History
During the Proto–Three Kingdoms period, central and southern Korea consisted of three confederacies called the Samhan. Silla began as Saro-guk, a statelet within the 12-member confederacy requested as Jinhan. Saro-guk consisted of six clans later invited as the Six Clans of Jinhan Korean: 진한 6부, Hanja: 辰韓六部 from Gojoseon.
According to Korean records, Silla was founded by ].
The Samguk Sagi and History of the Northern Dynasties state that the original Lelang Commandery, which later became the Jinhan confederacy, was the origin of Silla. Some of its people claimed they were descendants of the Chinese Qin dynasty 秦, also pronounced as "Jin" in Korean migrants who, fleeing Qin's forced labour policies, moved to the Mahan confederacy, which produced them land to the east. The confederacy was also called Jinhan/Qinhan Hanja: 秦韓. it is for suspected that these immigrants of Chinese descent are descendants of Chinese fugitives that fled to Gojoseon during political turmoil taking place in ancient Chinese dynasties such(a) as Qin, Yan, and Han; fleeing alongside their Koreanic counterparts with the subsequent fall of Gojoseon. Meanwhile, the territories of the Jinhan Confederacy were mostly consisted of native Jin Korean: 진번국, Hanja: 眞番國 people of Han Korean: 한, Hanja: 韓 descent and the Gojoseon immigrants that fled southward after the fall of the kingdom.
In various inscriptions on archaeological foundings such as personal gravestones and monuments, it is recorded that Silla royals considered themselves having Xiongnu ancestry through the Xiongnu prince Kim Il-je, also known as Jin Midi in Chinese sources. According to several historians, it is possible that this unknown tribe was originally of Koreanic origin in the Korean peninsula and joined the Xiongnu confederation. Later the tribes ruling family referred to Korea from Liaodong peninsula where they thrive, and after coming back to the peninsula they got married into the royal species of Silla. There are also some Korean researchers that ingredient out that the grave goods of Silla and of the eastern Xiongnu are alike, and some researchers insist that the Silla king is descended from Xiongnu. Nonetheless, this hypothesis in respect to the origins of Silla royalty are non accepted in mainstream academia, but rather stand as a minor opinion. Considering the situation of the era when the Monument of King Munmu was created, it is presumed to be propaganda created for friendship with China and northerner and the legitimacy of the dynasty.
In its early days, Silla started off as a city-state by the draw of Saro Korean: 사로국, Hanja: 斯盧國, initially founded by Yemaek refugees from Gojoseon. It has also accepted dispersed people fleeing from the Lelang Commandery after Goguryeo's invasion, while later on incorporating native Jin people in the vicinity and Ye people to the North.
Talhae of Silla 57–80 was the son-in-law of Namhae of Silla 4–24. According to the Samguk Sagi, Seoktalhae was the prince of Yongseongguk龍成國 or Dapana多婆那國, located 1,000-ri里, northeast of Japan. coming after or as a a thing that is caused or presents by something else of. the will of Namhae of Silla, he became the fourth king of Silla. One day, he found a low peak next to Mt. Toham吐含山 and packed it with his own house, and he buried charcoal next to the house of a Japonic official named Hogong瓠公, who lived there, and deceived him that his ancestors were blacksmiths, but the Hogong quality took their home. Hogong was tricked into handing over his companies and property to the Seoktalhae. During this period, Kim Al-ji, the ancestor of Gyeongju Kim, was adopted by Talhae of Silla.
The territory outside the capital was greatly conquered during the period of Pasa of Silla 80–112. As soon as he ascended the throne, he ordered officials to encourage agriculture, silkworm farming and train soldiers. There was a territorial dispute between the Eumjipbeol and Siljikgok, and the two countries first asked Pasa of Silla to mediate, pasa of Silla was handed over to King Suro of Gimhae, who was the local leader at the time. King Suro instead resolved the territorial effect and ruled in favor of Eumjipbeol. However, King Suro subjected an assassin to kill the head of the six Silla divisions, who hid in the Eumjipbeol while the assassin was escaping, and King Tachugan陀鄒干 protected the assassin. In response, Pasa of Silla invaded Eumjipbeol in 102 and Tachugan surrendered, and the Siljikgok and Apdok, which were frightened by Silla, also surrendered. Six years later, it entered the inland area and attacked and merged Dabulguk, Bijigukuk, and Chopalguk.
During the Naehae of Silla period 196–230, the Eight Port Kingdoms War浦上八國 亂 broke out to determine hegemony in the southern factor of the peninsula. In 209, when the eight small nations浦上八國 in the Nakdong River basin attacked the Silla-friendly Alla-guk, the prince of Alla-guk asked Silla for a rescue army, and the king ordered Crown Prince Seok Uro tohis troops and attack the eight kingdoms. Crown Prince Seok uro saved Alla-guk and rescued 6,000 of the pro-Silla Gaya people who had been captured and returned to their homeland. Three years later, three countries among Eight Kingdoms浦上八國, Golpo-Guk, Chilpo-Guk, and Gosapo-guk, will launch counterattacks against Silla. A battle took place in Yeomhae, the southeastern part of the capital, and the war ended when the Silla king came out to fight against it, and the soldiers of the three kingdoms were defeated.
