Goguryeo

Goguryeo or Koguryŏ (Korean pronunciation: [koɡuɾjʌ]) was an ancient civilization located in the northern and central parts of the Korean peninsula, North-Eastern China (Manchuria), and southern Russian Maritime province.

Along with Baekje and Silla, Goguryeo was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. Goguryeo was an active participant in the power struggle for control of the Korean peninsula as well as associated with the foreign affairs of peer polities in China and Japan.

The Samguk Sagi, a 12th century CE Goryeo text, indicates that Goguryeo was founded in 37 BCE by Jumong, a prince from Buyeo, although there is archaeological and textual evidence that suggests Goguryeo culture was in existence since the 2nd century BCE around the fall of Gojoseon, an earlier kingdom that also occupied southern Manchuria and northern Korea.

Goguryeo was a major regional power in Northeast Asia until it was defeated by a Silla-Tang alliance in 668 CE. After its defeat, its territory was divided among the Tang Dynasty, Unified Silla and Balhae.

History

Founding of Goguryeo (c. 37 BCE)

According to the Samguk Sagi and the Samguk Yusa, a prince from the kingdom of Buyeo, named Jumong, fled after a power struggle with other princes of the Buyeo court and founded the Goguryeo state in 37 BCE in a region called Jolbon Buyeo, usually thought to be located in the middle Yalu and T'ung-chia river basin, overlapping the current China-North Korea border. Some scholars believe that Goguryeo may have been founded in the 2nd century BCE. In the geographic monographs of the Han Shu, the word Goguryeo or "高句麗" was first mentioned in 113 BCE as a region under the jurisdiction of the Xuantu commandery. In the Old Book of Tang, it is recorded that Emperor Taizong of Tang refers to Goguryeo's history as being some 900 years old. In 75 BCE, a group of Yemaek tribes (a proto-Goguryeo type people), which may have included Goguryeo, made an incursion into China's Xuantu commandery west from the Amnok River valley.

However, the weight of textual evidence from the Old and New Histories of Tang, the Samguk Sagi, the Nihon Shoki as well as other ancient sources would support a 37 BCE or "middle" 1st century BCE foundation date for Goguryeo. Archaeological evidence would support centralized groups of Yemaek tribes in the 2nd century BCE, but there is no direct evidence that would suggest these Yemaek groups were known as or would identify themselves as Goguryeo. The first mention of Goguryeo as a group type associated with Yemaek tribes would be a reference in the Han Shu that discusses a Goguryo revolt in 12 CE, where they break away from Xuantu influence

At its founding, the Goguryeo people are believed to be a blend of Buyeo and Yemaek people, as leadership from Buyeo may have fled their kingdom and integrated with existing Yemaek chiefdoms . The San Guo Zhi, in the section titled "Accounts of the Eastern Barbarians", states that Buyeo and the Yemaek people were ethnically related and spoke the same language .

Jumong and the foundation myth

The earliest mention of Jumong is in the 4th century C.E. Stele of Great emperor Gwanggaeto. Jumong is often said to be the Korean transcription of the hanja 朱蒙 (Jumong, 주몽), 鄒牟(Chumo, 추모), or 仲牟 (Jungmo, 중모).

The Stele states that Jumong was the first emperor and ancestor of Goguryeo and he was the son of the king of Buyeo and a daughter of the river deity Habaek . The Samguk Sagi and Samguk Yusa paints additional detail and names Jumong's mother as Yuhwa. Jumong's biological father was said to be a man named Hae Mosu who is described as a "strong man" and "a heavenly prince." . The Samguk Sagi states that Hae Mosu was a sky deity, who had seduced Yuhwa. After the murder attempts of Daeso, the crown prince of Buyeo, Jumong fled Buyeo . The Stele and later Korean sources disagree as to which Buyeo Jumong came from. The Stele says he came from North Buyeo and the Samguk Sagi and Samguk Yusa say he came from East Buyeo. Jumong eventually made it to the Jolbon Buyeo confederacy, where he married the daughter of its ruler. He subsequently became emperor himself, founding Goguryeo with a small group of his followers from his native country.

