A dynasty that briefly unified China after the period of the Three Kingdoms. It was established by Sima Yan, a general of the Wei kingdom. He attempted to curb the power of the dominant families but after his death in 290, Sima princes feuded with each other and the central government collapsed. In the resulting chaos, a Xiongnu invasion occurred and Luoyang (311) and Chang’an (316) were sacked. One Sima prince in the south‐eastern kingdom of Wu established the Eastern Jin dynasty (317–420), but it too lacked strong central government. During this period, the colonization of southern China by Han Chinese greatly increased.