Later Baekje facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Later Baekje
후백제 (後百濟)
Hubaekje 백제 (百濟) Baekje |
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| 892–936 | |||||||||
Later Baekje (in green) in 915.
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| Capital | Wansanju | ||||||||
| Common languages | Old Korean, Classical Chinese (literary) |
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| Religion | Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shamanism |
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| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| King | |||||||||
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• 892–935
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Kyŏn Hwŏn (first) | ||||||||
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• 935–936
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Kyŏn Sin-gŏm (last) | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
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• Establishment
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892 | ||||||||
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• Fall
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936 | ||||||||
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| Today part of | South Korea | ||||||||
| Later Baekje | |
| Hangul |
후백제
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| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Hu-baekje |
| McCune–Reischauer | Hu-paekche |
Later Baekje (Hangul: 후백제; Hanja: 後百濟; RR: Hubaekje) was one of the Later Three Kingdoms of Korea. It existed alongside Taebong and Silla. This kingdom was founded in 900 by a Silla general named Kyŏn Hwŏn. He led people who felt unhappy with Silla's rule. Many of these people were descendants of the old Baekje kingdom.
Kyŏn Hwŏn wanted to bring back the old Baekje kingdom. Many refugees from the original Baekje and some Silla nobles joined him. Later Baekje was strong at first, especially against the new kingdom of Goryeo and the weakening Silla. Its capital was at Jeonju, which is in today's North Jeolla province. However, Later Baekje eventually fell to Wang Kŏn's Goryeo army in 936. This happened because of political problems and Kyŏn Hwŏn's own actions.
Contents
How Later Baekje Began
Baekje People's Unhappiness
After Silla won the Silla-Tang Wars, it united the Three Kingdoms. This was a chance for different cultures to mix. Most people from the old Baekje kingdom became part of Silla. However, Silla had a strict social system called the Bone-Rank System. This system was not fair to people from Goguryeo and Baekje.
People from Baekje faced even worse treatment. This was because they had fought against Silla in the past. Even though some Baekje people helped Silla or got special titles, they were still limited. They could not achieve high positions like Silla's own nobles. Many important Baekje families lost their power and even their family names.
This unfair treatment made people in the old Baekje areas very unhappy. They felt like they were still Baekje people, not Silla. They disliked Silla and wanted to keep their own identity.
Silla's Decline
After uniting the three kingdoms, Silla was very powerful for over 220 years. But over time, it started to weaken. Local leaders, called hojok, began to want more power. They saw that the central government in Silla was losing control. This was because Silla's noble families were constantly fighting for the throne.
During the time of Queen Jinseong (887-897), Silla struggled to collect taxes. The government sent officials to force farmers to pay. This made the farmers very angry. Many rebellions broke out. The most famous was the Rebellion of Wŏnjong and Aeno in 889. Even though Silla put it down, this rebellion showed that Silla was in trouble. It marked the start of the Later Three Kingdoms period.
Kyŏn Hwŏn's rebellion began in 892 when he attacked Mujinju. His was just one of many uprisings against Silla's weak rulers. These rebellions often started because Silla tried to force peasants to pay taxes. At this time, local leaders held most of the power. They were not very loyal to the Silla government. This made it easy for military officers who were unhappy to start rebellions.
Kyŏn Hwŏn's Rise to Power
Kyŏn Hwŏn was a military officer in Silla. He was sent to the southwest coast to fight pirates. But he saw that Silla was getting weaker. So, in 892, he started his own rebellion in Mujinju (today's Gwangju). The old history book Samguk sagi says about 5,000 people joined him.
Kyŏn Hwŏn's army took control of Mujinju and Wansanju (Jeonju). In 900, he declared himself King of Baekje. He named his country (Later) Baekje. This was his way of saying his new state was the true heir to the old Baekje kingdom. The old Baekje kingdom had ruled the southwest of Korea until Silla conquered it in 660.
