Three Kingdoms of Korea
The Three Kingdoms of Korea or Samhan 'of Korea, refers to the period in Korean history when the peninsula was divided into three major kingdoms: Goguryeo, Paekche, and Silla following the Proto–Three Kingdoms period.
These Samhan kingdoms competed for hegemony over the Korean Peninsula during the ancient period of Korean history. During the period, many states and statelets consolidated until, after Buyeo was annexed in 494 and Kaya was annexed in 562, only three remained on the Korean Peninsula: Goguryeo, Paekche and Silla. The "Korean Three Kingdoms'" contributed to what would become Korea; and the Goguryeo, Paekche and Silla peoples became the Korean people.
The three kingdoms occupied the entire peninsula and roughly half of Manchuria. Goguryeo controlled the northern half of the peninsula, as well as Liaodong Peninsula and Manchuria. Paekche and Silla occupied the southern half of the peninsula. The island kingdoms of Tamna and Usan were subordinated to Paekche and Silla, respectively.
All three kingdoms shared a similar culture and language. Paekche and Goguryeo shared founding myths which likely originated in Buyeo. Buddhism, which arrived in Korea in the 3rd century CE from India via Tibet and China, became the state religion of all constituents of the three kingdoms, starting with Goguryeo in 372 CE. The Three Kingdoms of Korea all had a warrior aristocracy in contrast to the literary elite of China.
The period ended in the 7th century, after Silla allied with Tang China and unified the peninsula for the first time in history. After the fall of Paekche and Goguryeo, the Tang dynasty established a short-lived military government to administer parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla was joined by Goguryeo and Paekche loyalists and fought the Tang for hegemony over the Korean Peninsula. Silla was eventually divided into the Later Three Kingdoms and ultimately annexed by the new Goguryeo revivalist state of Goryeo.
Nomenclature
Beginning in the 7th century, the name "Samhan" became synonymous with the Three Kingdoms of Korea. The "Han" in the names of the Korean Empire, Daehan Jeguk, and the Republic of Korea, Daehan Minguk or Hanguk, are named in reference to the Three Kingdoms of Korea, not the ancient confederacies in the southern Korean Peninsula.According to the Samguk sagi and Samguk yusa, Silla implemented a national policy, "Samhan Unification", to integrate Paekche and Goguryeo refugees. In 1982, a memorial stone dating to 686 was discovered in Cheongju with an inscription: "The Three Han were unified and the domain was expanded." During the Later Silla period, the concepts of Samhan as the ancient confederacies and the Three Kingdoms of Korea were merged. In a letter to an imperial tutor of the Tang dynasty, Ch'oe Ch'i-wŏn equated Byeonhan to Paekche, Jinhan to Silla, and Mahan to Goguryeo. By the Goryeo period, Samhan became a common name to refer to all of Korea. In his Ten Mandates to his descendants, Wang Geon declared that he had unified the Three Han, referring to the Three Kingdoms of Korea. Samhan continued to be a common name for Korea during the Joseon period and was widely referenced in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty.
In China, the Three Kingdoms of Korea were collectively called Samhan since the beginning of the 7th century. The use of the name Samhan to indicate the Three Kingdoms of Korea was widespread in the Tang dynasty. Goguryeo was alternately called Mahan by the Tang dynasty, as evidenced by a Tang document that called Goguryeo generals "Mahan leaders" in 645. In 651, Emperor Gaozong of Tang sent a message to the king of Paekche referring to the Three Kingdoms of Korea as Samhan. Epitaphs of the Tang dynasty, including those belonging to Paekche, Goguryeo, and Silla refugees and migrants, called the Three Kingdoms of Korea "Samhan", especially Goguryeo. For example, the epitaph of Go Hyeon, a Tang dynasty general of Goguryeo origin who died in 690, calls him a "Liaodong Samhan man".
The name "Three Kingdoms" was used in the titles of the Korean histories Samguk sagi and Samguk yusa, and should not be confused with the Three Kingdoms of China.
Foundation
The Three Kingdoms were founded after the fall of Wiman Joseon and gradually conquered and absorbed various other small states and confederacies. After the fall of Gojoseon, the Han dynasty established four commanderies in the northwestern Korean Peninsula and present Liaoning. Three fell quickly to the Samhan, and the last was destroyed by Goguryeo in 313.The nascent precursors of Paekche and Silla expanded within the web of statelets during the Proto-Three Kingdoms period, and Goguryeo conquered neighboring state like Buyeo in Manchuria and chiefdoms in Okjeo, Dongye which occupied the northeastern Korean Peninsula. The three polities made the transition from walled-town state to full-fledged state-level societies between 1st – 3rd century CE.
