Jia Ya was from
Wuwei Commandery in modern-day
Gansu. His great-grandfather was the famed advisor of the warlord
Cao Cao,
Jia Xu who helped lay the foundation of the state of Cao Wei during the
Three Kingdoms. In his youth, he was well-respected by the people for his talents and openness to them. He joined the Jin government, and rose to the rank of Administrator of Anding. Jia Ya was also involved in the
War of the Eight Princes in 306, in which he sided with
Sima Yue against
Sima Yong and killed the generals Ma Zhan (馬瞻) and Liang Mai (梁邁). During the reign of
Emperor Huai of Jin in 311, the Inspector of
Yongzhou, Ding Chuo (丁綽) slandered Jia Ya to the Prince of
Nanyang,
Sima Mo (司馬模), a younger brother of Sima Yue. Jia Ya was also hosting the rebel Pei Bao (裴苞), who had opposed Sima Mo. Jia Ya fled to the
Lu River, where he befriended the
Lushuihu chieftain Peng Dangzhong (彭蕩仲) and the
Di chieftain Dou Shou (竇首). Together, they helped Jia Ya return to Anding, where they killed Sima Mo's general Xie Ban (謝班) and forced Ding Chuo to flee to
Wudu. The emperor pardoned Jia Ya and appointed him the new Inspector of Yongzhou. Later that year in July, the forces of Han-Zhao took over
Luoyang and captured the emperor as well. Soon, Chang'an also capitulated after Sima Mo was captured and executed by Han. Jia Ya and many of the tribal leaders around Anding sent their officials' children over to Luoyang to submit to Han. However, they did not reach the capital, rather they were led home by Sima Mo's subordinates Suo Chen and Qu Yun, who were fleeing from Han forces. Suo Chen, Qu Yun and the others discussed plans to restore Jin's authority in the north, and they all agreed to have Jia Ya lead them. Jia Ya accepted the position of General Who Pacifies the West. Jia Ya set out with his army to Chang'an. The Inspector of Yongzhou, Qu Te (麴特), Sima Ye was proclaimed as the new Crown Prince in Chang'an and Jia Ya was appointed as Grand General Who Conquers The West. However, Jia Ya would not hold onto his new position for long nor would he see the Crown Prince take the throne. Peng Dangzhong's son, Peng Tianhu (彭天護) attacked Jia Ya later in 312. He feigned retreat and Jia Ya chased him into the night. His pursuit proved to be fatal, as he fell into a gully and was captured by Tianhu, who then had him executed. The new regime that Jia Ya had found continued to survive under the guidance of Suo Chen and Qu Yun, but eventually perished in 316 when Sima Ye, posthumously known as Emperor Min of Jin, surrendered to besieging Han forces. ==Notes==