Ajagae was a military leader in the

Sangju Sangju () is a city in North Gyeongsang Province, central South Korea. Although Sangju is rather rural, it is very old and was once a key city. Along with Gyeongju, it gives rise to half of the name of the Gyeongsang provinces. Sangju is nickn ...

area during the waning years of

Unified Silla Unified Silla, or Late Silla (, ), is the name often applied to the Korean kingdom of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, after 668 CE. In the 7th century, a Silla–Tang alliance conquered Baekje and the southern part of Goguryeo in the ...

who led a local rebellion which seized Sangju and is remembered primarily as the father of

Gyeon Hwon Gyeon Hwon (; 867 – 27 September 936, r. 892 – March 934) was the king and founder of Later Baekje, one of the Later Three Kingdoms of Korea, and reigned from 892 to 935. Some records render his name as "Jin Hwon" (진훤). He was also the prog ...

, the founder and first king of

Hubaekje Hubaekje or Later Baekje (, ) was one of the Later Three Kingdoms of Korea, along with Taebong and Silla. Later Baekje was a Korean dynastic kingdom founded by the disaffected Silla general Gyeon Hwon in 900, whom led the local gentry and p ...

. Some

Gyeon Gyeon (甄), (堅) is a Korean surname. Meaning Gyeon comes from the Sino-Korean ''京 (gyeong)'' meaning "capital city", ''景 (gyeong)'' meaning "scenery, view", ''敬 (gyeong)'' meaning "respect, honour", or other hanja characters with the sa ...

family lineages therefore claim him as their progenitor, although he himself was of Yi descent. Ajagae was born and lived most of his life in Gaeun, in modern-day

Mungyeong Mungyeong ( ko, 문경 ' ()) is a city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. The local government, economy, and transportation networks are all centered in Jeomchon, the principal town. Mungyeong has a lengthy history, and is known today fo ...

City, where he was a farmer. According to the '' Samguk Yusa'', Il-yeon: ''Samguk Yusa: Legends and History of the Three Kingdoms of Ancient Korea'', translated by Tae-Hung Ha and Grafton K. Mintz. Book Two, page 124. Silk Pagoda (2006). he was descended from King Jinheung of Silla, but clearly his branch of the family had lost its royal connection some time before. Since there is no record of interactions between Ajagae and Gyeon Hwon during their later years, it is possible that Ajagae was not really Gyeon Hwon's father. The records of the

Later Three Kingdoms period The Later Three Kingdoms period (889-935 AD) of ancient Korea saw a partial revival of the old three kingdoms which had dominated the peninsula from the 1st century BC to the 7th century AD. After the Unified Silla kingdom had ruled Korea alone ...

, however, are too sparse to permit any conclusive judgment. It is equally possible that the two men became estranged after Gyeon Hwon left home to join the Silla army.

Family

*Ancestors: # King Jinheung of Silla (신라 진흥왕, 新羅眞興王) #Lady Baeksung of the Buyeo clan (백숭부인 부여씨, 白崇婦人扶餘氏); daughter of

King Seong of Baekje Seong of Baekje (also ''Holy King'', died 554) (r. 523–554) was the 26th king of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He was a son of Muryeong of Baekje and is best known for making Buddhism the state religion, moving the national capit ...

(백제 성왕, 百濟聖王) and wife of King Jinheung. #Gim Gu-ryun (김구륜, 金仇輪); King Jinheung and Lady Baeksung's son. #Pa Jin-chan, Duke Seonpum (파진찬 선품공, 波珍飡善品公); King Munmu's queen consort,

Queen Jaui Queen Jaui (; d. 681) or Queen Janul (자눌왕후, 慈訥王后), of the Gyeongju Kim clan, was a Korean queen consort. She was the spouse of king Munmu of Silla. She was a first cousin once removed of Queen Seondeok and Princess Cheonmyeong. ...

's father. *Father: Gim Jak-jin (김작진, 金酌珍) – Duke Seonpum's descendant. *Mother: Lady Wanggyopari (왕교파리, 王咬巴里) *Wives and children: ** Lady Sangwon (상원부인, 上院夫人) ***1st son

(견훤, 甄萱; 867–936) ***2nd son Neung-ae (능애, 能哀; d. 936) ***1st daughter Lady Daejudogeum (대주도금, 大主刀金) ****Son-in-law: Ji-Hwon (지훤, 池萱) – they had 1 son, Jin-Ho (진호, 眞虎). ** Lady Namwon (남원부인, 南院夫人) ***3rd son Yong-gae (용개, 龍蓋) ***4th son Bo-gae (보개, 寶蓋) ***5th son So-gae (소개, 小蓋)

References

Silla died

Family

References

See also