Lê Long Đĩnh (; 黎龍鋌, 15 November 986 – 19 November 1009), also known as Lê Ngọa Triều (黎臥朝), was the last emperor of the Early Lê family of the kingdom of Đại Cồ Việt, ruling from 1005 to 1009. After killing his predecessor and brother Lê Long Việt, he took the throne and named his era Cảnh Thụy. His mysterious death at the age of 24 led to the fall of the Anterior Lê dynasty, then all of power was seized by House of Lý. In some history books, he was portraited as a debauched, cruel emperor. However, there were still a lot of temples created that people still worship him until now, and recently, some historians proved that some rumours about his ruling style were aggrandisements, even seen as fabrications. Background Lê Long Đĩnh, who was also named Lê Chí Trung (黎至忠), was born on 15 November 986 by the Western calendar. He was the fifth son of Emperor Lê Hoàn, but later historians do not note any background of his mother, only information regarding a concubine. He was the half-brother of the Duke of Nam Phong (Nam Phong vương) Lê Long Việt. The Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư recorded that in 992 he was granted the title Prince of Khai Minh (Khai Minh Vương, 開明王) and rule over Đằng county (now Hưng Yên province). In 1004 the crown prince and duke of Kinh Thiên Lê Long Khâu died; the emperor made Lê Long Việt the crown prince of Việt Nam and Long Đĩnh the Duke of Khai Minh. Struggle for the throne In 1005, Lê Đại Hành died in Trường Xuân palace. Crown prince Lê Long Việt contested the crown with his other three brothers: Lê Long Tích, Lê Long Kính, and Lê Long Đĩnh. The three princes pitted their armies against each other, plunging Vietnam into civil war. In October 1005, Lê Long Việt defeated Lê Long Tích, forcing him to flee to Champa. He was subsequently killed by locals at the Cơ La estuary. The victorious Lê Long Việt was proclaimed as emperor with the title Trung Tông hoàng đế (Emperor Trung Tông). Three days after his ascension, however, Trung Tông was murdered by asssassins in Lê Long Đĩnh's employ. All of his supporters fled, except for Lý Công Uẩn who embraced the body of the emperor and wept. In winter of 1005, Lê