Jumong's given surname was Hae (解), the name of the Buyeo rulers. According to the Samguk Yusa, Jumong changed his surname to Ko (高), in conscious reflection of his divine parentage . Jumong is recorded to have conquered the tribal states of Biryu (비류국, 沸流國) in 36 BCE, Haeng-in (행인국, 荇人國) in 33 BCE, and North Okjeo in 28 BCE.

Centralization and early expansion (mid 1st century CE)

Goguryeo developed from a league of various Yemaek tribes to an early state and rapidly expanded its power from their original basin of control in the Hun river drainage. The Goguryeo homeland was said to be mountainous and lacked arable land and could barely feed its own population. Goguryeo was known for being fond of raiding their neighbors so they could expand their resource base. In the time of king Taejo of Goguryeo in 53 CE, five local tribes were reorganized into five centrally ruled districts of the empire. Foreign relations and the military were controlled by the king. Aggressive military activities may have allowed Goguryeo to exact tribute from their tribal neighbors and to even dominate them politically and economically .

Taejo conquered the Okjeo tribes of Northeast Korea as well as the Eastern Ye and other tribes in Southeastern Manchuria and Northern Korea. From the increase of resources and manpower that these subjugated tribes gave him, Goguryo attacked Han China's commanderies of Lelang, Xuantu, and Liaodong in the Korean and Liaodong peninsulas, becoming fully independent from the Han commanderies .

Generally, Taejo allowed the conquered tribes to retain their chieftains, but report to governors who were related to Goguryeo's royal line and were expected to provide heavy tribute. Taejo and his successors channeled these increased resources to continuing its expansion to the northwest. New laws regulated peasants and the aristocracy, as tribal leaders continued to be absorbed into the central aristocracy. Royal succession changed from fraternal to patrilineal, strengthening the royal court .

The expanding Goguryeo empire entered into direct military contact with the Liaodong commandery. Pressure from Liadong forced Goguryeo to move their capital in the Hun River valley to the Yalu River valley near Mt. Wandu.

Goguryeo-Wei War (244 CE)

The chaos following the fall of the Han Dynasty, the former Han commanderies had broken free of control and were ruled by various independent warlords. Surrounded by these commanderies, who were governed by aggressive warlords, Goguryeo moved to improve relations with the newly created Wei Dynasty of China and sent tribute in 220 CE. In 238 CE, Goguryeo entered into a formal alliance with the Wei to destroy the Liaodong commandery. When Liaodong was finally conquered by Wei, cooperation between Wei and Goguryeo fell apart and Goguryeo attacked the western edges of Liaodong, which incited a Wei counterattack in 244. On this occasion, Wei reached and destroyed the Goguryeo capital at Mt. Hwando. It is said that the king of Goguryeo, with his army destroyed, fled alone and sought refuge with the Okjeo tribes in the east.

Revival and further expansion (300 to 390 CE)

The Wei armies thought they had destroyed Goguryeo and soon left the area. However, in only 70 years, Goguryeo rebuilt their capital at Mt. Wandu and again began to raid Liaodong, Lelang and Xuantu commandaries. As Goguryeo extended its reach into the Liaodong peninsula, the last Chinese commandery at Lelang was conquered and absorbed by Micheon of Goguryeo in 313, bringing the northern part of the Korean peninsula into the fold . From that point on, until the 7th century C.E., territorial control of the peninsula would be contested primarily by the Three Kingdoms of Korea.

The expansion met temporary setbacks when in 342, Former Yan, a Chinese Sixteen Kingdoms state of Xianbei ethnicity, (some Goguryeo royal family members were seized by Former Yan, and one of them, Gao Yun, briefly ruled Former Yan's successor state Northern Yan from 407 to 409) attacked Goguryeo’s capital, then at Mt. Wandu, and in 371, King Geunchogo of Baekje sacked Goguryeo’s one of largest city, Pyongyang, and killed King Gogukwon of Goguryeo in battle.

