Page "Spring and Autumn period" Paragraph 18

At his death in 643 BC, five of Duke Huan's sons contended for the throne, causing enough state discord that the next Duke of Qi did not inherit the bà title.

For nearly ten years, no ruler held the title.

However, when Duke Wen of Jin ( r. 636 – 628 BC ) came to power, he capitalized on the reforms of his father, Duke Xian ( r. 676 – 651 BC ), who had centralized the state, killed off relatives who might threaten his authority, conquered sixteen smaller states, and even absorbed some Rong and Di peoples to make Jin much more powerful than it had been previously.

When he assisted King Xiang in a succession struggle in 635 BC, Xiang awarded Jin with strategically valuable territory near Chengzhou.