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{{Hatnote|This article is about the [[Jin dynasty (266–420)|Western Jin]] imperial prince. For the Eastern Jin emperor with a similar sounding Mandarin name, see [[Emperor Kang of Jin]].}}
{{family name hatnote|[[Sima (Chinese surname)|Sima]]|lang=Chinese}}
{{Infobox royalty
|name = Sima Yue<br>司馬越
|successor    = [[Sima Chong]]
|birth_date = {{circa}}260 or before<ref>Sima Yue's biography in ''Book of Jin'' noted that his first position was a teacher of the classics to Emperor Hui while the latter was crown prince (from early 267 to May 290). As such, his birth year should be {{circa}}260 or before.</ref>
|death_date = 23 April 311
|father = Sima Tai
|succession = Prince of Donghai (東海王)
|reign = 30 September 291 – 23 April 311
|reign-type = Tenure
| posthumous name = Prince Xiaoxian of Donghai (東海孝獻王)
| house = [[Jin dynasty (266-420)|Jin dynasty]]
}}

'''Sima Yue''' (司馬越) (died 23 April 311<ref>According to [[Emperor Huai of Jin|Sima Chi]]'s biography in the ''[[Book of Jin]]'', Sima Yue died on the ''bingzi'' day in the 3rd month of the 5th year of the ''Yongjia'' era of Emperor Huai's reign. This corresponds to 23 Apr 311 in the Julian calendar. [(永嘉五年三月)丙子，东海王越薨。] ''Jin Shu'', vol. 05.</ref>), [[courtesy name]] '''Yuanchao''' (元超), formally '''Prince Xiaoxian of Donghai''' (東海孝獻王), was a [[Jin dynasty (266–420)|Western Jin]] imperial prince and [[regent]] for [[Emperor Hui of Jin|Emperor Hui]] and [[Emperor Huai of Jin|Emperor Huai]].  He was the last of eight princes commonly associated with the [[War of the Eight Princes]].

A distant relative of [[Emperor Hui of Jin]], Sima Yue entered the conflict after he betrayed the Prince of Changsha, [[Sima Ai]], taking the emperor for himself and waging war against the Prince of Chengdu, [[Sima Ying]] and the Prince of Hejian, [[Sima Yong]]. By late 306, he was victorious and established himself as paramount authority behind Emperor Hui and then [[Emperor Huai of Jin]]. However, due to the repercussions of the civil wars, he presided over an empire rife with rebellions and famines. Sima Yue controlled Emperor Huai and his court with an iron fist while he campaigned for many years against the [[Han-Zhao|Han-Zhao dynasty]] and their rebel allies, but in 311, he became overwhelmed with stress after Emperor Huai's plot to depose him came to light. He soon died of illness, and without his leadership, Han forces annihilated the Jin imperial army before sacking the capital [[Luoyang]] and capturing Emperor Huai in the [[Disaster of Yongjia]].