By using the old kingdom's name, Kyŏn Hwŏn wanted to right the wrongs against King Uija of Baekje. This helped him gain support from Baekje descendants in the area. It also gave him a good reason to rebel against Silla. Later, the capital was moved to Wansanju (now Jeonju). This city was closer to the heart of the old Baekje kingdom. From then on, government offices were set up across the country.
Later Baekje also sent envoys to Wuyue in China to form alliances. They also expanded their territory by taking over areas controlled by local leaders. Later Baekje then began to clash with Taebong. Taebong was another new kingdom in the north, founded by Kung Ye and Goguryeo refugees. Their conflicts started in Ungju province (now South Chungcheong Province).
How Later Baekje Was Ruled
For almost all of its existence, Later Baekje was ruled by Kyŏn Hwŏn. His way of ruling played a big part in the kingdom's future.
After becoming king, Kyŏn Hwŏn had many wives. He is said to have had 10 sons with them, in addition to eight sons from his first wife. This large family later caused problems that led to the kingdom's downfall.
In 935, Kyŏn Hwŏn chose his fourth son, Kŭm-gang, to be the next king. His older sons were not happy about this. The oldest son, Kyŏn Sin-gŏm, plotted with his brothers. They locked their father, Kyŏn Hwŏn, away at Geumsansa temple in Gimje. Kyŏn Sin-gŏm then killed Crown Prince Kŭm-gang and took the throne for himself. However, Kyŏn Hwŏn managed to escape to Goryeo.
Later Baekje's Military Strength
For much of its time, Later Baekje faced attacks from Wang Kŏn's naval forces. These attacks often happened in the Naju region. They made it hard for Later Baekje to trade and connect with kingdoms in Southern China.
Later Baekje had a very strong army. Historian Ki-baik Lee said that if Kungye and Wang Kŏn had not been there, Kyŏn Hwŏn would have easily defeated Silla. Later Baekje showed its greatest strength in 927. In that year, its armies attacked and looted the Silla capital at Gyeongju. They killed King Gyeongae and put King Gyeongsun on the throne.
Before the attack, Silla had asked Goryeo for help. Wang Kŏn arrived with a large army soon after Gyeongju was taken. The two armies fought near Palgong Mountain in today's Daegu. Wang Kŏn's army reportedly had 10,000 men. Later Baekje won this battle. Wang Kŏn himself only escaped because his generals, Sin Sung-gyŏm and Kim Nak, bravely sacrificed themselves.
However, the armies met again at the Battle of Gochang near Andong in 930. This time, Goryeo won a major victory. Later Baekje was pushed back into its main territory. It suffered another big defeat at Hongseong in 934.
Later Baekje's Foreign Relations
Wang Kŏn of Goryeo tried to gain support by forming ties with northern China. In the same way, Kyŏn Hwŏn tried to connect with rulers in southern China, especially Wuyue. However, Later Baekje existed during a very chaotic time in China, called the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Because of this, neither side could get military help from China.
The Fall of Later Baekje
In 935, Kyŏn Hwŏn was removed from power by his own sons. He then escaped to Goryeo. There, he joined forces with Wang Kŏn. The Samguk Yusa states that Kyŏn Hwŏn led an army of 100,000 men against his former kingdom.
The Goryeo and Later Baekje armies met at Seonsan, which is now part of Gumi in North Gyeongsang province. The Later Baekje forces were completely defeated. Later Baekje finally fell in 936. This was one year after King Gyeongsun of Silla had surrendered his kingdom to Wang Kŏn. The Battle of Seonsan marked the end of the Later Three Kingdoms period.
Wang Kŏn was known for being kind to his defeated enemies. He gave a title to Sin-gŏm, the defeated leader of Later Baekje. Sin-gŏm's younger brothers, Yang-gŏm and Yong-gŏm, were blamed for the coup. They were sent away into exile.
See also
