Prince's Palace of Monaco Prince's Palace of Monaco The Prince's Palace of Monaco is the official residence of the Sovereign Prince of Monaco. Built in 1191 as a Genoese fortress, during its long and often dramatic history it has been bombarded and besieged by many foreign powers. Since the end of the 13th century, it has been the stronghold and home of the Grimaldi family who first captured it in 1297. The Grimaldi ruled the area first as feudal lords, and from the 17th century as sovereign princes, but their power was often derived from fragile agreements with their larger and stronger neighbours. Thus
Southward expansion of the Han dynasty in 192 BC after the fall of the Qin dynasty. Zhao Tuo, a former Chinese commander of the Qin, established Nanyue in 208 BC after the death of the emperor Qin Shi Huang. Emperor Gaozu, first emperor of the Han dynasty, approved Zhao Tuo's new title as king. Zhao was born in the city of Zhending in Central China, and the ruling class of the new kingdom was composed of Chinese officials from the former Qin dynasty. In 180 BC, Zhao offered to submit as a vassal state and the Han accepted, a decision partly based on his family's northern