• In 202 BCE, Liu Bang’s army defeated Xiang Yu’s forces
• He already called himself king of Han in 206 BCE, took title of emperor in 202 BCE
• Proceeded to call on the same religious rituals King Zheng had invoked
• Was one of the two emperors to rise from peasant to emperor
• Declared several amnesties, saving victims of the harsh penalties of Qin law
• Kept 1/3 of empire while giving out 2/3 to brothers, sons, most trusted generals
• Died in 195 BCE and left his son on the throne, in part because of confidence in Empress Lu