Turning to domestic stability and the unification of various conquered tribes, Sosurim of Goguryeo proclaimed new laws, embraced Buddhism as the national religion in 372, and established a national educational institute called the Taehak (태학, 太學). . Due to the defeats that Goguryeo had suffered under Former Yan and Baekje, Sosurim had also instituted military reforms. .

Zenith of Goguryeo's Power (391 to 531 CE)

Gwanggaeto the Great (R. 391 - 412 CE) was a highly energetic monarch that is remembered for his rapid military expansion of the empire.

Gwanggaeto's exploits have been recorded on a huge memorial stele located near present day Jilin in southern Manchuria, that was erected by his son, Jangsu. Gwanggaetto is said to have conquered 64 walled cities and 1,400 villages from one campaign against Buyeo alone, destroyed Later Yan and annexed Buyeo and Mohe tribes to the north, subjugated Baekje, contributed to the dissolution of the Gaya confederacy, defeated Wa incursion into the peninsula and turned Silla into a protectorate through the Goguryeo–Yamato War. In doing so, he brought about a loose unification of the Korean peninsula that lasted about 50 years. By the end of his reign, Goguryeo had achieved undisputed control of southern Manchuria, and the northern and central regions of the Korean Peninsula.

During this period, Goguryeo territory included three fourths of the Korean peninsula, including today's Seoul, and much of southern Manchuria and the southeastern end of Russian maritime province. Gwanggaeto instituted the reign name of "Yeongnak", thus signifying his belief that he was equal with the major Chinese dynasties.

Jangsu, ascending to the throne in 413, moved the capital to Pyongyang in 427, which is evidence to the intensifying rivalries between it and the other two peninsular kingdoms of Baekje and Silla to its south. Jangsu, like his father, continued Goguryeo's territorial expansion into Manchuria and reached the Eastern Songhua River, which marked Goguryeo's farthest reach to the north.

In the late 5th century, it absorbed Buyeo and several Mohe and Khitan tribes, competed with Northern Wei in the north, and continued its strong influence over Silla.

Internal strife (531 to 551 CE)

Goguryeo reached its zenith in the 6th century. After this, it began a steady decline. Anjang was assassinated, and succeeded by his brother Anwon, during whose reign aristocratic factionalism increased. A political schism deepened as two factions advocated different princes for succession, until the eight-year-old Yang-won was finally crowned. But the power struggle was never resolved definitively, as renegade magistrates with private armies appointed de facto rulers of their areas of control.

Taking advantage of Goguryeo's internal struggle, a nomadic group called the Tuchueh attacked Goguryeo's northern castles in the 550s and conquered some of Goguryeo's northern lands. Weakening Goguryeo even more, as civil war continued among feudal lords over royal succession, Baekje and Silla allied to attack Goguryeo from the south in 551.

Conflicts of the late 6th and 7th centuries CE

In the late 6th and early 7th centuries, Goguryeo was often in conflict with the Sui and Tang Dynasties of China. Its relations with Baekje and Silla were complex and alternated between alliances and enmity. A neighbor in the northeast were the Eastern Göktürk, a khanate in northwestern China and near Mongolia, was a nominal ally with Goguryeo.

Goguryeo's loss of the Han River Valley

In 551 CE, Baekje and Silla entered into an alliance to attack Goguryeo and conquer the Han River valley, an important strategic area close to the center of the peninsula and a very rich agricultural region. After Baekje exhausted themselves with a series of costly assaults on Goguryeo fortifications, Silla troops, arriving on the pretense of offering assistance, attacked and took possession of the entire Han River valley in 553. Incensed by this betrayal, Baekje's King Seong in the following year launched a retaliatory strike against Silla's western border but was captured and killed.

