The Qin Dynasty was the first dynasty of Imperial China. Lasting from 221 to 206 BC, the Qin was with its 15 years the shortest major dynasty in Chinese history. The Name Qin 秦 comes from its heartland, the Qin State in modern Gansu and Shaanxi Provinces. The first Chinese Empire of the Qin was founded by Qin Shi Huang Di 秦始皇帝. After its strength was greatly increased by the Legalist reforms of Shang Yang in the fourth century BC the Qin state carried out a series of conquests, first ending the Zhou Dynasty 周朝, and eventually conquering the other six of the Seven Warring States. The Qin Empire had only two emperors, but inaugurated an imperial system that, in principle and with interruptions and adaptations, lasted until 1912 AD.