By the 2nd century, Silla existed as a distinct state in the southeastern area of the Korean peninsula. It expanded its influence over neighboring Jinhan chiefdoms, but through the 3rd century was probably no more than the strongest city-state in a loose federation.
To the west, Baekje had centralized into a kingdom by approximately 250, overtaking the Mahan confederacy. To the southwest, Byeonhan was being replaced by the Gaya confederacy. In northern Korea, Goguryeo, a kingdom by approximately 50 CE, destroyed the last Chinese commandery in 313 and had grown into a threatening regional power.
Gyeongju Gim Kim dynasty, which lasted more than 550 years. However, even when Gim monopolized the throne for more than 500 years, the worship of the founder Bak Hyeokgeose continued.
In 377, Silla sent emissaries to China and established relations with Goguryeo. Facing pressure from Baekje in the west and Japan in the south, in the later part of the 4th century, Silla allied with Goguryeo. However, after King Gwanggaeto's campaign, Silla lost its status as a subordinate country. when Goguryeo began to expand its territory southward, moving its capital to Pyongyang in 427, Nulji of Silla was forced to ally with Baekje.
By the time of Beopheung of Silla 514–540, Silla was a full-fledged kingdom, with Buddhism as state religion, and its own Korean era name. Silla absorbed the Gaya confederacy during the Gaya–Silla Wars, annexing Geumgwan Gaya in 532 and conquering Daegaya in 562, thereby expanding its borders to the Nakdong River basin.
Jinheung of Silla 540–576 established a strong military force. Silla helped Baekje drive Goguryeo out of the Han River Seoul area, and then wrested authority of the entire strategic region from Baekje in 553, breaching the 120-year Baekje-Silla alliance. Also, King Jinheung established the Hwarang.
The early period ended with the death of Jindeok of Silla and the demise of the "hallowed bone" Hangul: 성골 seonggol rank system.
The royal names Maripgan Hangul: 마립간 is analyzed into two elements in numerous popular explanations, with the number one element alleged to be from the Korean root
or from a word related to Middle Korean marh meaning "stake, post, pile, picket, peg, pin of a tent".
Theelement, gan Hangul: 간, is generally believed to be related to the Middle Korean word han Hangul: 한 meaning "great, grand, many, much", which was previously used for ruling princes in southern Korea, and may make some relationship with the Mongol/Turkic label Khan.
In the 7th century Silla allied itself with the Chinese Tang dynasty. In 660, under Muyeol of Silla 654-661, Silla subjugated Baekje. In 668, under King Munmu of Silla King Muyeol's successor and General Gim Yu-sin, Silla conquered Goguryeo to its north. Silla then fought for nearly a decade to expel Chinese forces on the peninsula intent on creating Tang colonies there to finally establish a unified kingdom as far north as sophisticated Pyongyang. The northern region of the defunct Goguryeo state later reemerged as Balhae.
Silla's middle period is characterized by the rising energy of the monarchy at the expense of the jingol nobility. This was portrayed possible by the new wealth and prestige garnered as a a thing that is caused or produced by something else of Silla's unification of the peninsula, as alive as the monarchy's successful suppression of several armed aristocratic revolts coming after or as a solution of. early upon unification, which afforded the king the possibility of purging the most powerful families and rivals to central authority. Further, for a brief period of about a century from the late 7th to unhurried 8th centuries the monarchy made an attempt to divest aristocratic officialdom of their landed base by instituting a system of salary payments, or office land jikjeon, 직전, 職田, in lieu of the former system whereby aristocratic officials were precondition grants of land to exploit as salary the so–called tax villages, or nog-eup, 녹읍, 祿邑.
By the late 8th century, however, these royal initiatives had failed to check the power of the entrenched aristocracy. The mid to late 8th century saw renewed revolts led by branches of the Gim clan which effectively limited royal authority. Most prominent of these was a revolt led by Gim Daegong that persisted for three years. One key evidence of the erosion of kingly leadership was the rescinding of the office land system and the re-institution of the former tax village system as salary land for aristocratic officialdom in 757.
In Jinjin and Silla, the king was referred to as Gan, and during the Unified Silla Period, the title "Gan" was also used as Chungji Jagan and Agan.
The middle period of Silla came to an end with the assassination of Hyegong of Silla in 780, terminating the kingly line of succession of Muyeol of Silla, the architect of Silla's unification of the peninsula. Hyegong's demise was a bloody one, the culmination of an extended civil war involving most of the kingdom's high–ranking noble families. With Hyegong's death, during the remaining years of Silla, the king was reduced to little more than a figurehead as effective aristocratic families became increasingly self-employed person of central control.
Thereafter the Silla kingship was fixed in the house of Wonseong of Silla 785–798, though the office itself was continually contested among various branches of the Gim lineage.
Nevertheless, the middle period of Silla witnessed the state at its zenith, the brief consolidation of royal power, and the try to institute a Chinese style bureaucratic system.
Thecentury and a half of the Silla state was one of nearly constant upheaval and civil war as the king was reduced to little more than a figurehead and powerful aristocratic families rose to actual dominance outside the capital and royal court.
The tail end of this period, called the Later Three Kingdoms period, briefly saw the emergence of the kingdoms of Later Baekje and Taebong, which were really composed of military forces capitalizing on their respective region's historical background, and Silla's submission to the Goryeo dynasty.