The primary sources for this period include Samguk sagi and Samguk yusa in Korea, and the "Eastern Barbarians" section from the Book of Wei of the Records of the Three Kingdoms in China.
All three kingdoms shared a similar culture and language. The Book of Sui recorded: "The customs, laws and clothes of Goguryeo, Paekche and Silla are generally identical." Their original religions appear to have been shamanistic, but they were increasingly influenced by Chinese culture, particularly Confucianism and Taoism. In the 4th century, Buddhism was introduced to the peninsula and spread rapidly, briefly becoming the official religion of all three kingdoms.
According to Lisa Kay Bailey, the material culture of the Three Kingdoms can be clearly distinguished as they displayed cultural influence from different regions. Goguryeo's culture showed stronger influence from northern Chinese art, Baekche showed stronger influence from southern Chinese art, and Silla, which was more distant from China, showed greater influence from Eurasian steppe nomad cultures and greater preservation of native traditions. During this period, the Three Kingdoms had yet to unify their separate identities. Each kingdom produced their own individual histories; only in the Goryeo dynasty period was the collective history of the Korean Peninsula written together.
"The decline of Chinese power in the fourth century unleashed a wave of refugees that proved pivotal in speeding up the process of state-building in Korea," starting the Three Kingdoms era.
Kingdoms
Goguryeo
Goguryeo emerged on the north and south banks of the Yalu River, in the wake of Gojoseon's fall. The first mention of Goguryeo in Chinese records dates from 75 BCE in reference to a commandery established by the Chinese Han dynasty, although even earlier mentions of "Guri" may be of the same state. Evidence indicates Goguryeo was the most advanced, and likely the first established, of the three kingdoms.Goguryeo, eventually the largest of the three kingdoms, had several capitals in alternation: two capitals in the upper Yalu area, and later Nangrang which is now part of Pyongyang. At the beginning, the state was located on the border with China; it gradually expanded into Manchuria and destroyed the Chinese Lelang commandery in 313. The cultural influence of the Chinese continued as Buddhism was adopted as the official religion in 372.
Goguryeo was a highly militaristic state; it was a powerful empire and one of the great powers in East Asia. The state was at its zenith in the 5th century, during the rule of King Gwanggaeto the Great and his son King Jangsu, and particularly during their campaign in Manchuria. For the next century or so, Goguryeo was the dominant nation in Manchuria and the northern Korean peninsula. Goguryeo eventually occupied the Liaodong Plains in Manchuria and today's Seoul area. Gwanggaeto achieved a loose unification of the Three Kingdoms of Korea.
Goguryeo also controlled Tungusic tribes in Manchuria. After the establishment of the Sui dynasty and later the Tang dynasty in China, the kingdom continued to take aggressive actions against China, Silla, and Paekche attacks until it was conquered by allied Silla–Tang forces in 668. Most of its territory was absorbed by the Tang dynasty of China, and the territory of Paekche was absorbed by Silla.
Paekche
was founded as a member of the Mahan confederacy. Two sons of the founder of Goguryeo are recorded to have fled a succession conflict, to establish Paekche around the present Seoul area. Paekche absorbed or conquered other Mahan chiefdoms and, at its peak in the 4th century, controlled most of the western Korean Peninsula. Buddhism was introduced to Paekche in 384 from Goguryeo, which Paekche welcomed.Paekche was a great maritime power; its nautical skill, which made it the Phoenicia of East Asia, was instrumental in the dissemination of Buddhism throughout East Asia and continental culture to Japan. Paekche played a fundamental role in transmitting cultural and material developments to ancient Japan, including Chinese written characters, Chinese and Korean literature, technologies such as ferrous metallurgy and ceramics, architectural styles, sericulture and Buddhism.
Paekche exerted its political influence on Tamna, a kingdom that ruled Jeju Island. Paekche maintained a close relationship with and extracted tribute from Tamna. Paekche's religious and artistic culture influenced Goguryeo and Silla. Paekche was once a great military power on the Korean Peninsula, especially during the time of Geunchogo, but was critically defeated by Gwanggaeto and declined.
In the late 5th century, under attack from Goguryeo, the capital of Paekche was moved south to Ungjin and later further south to Sabi. Paekche was conquered by Silla-Tang alliance in 660, submitting the Unified Silla.