The war, along the middle of the Korean peninsula, had very important consequences. It effectively made Baekje the weakest player on the Korean peninsula and gave Silla an important resource and population rich area as a base for expansion. Conversely, it denied Goguryeo the use of the area, which weakened the empire. It also gave Silla direct access to the Yellow Sea, opening up trade and diplomatic access to the Chinese dynasties and accelerating Silla's process of sinification. Thus, Silla could rely less on Goguryeo for elements of civilization and could get culture and technology directly from China. This increasing tilt of Silla to China would result in an alliance that would prove disastrous for Goguryeo in the late 7th century.

Goguryeo-Sui Wars

Goguryeo's expansion conflicted with the Sui Dynasty and increased tensions. Goguryeo military offensives in the Liaoxi region provoked the Sui and resulted in the first of the Goguryeo-Sui Wars in 598. In this campaign, as with those that followed in 612, 613, and 614, Sui was unsuccessful in overrunning Goguryeo, but did gain minor concessions and promises of submission that were never fulfilled. The 613 and 614 campaigns were aborted after launch—the 613 campaign was terminated when the Sui general Yang Xuangan rebelled against Emperor Yang of Sui, while the 614 campaign was terminated after Goguryeo offered surrender and returned Husi Zheng (斛斯政), a defecting Sui general who had fled to Goguryeo, Emperor Yang later had Husi executed. Emperor Yang planned another attack on Goguryeo in 615, but due to Sui's deteroriating internal state he was never able to launch it. Sui was weakened due to rebellions against Emperor Yang's rule. They could not attack further because the soldiers in the Sui heartland would not send logistical support.

One of Sui's most disastrous campaigns to itself was in 612, in which Sui, according to the History of the Sui Dynasty, mobilized 30 Division armies, about 1,133,800 combat troops. Pinned along Goguryeo's line of fortifications on the Liao river, a detachment of 9 Division armies, about 305,000 troops, bypassed the main defensive lines and headed towards the Goguryeo capital of Pyongyang to link up with Sui naval forces which contained reinforcements and supplies. However, Goguryeo was able to defeat the Sui navy, thus when the Sui's 9 Division armies finally reached Pyongyang, they didn't have the supplies for a lengthy siege. Sui troops retreated but General Eulji Mundeok led the Goguryeo troops to victory by luring them into an ambush outside of Pyongyang. At the Battle of Salsu River, Goguryeo soldiers released water from a dam, which split the Sui army and cut off their escape route. Of the original 305,000 soldiers, only 2,700 escaped to Sui China.

The wars depleted the national treasury of the Sui Dynasty and after revolts and political strife, the Sui Dynasty disintegrated in 618. However the wars also exhausted Goguryeo's strength and its power declined.

Goguryeo-Tang War and Tang-Silla alliance

Goguryeo was attacked by Tang Taizong. The campaign was unsuccessful for the Chinese, failing to capture strategic points in numerous attacks.

The Tang forged an alliance with Goguryeo's rival Silla after defeating Goguryeo's western ally, the Göktürks. This, combined with Goguryeo's increasing political instability following the 642 murder of Emperor Yeongnyu at the hands of the military general Yeon Gaesomun, increased tensions between Tang and Goguryeo, as Yeon took an increasingly provocative stance against Tang.

In 645, Tang's emperor, Taizong, launched another attack against Goguryeo. Tang was able to defeat Goguryeo's network of defenses, but had difficulties at the last link in the defense chain at Ansi Fortress. Although Korean historical sources admit that the name of the resourceful commander who lead the defense of Ansi has been lost to history, Korean oral tradition attributes a Yang Manchun as the general in charge. In the end, Tang Taizong was not able to capture Ansi, and the Tang army withdrew after suffering large losses during the siege of Ansi and running out of food supplies. After Tang Taizong's death in 649, Tang armies were again sent to conquer Goguryeo in 661 and 662, but could not overcome the successful defense lead by Yeon Gaesomun and was not able to conquer Goguryeo, although the Tang attacks inflicted substantial losses.

