexation of the Dian Kingdom in 109 BCE eventually led to the establishment of the Yizhou commandery. Dian culture started from at least the 8th century BCE, until it fell under the control of the Han dynasty in 109 BCE.^[1]