==Background and early career==
Sima Yue was the eldest son<ref>While Sima Yue's biography in ''Book of Jin'' recorded that he was the second son (次子), Sima Tai's biography in the same work listed him as the eldest. As Yue was also heir to the Princedom of Longxi before he was made Prince of Donghai, it was more likely that he was the eldest son.</ref> of Sima Tai (司馬泰; posthumously known as Prince Wenxian of Gaomi (高密文献王)<ref>Emperor Hui's biography in ''Book of Jin'' erroneously recorded Sima Tai's title as "Prince of Longxi" when he died in 299. It is unknown when exactly Tai's title was changed from "Prince of Longxi" to "Prince of Gaomi", but it should be between 296 and 299. After Sima Tai's death, his third son Sima Lüe was the next Prince of Gaomi.</ref>), who was a son of [[Sima Yi]]'s brother Sima Kui (司馬馗), making Yue a second cousin of Jin's founding emperor [[Emperor Wu of Jin|Emperor Wu]]. Sima Yue's mother was a grand-daughter of the Wei official Yang Jun (杨俊).<ref>The ''Wei Jin Shiyu'' recorded that Yang Jun's grandson Yang Yi was a maternal uncle of Sima Yue. (《世语》曰：俊二孙：览字公质，汝阴太守；猗字公彦，尚书：晋东海王越舅也。) ''Shiyu'' annotation in ''Sanguozhi'', vol.23. Yang Jun himself was on good terms with Sima Yi.</ref> In February 266, after Emperor Wu established the Jin dynasty, Sima Tai was named Prince of Longxi on 9 February.<ref>(泰始元年冬十二月....丁卯，....封皇叔祖父孚为安平王，...泰为陇西王，....) ''Jin Shu'', vol.03</ref> As the eldest son, Yue's first title was "Heir to the Princedom of Longxi" (陇西世子). It was in this capacity that he was made a teacher who taught the classics to the crown prince [[Emperor Hui of Jin|Sima Zhong]]; other such teachers include Yang Miao (杨邈) and [[Sima Yao (Sixuan)|Sima Yao]] (司马繇), son of [[Sima Zhou]].<ref>(初以世子为骑都尉，与驸马都尉杨邈及琅邪王伷子繇俱侍讲东宫，...) ''Jin Shu'', vol.59. The "eastern palace" was a [[metonymy]] referring to the crown prince; Emperor Hui was crown prince from {{circa}}February 267 to May 290.</ref> His wife Lady Pei was a younger sister of Pei Dun, son of Pei Kang, elder brother of Pei Kai;<ref>(楷长兄黎，次兄康，并知名。康子盾，....。东海王越，盾妹夫也。) ''Jin Shu'', vol.35. Pei Kai was also an in-law of [[Sima Liang]], as Kai's eldest son Pei Yu married a daughter of Sima Liang. (楷长子舆先娶亮女，...) ''Jin Shu'', vol.35.</ref> Pei Kang was an ancestor of the historians [[Pei Songzhi]] and [[Pei Ziye]].<ref>(裴子野字几原，河东闻喜人，晋太子左率康八世孙。兄黎，弟楷、绰，并有盛名，所谓“四裴”也。曾祖松之，宋太中大夫。) ''Liang Shu'', vol.30. It is unknown which of Pei Kang's sons was Pei Songzhi's direct ancestor.</ref>

Sima Yue also took part in [[Jia Nanfeng]]'s coup against Emperor Hui's first regent [[Yang Jun (minister)|Yang Jun]], and was made a marquis, with a fiefdom of 5000 households.<ref>(讨杨骏有功，封五千户侯。) ''Jin Shu'', vol.59. Emperor Hui's biography in the same work noted that Yang Miao, his fellow tutor of the classics to Emperor Hui, was killed together with Yang Jun and [[Wen_Yang_(Three_Kingdoms)|Wen Yang]] ([元康元年]三月辛卯，诛太傅杨骏，....散骑常侍段广、杨邈，.....东夷校尉文淑，....皆夷三族).</ref> On 30 September 291,<ref>''xinwei'' day of the 8th month of the 1st year of the ''Yong'ping'' era, per Emperor Hui's biography in ''Book of Jin''</ref> he was created the Prince of [[Donghai Commandery|Donghai]]. During the early parts of the War of the Eight Princes, he held a number of offices in the capital [[Luoyang]].

In early 304, when the regent [[Sima Ai]] the Prince of Changsha (Emperor Hui's half-brother) was battling the forces of [[Sima Ying]] the Prince of Chengdu (also Emperor Hui's half-brother) and [[Sima Yong]] the Prince of Hejian (grandson of Emperor Hui's great-granduncle [[Sima Fu]], Prince Xian of Anping [安平献王]), even though Sima Ai was fighting off the overwhelming force that Sima Ying and Sima Yong had, Sima Yue became convinced that a victory was impossible, and he seized Sima Ai and delivered him to Sima Yong's general [[Zhang Fang]], who executed Sima Ai cruelly by burning him to death. Sima Ying controlled the government remotely, with Sima Yue being one of the generals who stayed in Luoyang to execute Sima Ying's orders.

