Ngô Quyền in 938 declared himself king, but died after only 6 years. His untimely death after a short reign resulted in a power struggle for the throne, resulting in the country's first major civil war, the upheaval of the Twelve Warlords. The Anarchy of the 12 Warlords, also the Period of the 12 Warlords, was a period of chaos and civil war in the history of Vietnam, from 944 to 968 caused by the succession of the Ngô dynasty after the death of King Ngô Quyền.

Đinh Bộ Lĩnh, adopted son of Lord Trần Lãm who ruled the region of Bố Hải Khẩu (now Thái Bình Province), succeeded Lãm after his death. In 968, Đinh Bộ Lĩnh defeated the other eleven major warlords and reunified the nation under his rule. In the same year, Đinh Bộ Lĩnh ascended the throne, proclaiming himself emperor with the title Đinh Tiên Hoàng, establishing the Đinh dynasty, and he renamed the nation as Đại Cồ Việt ("Great Viet"). He moved the capital to Hoa Lư (modern-day Ninh Bình).