Wu Zhou

Zhou, known in historiography as the Wu Zhou (), was a short-lived Chinese imperial dynasty that existed between 690 and 705. The dynasty consisted of the reign of one empress regnant, Wu Zhao (Wu Zetian), who usurped the throne of her son, the Emperor Ruizong of Tang, in 690. The dynasty lasted until another one of Wu Zhao's sons, the Emperor Zhongzong of Tang, was restored to the throne in the in 705, marking the restoration of the Tang dynasty. Historians generally regard the Wu Zhou as an interregnum of the Tang dynasty.

Wu named her dynasty after the ancient Zhou dynasty, from whom she believed herself to be descended.

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