==Campaigns against Sima Ying and Sima Yong==
{{unreferencedsect|date=September 2024}}
[[File:Uprising of the Eastern Armies.png|thumb|300x300px|Uprising of the Eastern Armies, 305–306 AD]]
As Sima Ying continued to remotely control the government from his stronghold of Yecheng (鄴城, in modern [[Handan]], [[Hebei]]) as both regent and [[crown prince]], the officials in Luoyang tired of the situation.  Later in 304, Sima Yue led them in a rebellion against Sima Ying's forces, and he took Emperor Hui with him on the campaign. After some initial hesitation, Sima Ying fought and defeated Sima Yue's forces, forcing Sima Yue to flee.  Emperor Hui was captured and taken to Yecheng.  Subsequently, however, Sima Ying was defeated by [[Wang Jun (Pengzu)|Wang Jun]], the commander of the forces of You Province (幽州, modern [[Beijing]], [[Tianjin]], and northern [[Hebei]]) and fled to Luoyang without his troops.  Sima Yong then seized control of the government and Emperor Hui, deposing Sima Ying from his position as crown prince in February 305 and replacing him with another half-brother of Emperor Hui's, [[Emperor Huai of Jin|Sima Chi]] the Prince of Yuzhang. Later, Yong further had Zhang forcibly move Emperor Hui and Crown Prince Chi to [[Chang'an]], under his firm control.<ref>''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol.85</ref>

Sima Yue decided to act against Sima Yong. In fall 305, he declared a rebellion with the stated intention of returning Emperor Hui to Luoyang. The warlords of the empire were forced to take sides, but eventually they generally fell into line behind Sima Yue because they were disgusted with Zhang's cruelty.  The battles were initially largely indecisive, but in early 306, after Sima Yue had some minor victories over Sima Yong's forces, Sima Yong panicked and killed Zhang, seeking peace with Sima Yue. Sima Yue refused, and by later that year was able to force Sima Yong to abandon both Emperor Hui and Chang'an. Sima Yue welcomed Emperor Hui back to the capital Luoyang in June. In January 307, Emperor Hui was poisoned to death, and historians generally agreed that the poisoning was done at Sima Yue's orders, but the motive was unclear.<ref>One possible motive could be that Sima Yue regarded Emperor Hui as a jinx, for each of his previous regents (besides Sima Yong) had died unnatural deaths. After Emperor Hui's death, Sima Yong was also tricked into surrendering himself and killed by a general under [[Sima Mo]], Yue's brother.</ref> Crown Prince Chi ascended to the throne as Emperor Huai.

==Domination over Emperor Huai==

Emperor Huai, in contrast with the [[developmental disability|developmentally disabled]] Emperor Hui, was intelligent and astute, and he sought to revive the war-ravaged empire, but Sima Yue maintained a tight grip on authority and would not allow the emperor much actual power. On 18 May 307, he left Luoyang and set up headquarters at Xuchang (許昌, in modern [[Xuchang]], [[Henan]]), but continued to control the government remotely. He also gave his younger brothers various titles and military appointments. [[Sima Teng]], the second brother, was appointed Prince of Xincai, and was made Chief Controller of Si and Ji Provinces, while being garrisoned at Ye. [[Sima Lue|Sima Lüe]], the third brother, was made General who Attacks the South, Chief Controller of Jing Province and was garrisoned at Xiangyang. [[Sima Mo]], the youngest brother, was appointed Grand General who Conquers the West and Chief Controller of Qin, Yong, Liáng and Yi provinces. He was garrisoned at Chang'an.<ref>([永嘉元年三月]庚辰，越出镇许昌。以高密王略为征南大将军，都督荆州诸军事，镇襄阳；南阳王模为征西大将军，都督秦、雍、梁、益四州诸军事，镇长安；东燕王腾为新蔡王，都督司、冀二州诸军事，仍镇邺。) ''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol.86</ref> Later that year, on 25 August,<ref>([永嘉元年]秋，七月，...己未，以琅邪王睿为安东将军，都督扬州江南诸军事，假节，镇建业。) ''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol.86</ref> at the urging of his wife Princess Pei,<ref>(初，元帝镇建邺，裴妃之意也，...) ''Jin Shu'', vol.59</ref> he issued an order that appeared insignificant at the time but would turn out to be important later on—making [[Emperor Yuan of Jin|Sima Rui]] the Prince of Langye in charge of Yang Province (揚州, modern [[Zhejiang]] and southern [[Jiangsu]] and [[Anhui]]), at the post of [[Jiankang|Jianye]] (建業, in modern [[Nanjing]], [[Jiangsu]]); this was the post from which Sima Rui would later, after the fall of Luoyang and Chang'an to [[Han-Zhao]], claim the Jin imperial title.<ref>Nearly three years later, in June or July 310, Princess Pei's brother Pei Chun would also flee to Jianye.</ref>