Fall

Goguryeo's ally in the southwest, Baekje, fell to the Silla-Tang alliance in 660; the victorious allies continued their assault on Goguryeo for the next eight years. Meanwhile, in 666 (though dates vary from 664-666), Yeon Gaesomun died and civil war ensued among his three sons.

Following the defection of Yeon Namsaeng, the son of Yeon Gaesomun and the surrender of numerous cities in northern Goguryeo, the Tang army bypassed the Liaodong region and captured Pyongyang, the capital of Goguryeo, while Yeon Jeong-to, the Younger brother of Yeon Gaesomun, surrendered his forces to the Silla general Kim Yushin, who was advancing from the south. In November 668 Bojang, the last emperor of Goguryeo, Surrendered to Tang Gaozong.

Silla-Tang eventually vanquished the weary empire, which had been suffering from a series of famines and internal strife. Goguryeo finally fell in 668. Goguryeo's last king Bojang was captured and taken into exile by the Tang forces.

Silla thus unified most of the Korean peninsula in 668, but the kingdom's reliance on China's Tang Dynasty had its price. Tang set up the Protectorate General to Pacify the East, or Andong protectorate, governed by Xue Rengui, but faced increasing problems ruling the former inhabitants of Goguryeo, as well as Silla's resistance to Tang's remaining presence on the Korean Peninsula. Silla had to forcibly resist the imposition of Chinese rule over the entire peninsula, but their own strength did not extend beyond the Taedong River.

In 677, Tang crowned Bojang "King of Joseon" and put him in charge of the Liaodong commandery of the Protectorate General to Pacify the East. However, King Bojang continued to ferment rebellions against Tang in an attempt to revive Goguryeo, organizing Goguryeo refugees and allying with the Mohe tribes. He was eventually exiled to Szechuan in 681, and died the following year.

Revival movements

After the fall of Goguryeo in 668, many Goguryeo people rebelled against the Tang and Silla by starting Goguryeo revival movements. Among these were Geom Mojam, Dae Jung-sang, and several famous generals. The Tang Dynasty tried but failed to establish several commanderies to rule over the area.

The Protectorate General to Pacify the East was installed by the Tang government to rule and keep control over the former territories of the fallen Goguryeo. It was first put under the control of Tang General Xue Rengui, but was later replaced by King Bojang due the negative responses of the Goguryeo people. Bojang was sent into exile for assisting Goguryeo revival movements, but was succeeded by his descendants. Go Jang's descendants declared independence from the Tang during the time at which An Shi Rebellion and Yi Jeonggi's rebellion in Shandong, China . . The Protectorate General to Pacify the East was renamed "Lesser Goguryeo" until its eventual absorption into Balhae under the reign of King Seon of Balhae.

Geom Mojam and Anseung rose briefly at Hanseong, but failed, when Anseung surrendered to Silla. Go Anseung ordered the assassination of Geom Mojam, and defected to Silla, where he was given a small amount of land to rule over. There, Anseung established the Kingdom of Bodeok, incited a rebellion, which was promptly crushed by King Sinmun. Anseung was then forced to reside in the Silla capital, given a Silla bride and had to adopt the Silla Royal surname of "Kim."

Dae Jung-sang and his son Dae Joyeong, both former Goguryeo generals, regained most of Goguryeo's northern land after its downfall in 668, established the kingdom Great Jin, which was renamed to Balhae after the death of Dae Jung-sang. To the south of Balhae, Silla controlled the Korean peninsula south of the Taedong River, and Manchuria(present-day northeastern China) was conquered by Balhae. Balhae considered itself (particularly in diplomatic correspondence with Japan) the successor state to Goguryeo.

In the early 10th century, Gung-ye, a rebel general, established Taebong, later renamed to Hu-Goguryeo ("Later Goguryeo"), which briefly rose in rebellion against Silla. Taebong also considered itself to be a successor of Goguryeo, as did Goryeo, the state that replaced Silla to rule the unified Korean peninsula.

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