Answer the following question: Given the following passage  "During the period of North–South division, Nanjing remained the capital of the Southern dynasties for more than two and a half centuries. During this time, Nanjing was the international hub of East Asia. Based on historical documents, the city had 280,000 registered households. Assuming an average Nanjing household had about 5.1 people at that time, the city had more than 1.4 million residents.",  answer the following question. Note that the answer is present within the text.  Question: __ lasted about two centuries.
Answer:
North–South division