
Far-flung kingdoms and states paid tribute to the Tang court, while the Tang also indirectly controlled several regions through a protectorate system.
AGE OF EMPIRES 4 CHINESE BUILD ORDER PROFESSIONAL
From its numerous subjects, the dynasty raised professional and conscripted armies of hundreds of thousands of troops to contend with nomadic powers for control of Inner Asia and the lucrative trade-routes along the Silk Road. Two censuses of the 7th and 8th centuries estimated the empire's population at about 50 million people, which grew to an estimated 80 million by the dynasty's end. The Tang capital at Chang'an (present-day Xi'an) was then the world's most populous city. The dynasty and central government went into decline by the latter half of the 9th century agrarian rebellions resulted in mass population loss and displacement, widespread poverty, and further government dysfunction that ultimately ended the dynasty in 907. The rise of regional military governors known as jiedushi during the 9th century undermined this civil order. Like the previous Sui dynasty, the Tang maintained a civil-service system by recruiting scholar-officials through standardized examinations and recommendations to office. The devastating An Lushan Rebellion (755–763) shook the nation and led to the decline of central authority in the dynasty's latter half. The dynasty was formally interrupted during 690–705 when Empress Wu Zetian seized the throne, proclaiming the Wu Zhou dynasty and becoming the only legitimate Chinese empress regnant. The Lǐ family ( 李) founded the dynasty, seizing power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire and inaugurating a period of progress and stability in the first half of the dynasty's rule.

Tang territory, acquired through the military campaigns of its early rulers, rivaled that of the Han dynasty. Historians generally regard the Tang as a high point in Chinese civilization, and a golden age of cosmopolitan culture. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The combination of taxes and inflation caused great colonial discontent.The Tang dynasty ( / t ɑː ŋ/, Chinese: 唐朝 ), or the Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. Additionally, since Great Britain was in a near-constant state of war, heavy taxation was needed to prop up its army and navy.

Mismanagement of printed currency resulted in inflationary periods. The colonies often had insufficient bullion left over to circulate in their own markets, so they issued paper currency to replace it.

