Goguryeo Rulers

Goguryeo (37 BC–668 AD) ( ) also called Goryeo (), was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled most of the Korean peninsula, large parts of Manchuria and parts of eastern Mongolia and Inner Mongolia.

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

The ''Samguk sagi'', a 12th-century text from Goryeo, indicates that Goguryeo was founded in 37 BC by Jumong (), a prince from Buyeo, who was enthroned as Dongmyeong.

Goguryeo was one of the great powers in East Asia, until its defeat by a Silla–Tang alliance in 668 after prolonged exhaustion and internal strife caused by the death of Yeon Gaesomun (). After its fall, its territory was divided between the Tang dynasty, Later Silla and Balhae.

The name Goryeo (alternatively spelled Koryŏ), a shortened form of Goguryeo (Koguryŏ), was adopted as the official name in the 5th century, and is the origin of the English name "Korea".

History

Origin

The earliest record of Goguryeo can be traced from the geographic monographs of the ''Book of Han'', the name Goguryeo () is attested in the name of Gaogouli County (Goguryeo County), Xuantu Commandery since 113 BC, the year when Emperor Wu of Han China conquered Gojoseon and established the Four Commanderies. Beckwith, however, argued that the record was incorrect. Instead, he suggested that the Guguryeo people were first located in or around Liaoxi (western Liaoning and parts of Inner Mongolia) and later migrated eastward, pointing to another account in the ''Book of Han''. The early Goguryeo tribes were under the administration of Xuantu Commandery, and were perceived as dependable clients or allies by the Han. Goguryeo leaders were conferred Han rank and status, the most prominent being the Marquis of Goguryeo, which carried a relatively independent authority within Xuantu. Some historians attribute more power to the Goguryeo during this period, linking their insurgency to the collapse of the first Xuantu Commandery in 75 BC. In the ''Old Book of Tang'' (945), it is recorded that Emperor Taizong refers to Goguryeo's history as being some 900 years old. According to the 12th-century ''Samguk sagi'' and the 13th-century ''Samgungnyusa'', a prince from the Buyeo kingdom named Jumong fled after a power struggle with other princes of the court and founded Goguryeo in 37 BC in a region called Jolbon Buyeo, usually thought to be located in the middle Yalu and Tongjia River basin, overlapping the current China-North Korea border.

In 75 BC, a group of Yemaek who may have originated from Goguryeo made an incursion into China's Xuantu Commandery west of the Yalu. Archaeological evidence would support centralized groups of Yemaek tribes in the 2nd century BC, 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 label associated with Yemaek tribes is a reference in the ''Han Shu'' that discusses a Goguryeo revolt in 12 AD, during which they broke away from the influence of the Chinese at Xuantu.

According to the Book 37 of Samguk sagi Monographs, Goguryeo originated north of ancient China, then gradually moved east to the side of Taedong River. At its founding, the Goguryeo people are believed to be a blend of people from Buyeo and Yemaek, as leadership from Buyeo may have fled their kingdom and integrated with existing Yemaek chiefdoms. The ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', in the section titled "Accounts of the Eastern Barbarians", implied that Buyeo and the Yemaek people were ethnically related and spoke a similar language.

Chinese people were also in Gorguyeo. Book 28 of Samguk Sagi stated that a lot of Chinese migrated to Haedong since the chaos of Qin and Han. Later Han dynasty established the Four Commanderies, and in 12 AD Goguryeo made its first attempt to annex Xuantu Commandery. The population of Xuantu Commandery was about 221,845 and they lived in three counties (Goguryeo, Shangyintai and Xigaima) of Xuantu Commandery in 2 AD. Later on, Goguryeo gradually annexed all the Four Commanderies of Han during its expansion.

Both Goguryeo and Baekje shared founding myths and originated from Buyeo.