Despite his suspicion of Emperor Huai, Sima Yue was still willing to keep him on the throne. He strongly rejected attempts to have the emperor replaced with the teenage [[Sima Tan (Jin dynasty)|Sima Tan]],<ref>Sima Tan's maternal grandmother Lady Sima was a paternal aunt of Sima Yue; Lady Sima's son Zhou Mu was Sima Tan's maternal uncle, per vol.86 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'' and vol.59 of ''Jin Shu''.</ref> Emperor Hui's nephew and initial Crown Prince after his direct male descendants had all died, perhaps intending to control an emperor with slightly more agency than the previous one. On 24 March 308, a few months after foiling a conspiracy to install Sima Tan to the throne, Sima Yue ordered the former crown prince to be killed.<ref>([永嘉二年]二月，辛卯，太傅越杀清河王覃。) ''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol.86</ref>

In 309, Sima Yue, concerned about the growing use of authority that Emperor Huai was exerting, made a sudden return to Luoyang and arrested and executed a number of Emperor Huai's associates, including Emperor Huai's uncle Wang Yan (王延).<ref>''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol.87</ref>  Other than privately mourning them, there was nothing that Emperor Huai could do. Sima Yue further disbanded the imperial guards and put his own personal forces in charge of protecting the emperor.

For all of Sima Yue's assertion of authority, he could not stop Han-Zhao, under its generals [[Liu Cong (Han Zhao)|Liu Cong]] the Prince of Chu (the son of Han's emperor [[Liu Yuan (Han Zhao)|Liu Yuan]], [[Liu Yao]] the Prince of Shi'an (Liu Yuan's nephew), [[Wang Mi]], and [[Shi Le]], from disrupting Jin rule throughout northern and central China and capturing Jin cities and towns. Sima Teng was killed by rebels in Ye, while Mo, Lüe and Rui were not as cooperative as Yue had expected them to be, being more interested in consolidating their own territories. Yue and his allies were able to defeat Han on numerous occasions, such as in late 309, when he managed to fight off a joint attack by Liu Cong and Wang on Luoyang, but their forces were gradually wearing out while rebel groups in the north continued to attach themselves to the Han.

After Liu Yuan died in 310 and was succeeded by Liu Cong, Han renewed its attacks on the Luoyang region.  Meanwhile, Sima Yue continued to alienate other generals and officials, and when [[Liu Kun (Jin dynasty)|Liu Kun]], the military commander of [[Bing (province)|Bing]] (并州, roughly modern [[Shanxi]]) proposed to him the plan of an attack on the Han capital Pingyang (平陽, in modern [[Linfen]], [[Shanxi]]) in conjunction with the powerful [[Xianbei]] chieftain [[Tuoba Yilu]] the Duke of [[Dai (Sixteen Kingdoms)|Dai]], Sima Yue was fearful of backstabbing attack by some of these warlords and therefore unable to accept Liu's plan. Indeed, when Emperor Huai and Sima Yue sent out calls for the various governors to come to Luoyang's aid later that year, there were few responses. Sima Yue became uncertain of himself, and late in 310 left Luoyang with virtually all of the central government's remaining troops, along with a large number of officials, effectively stripping Luoyang and Emperor Huai bare of their defenses, except for a small detachment commanded by Sima Yue's subordinate He Lun (何倫), intended as much to monitor as to protect Emperor Huai.  From that point on, Luoyang was left even without a police force and became largely a city abandoned to bandits and thugs.

