Early Career
Sima Jiong was the son of Sima You, Prince Xian of Qi, the younger brother of Jin Dynasty's founder Emperor Wu, making him Emperor Hui's cousin. Sima You's abilities were so highly regarded by both his father Sima Zhao and the officials that, at times, he was considered as the proper heir, first for Sima Zhao, then for Emperor Wu. After Emperor Wu therefore exiled him from the capital Luoyang in 282, he died in 283. Sima Jiong, as the oldest son of his wife, inherited his post, and complained to Emperor Wu about doctors' misdiagnosis. (The doctors, who had thought that they would gain Emperor Wu's favor if they informed him that Prince You was healthy (so that he could indeed go to his principality, had minimized the illness that Prince You was suffering.)
As an imperial prince, Sima Jiong had a sizable number of troops under his command. When Sima Lun overthrew Emperor Hui's domineering wife Empress Jia Nanfeng in 300 after she murdered Emperor Hui's crown prince Sima Yu, Sima Jiong was a participant of the coup, but did not receive great rewards afterwards. He therefore resented Sima Lun. Sima Lun, seeing his resentment, tried to appease him by giving him an important military command—of Xuchang (許昌, in modern Xuchang, Henan).
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