Jumong and the foundation myth

The earliest mention of Jumong is in the 4th-century Gwanggaeto Stele. Jumong is the modern Korean transcription of the hanja ''Jumong'', ''Chumo'', or ''Jungmo''.

The Stele states that Jumong was the first king and ancestor of Goguryeo and that he was the son of the prince of Buyeo and daughter of Habaek (), the god of the Amnok River or, according to an alternative interpretation, the sun god Haebak (). The ''Samguk sagi'' and ''Samgungnyusa'' paint additional detail and names Jumong's mother as Yuhwa (). Jumong's biological father was said to be a man named Haemosu () who is described as a "strong man" and "a heavenly prince." The river god chased Yuhwa away to the Ubal River () due to her pregnancy, where she met and became the concubine of Geumwa.

Jumong was well known for his exceptional archery skills. Eventually, Geumwa's sons became jealous of him, and Jumong was forced to leave Eastern Buyeo. The Stele and later Korean sources disagree as to which Buyeo Jumong came from. The Stele says he came from Buyeo and the ''Samgungnyusa'' and ''Samguk sagi'' say he came from Eastern Buyeo. Jumong eventually made it to Jolbon, where he married Soseono, daughter of its ruler. He subsequently became king himself, founding Goguryeo with a small group of his followers from his native country.

A traditional account from the "Annals of Baekje" section in the ''Samguk sagi'' says that Soseono was the daughter of Yeon Tabal, a wealthy influential figure in Jolbon and married to Jumong. However, the same source officially states that the king of Jolbon gave his daughter to Jumong, who had escaped with his followers from Eastern Buyeo, in marriage. She gave her husband, Jumong, financial supportDoosan Encyclopedia Online
in founding the new statelet, Goguryeo. After Yuri, son of Jumong and his first wife, Lady Ye, came from Dongbuyeo and succeeded Jumong, she left Goguryeo, taking her two sons Biryu and Onjo south to found their own kingdoms, one of which was Baekje.

Jumong's given surname was "Hae" (), the name of the Buyeo rulers. According to the ''Samgungnyusa'', Jumong changed his surname to "Go" () in conscious reflection of his divine parentage. Jumong is recorded to have conquered the tribal states of Biryu () in 36 BC, Haeng-in () in 33 BC, and Northern Okjeo in 28 BC.

Centralization and early expansion (mid-first century)

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. In the time of Taejodae in 53 AD, five local tribes were reorganized into five centrally ruled districts. Foreign relations and the military were controlled by the king. Early expansion might be best explained by ecology; Goguryeo controlled territory in what is currently central and southern Manchuria and northern Korea, which are both very mountainous and lacking in arable land. Upon centralizing, Goguryeo might have been unable to harness enough resources from the region to feed its population and thus, following historical pastoralist tendencies, would have sought to raid and exploit neighboring societies for their land and resources. Aggressive military activities may have also aided expansion, allowing Goguryeo to exact tribute from their tribal neighbors and dominate them politically and economically.

Taejo conquered the Okjeo tribes of what is now northeastern Korea as well as the Dongye and other tribes in Southeastern Manchuria and Northern Korea. From the increase of resources and manpower that these subjugated tribes gave him, Taejodae led Goguryeo in attacking the Han Commanderies of Lelang and Xuantu in the Korean and Liaodong Peninsulas, becoming fully independent from them.

Generally, Taejodae allowed the conquered tribes to retain their chieftains, but required them to report to governors who were related to Goguryeo's royal line; tribes under Goguryeo's jurisdiction were expected to provide heavy tribute. Taejodae and his successors channeled these increased resources to continuing Goguryeo's expansion to the north and west. 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, stabilizing the royal court.

The expanding Goguryeo kingdom soon entered into direct military contact with the Liaodong Commandery to its west. Pressure from Liaodong forced Goguryeo to move their capital in the Hun River valley to the Yalu River valley near Hwando.

Goguryeo–Wei Wars

In 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 dynasty of Cao Wei

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