jiedushi

The jiedushi or jiedu was a regional military governor in imperial China. The title was established in the Tang dynasty and abolished in the Yuan dynasty. The post of jiedushi has been translated as "military commissioner" or "governor", "legate", and "regional commander". Originally introduced in AD 711 to counter external threats, the jiedushi were posts authorized with the supervision of a defense command often encompassing several prefectures, the ability to maintain their own armies, collect taxes and promote and appoint subordinates. Powerful jiedushi warlords eventually became fanzhen rulers, able to override the power of the central government of Tang. An early example of this was An Lushan, who was appointed jiedushi of three regions, which he used to start the An Lushan Rebellion...