Commandery (China)

Despite having smaller populations and ranking lower on the official hierarchies, the commanderies were larger and boasted greater military strength than the counties.

When the Han dynasty triumphed over Chu in 206 BCE, the Zhou feudal system was initially reinstated, with Emperor Gaozu recognizing nearly independent kings and granting large territories to his relatives.

The number of administrative units drastically increased due to intense warfare, fluid political boundaries, forced migrations, widespread population loss, and the loss of central government control in many areas particularly during the Sixteen Kingdoms.

Some Emperors to referred to this level of administration as a jun ("commandery"), but most used zhou ("province") and the political function was the same, regardless.

By the end of the Tang dynasty the term jun saw no more use in China (and a new higher tier of administrative unit, the circuit had been introduced, bringing back a three-tier system).

In the Han dynasty, the position of junshou was renamed grand administrator (太守; tàishǒu; 'grand defender').