Emperor Huai soon entered into a plan with [[Gou Xi]], the military commander of Qing Province (青州, modern central and eastern [[Shandong]]), who had been dissatisfied with Sima Yue, to overthrow Sima Yue's yoke. Sima Yue discovered this plan, but was unable to wage a campaign against Gou. He grew ill in his anger and distress, and died in April 311. The generals and officials in his army, led by [[Wang Yan (Jin dynasty)|Wang Yan]], instead of returning to Luoyang, headed east toward Sima Yue's [[Donghai Commandery|principality of Donghai]] (roughly modern [[Linyi]], [[Shandong]]) to bury him there. He Lun, upon hearing about Sima Yue's death, also withdrew from Luoyang and sought to join that force.  However, both were intercepted by Shi Le and wiped out. Shi, declaring that Sima Yue had caused the empire much damage, burned Sima Yue's body. Sima Yue's sons were all captured and presumably killed by Shi. Only Princess Pei fled, and after much suffering, including a stint where she was enslaved, she arrived in Jianye during the ''Tai'xing'' era (318-321).<ref>(裴妃为人所略，卖于吴氏，太兴中，得渡江，....。) ''Jin Shu'', vol.59. Emperor Yuan's biography in the same work recorded the era name as ''Da'xing'' (大兴).</ref> Because she had persuaded Sima Yue to let Sima Rui have the Jianye post, Sima Rui was grateful to her and honored both her and Sima Yue posthumously, and allowed her to adopt his son [[Sima Chong]] (司馬沖; 311 - 28 August 341<ref>([咸康七年]秋八月辛酉，骠骑将军、东海王冲薨。) ''Jin Shu'', vol.07; vol.96 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'' also recorded the same death date. (咸康七年薨，年三十一，...) ''Jin Shu'', vol.64</ref>) to serve as Sima Yue's heir. None of Yue's immediate relations went to the south; his cousin Sima Zhi's (司马植; Prince Yuan of Pengcheng) grandson Sima Xiong (司马雄; Prince of Pengcheng) was the only descendant of Sima Kui to reach Jiankang.<ref>''Jin Shu'', vol.37</ref><ref>Per the ''Book of Jin'' (in volumes 6 and 28), during the ''Tai'an'' era (302 - 303) of Emperor Hui's reign, a nursery rhyme went "Five horses swarm across the river; one horse turned into a ''[[Chinese dragon|loong]]''". Of the five imperial princes which converged at Jiankang, three had direct relations: [[Sima Yang]] (Prince of Xiyang), his brother Sima Zong (Prince of Nandun), and their nephew Sima You (Prince of Ru'nan and son of their elder brother Sima Ju). (太安中，童谣曰：“五马游渡江，一马化为龙。”后中原大乱，宗藩多绝，唯琅邪、汝南、西阳、南顿、彭城同至江东，而元帝嗣统矣。) ''Jin Shu'', volume 28. Of the five, four were descendants of Sima Yi.</ref>

As for his brothers-in-law (Princess Pei's brothers), Pei Dun was killed about a month after Sima Yue's death, when Xuzhou fell.<ref>([永嘉五年]四月....贼王桑、冷道陷徐州，刺史裴盾遇害，...) ''Jin Shu'', vol.05. The 4th month of the 5th year of the ''Yong'jia'' era corresponds to 5 May to 2 Jun 311 in the Julian calendar.</ref> About a year earlier, Pei Chun,<ref>Pei Chun being a son of Pei Kang was found in a ''Jin Zhugong Zan'' annotation in vol.23 of ''Sanguozhi''. (<晋诸公赞>曰：康有弘量，....康子纯，黄门侍郎。次盾，徐州刺史。)</ref> then Administrator of Xingyang, had fled to Jianye.<ref>([永嘉四年]五月，.....荥阳太守裴纯奔建邺。) ''Jin Shu'', vol.05. The 5th month of the 4th year of the ''Yong'jia'' era corresponds to 14 Jun to 12 Jul 310 in the Julian calendar. Out of Pei Kang's sons, Pei Chun was the only one recorded to have successfully fled to the south. Thus, the unknown grandfather of Pei Mei (Pei Songzhi's grandfather) could be Pei Chun.</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}
*[[Fang Xuanling|Fang, Xuanling]]: ''[[Book of Jin]]'' (''Jin Shu'').
*[[Sima Guang|Sima, Guang]]: ''Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance'' (''[[Zizhi Tongjian]]'')

{{War of the Eight Princes}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sima, Yue}}
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:311 deaths]]
[[Category:Jin dynasty (266–420) generals]]
[[Category:Jin dynasty (266–420) imperial princes]]
[[Category:Jin dynasty (266–420) regents]]
[[Category:Chinese regicides]]
[[Category:4th-century regents]]