Geumgwan Gaya (43–532), also known as Bon-Gaya (본가야, 本伽倻, "original Gaya") or Garakguk (가락국, "Garak State"), was the ruling city-state of the

Gaya confederacy Gaya (, ) was a Korean confederacy of territorial polities in the Nakdong River basin of southern Korea, growing out of the Byeonhan confederacy of the Samhan period. The traditional period used by historians for Gaya chronology is AD 42–53 ...

during the

Three Kingdoms Period The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. It is believed to have been located around the modern-day city of

Gimhae Gimhae () is a city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is the seat of the large Gimhae Kim clan, one of the largest Kim clans in Korea. The Gimhae Kims claim descent from the ancient royal house of Geumgwan Gaya, which was based in Gim ...

, Southern Gyeongsang province, near the mouth of the

Nakdong River The Nakdonggang River or Nakdonggang () is the longest river in South Korea, and passes through major cities such as Daegu and Busan. It takes its name from its role as the eastern border of the Gaya confederacy during Korea's Three Kingdoms Er ...

. Due to its geographic location, this kingdom played a dominant role in the regional affairs from the Byeonhan period onward to the end of the Gaya confederacy.

Rise of the kingdom

(42–532 CE), founded by the King Suro, originated from the Byeonhan (also called Pyonhan, Byeon and Byeonjin) tribe, and it had 12 statelets. Byeonhan was one of the 3

Samhan Samhan, or Three Han, is the collective name of the Byeonhan, Jinhan, and Mahan confederacies that emerged in the first century BC during the Proto–Three Kingdoms of Korea, or Samhan, period. Located in the central and southern regions of t ...

, other 2 being

Jinhan Jinhan () was a loose confederacy of chiefdoms that existed from around the 1st century BC to the 4th century AD in the southern Korean Peninsula, to the east of the Nakdong River valley, Gyeongsang Province. Jinhan was one of the Samhan (or "T ...

and

Mahan Mahan or Mahaan may refer to: * Mahan (name) * Mahan confederacy, chiefdoms in ancient Korea * Mahan, Iran, a city in Kerman Province * Mahan District, an administrative subdivision of Kerman Province * Mahan Rural District, an administrative subdi ...

. According to the

Samguk Yusa ''Samguk yusa'' () or ''Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms'' is a collection of legends, folktales and historical accounts relating to the Three Kingdoms of Korea (Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla), as well as to other periods and states before, duri ...

, Geumgwan Kaya was made of 9 villages united by King Suro of Gaya. His wife and queen

Heo Hwang-ok A commemorative Rs. 25.00 postage stamp on Princess Suriratna (Queen Heo Hwang-ok ) was issued by India in 2019. A commemorative Rs. 5.00 postage stamp on Queen Heo Hwang-ok (Suriratna) was issued by India in 2019. Heo Hwang-ok, also known a ...

, whom he married in 48 AD, is believed to be from an Ayuta kingdom. As a confederacy of city states, Gaya rose to prosperity due to sea port trade with Japan and other states as well with land trade with China in the north.

Daegaya Daegaya was a city-state in the Gaya confederacy during the Korean Three Kingdoms period. Daegaya was located in present-day Goryeong County, in North Gyeongsang Province of South Korea. (It should not be confused with Goryeong Gaya, which was loc ...

was an important city state and sea port as part of the Gaya Confederacy, it is associated with the place the Queen Heo had first arrived in Korea from her foreign location. During this early time in the history of Gaya, several waves of migration from the north, including the earlier-extant

Gojoseon Gojoseon () also called Joseon (), was the first kingdom on the Korean Peninsula. According to Korean mythology, the kingdom was established by the legendary founder named Dangun. Gojoseon possessed the most advanced culture in the Korean Pen ...

Buyeo Buyeo or Puyŏ (Korean: 부여; Korean pronunciation: u.jʌ or 扶餘 ''Fúyú''), also rendered as Fuyu, was an ancient kingdom that was centered in northern Manchuria in modern-day northeast China. It is sometimes considered a Korean ki ...

, and the

Goguryeo 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 ...

, arrived and integrated with existing populations and stimulated cultural and political developments. A sharp break in burial styles is found in archaeological sites dated near the late 3rd century AD, when these migrations are to have taken place. Burial forms associated with North Asian nomadic peoples, such as the burial of horses with the dead, suddenly replace earlier forms in the tombs of the elite. In addition, evidence exists indicating that earlier burials were systematically destroyed. In the early 1990s, a royal tomb complex was unearthed in Daeseong-dong,

, attributed to Geumgwan Gaya but apparently used since Byeonhan times. According to the

Records of the Three Kingdoms The ''Records or History of the Three Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese name as the Sanguo Zhi, is a Chinese historical text which covers the history of the late Eastern Han dynasty (c. 184–220 AD) and the Three Kingdoms period (220– ...

, It is presumed the four countries, Sinunsin ( el, label=

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

, 臣雲遣支報, Anra (安邪踧支濆), Sinbunhwal (臣離兒不例)臣濆活國 presumed present-day

Gapyeong County Gapyeong County is a county in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It was the scene of the Battle of Kapyong, a major battle of the Korean War. Administrative Region and Language Gapyeong County has one eup and five myeon, and its population i ...

and Geumgwan (拘邪秦支廉), had a superior position in the southern peninsula around the 3rd century.

Religion

{{see also , Korean Buddhism , Buddhism in China , Silk Road transmission of Buddhism Centuries after Buddhism originated in India,

Mahayana ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing bra ...

Buddhism arrived in China through

Silk Road transmission of Buddhism Buddhism entered Han China via the Silk Road, beginning in the 1st or 2nd century CE. The first documented translation efforts by Buddhist monks in China were in the 2nd century CE via the Kushan Empire into the Chinese territory bordering the ...

in 1st century CE via

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

, then into the Korean peninsula in the 3rd century CE during the Three Kingdoms Period from where Buddhism was transmitted to Japan. In Korea, Buddhism was adopted as the state religion by three constituent polities of the Three Kingdoms Period: first by the

ruling tribe of Geumgwan Gaya in 372 CE, then by

Silla Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms of K ...

in 528 CE, and lastly by

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (, ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BC to 660 AD. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. Baekje was founded by Onjo, the third son of Goguryeo's founder Jum ...

in 552 CE.

List of kings

In chronological order:Lee Injae, Owen Miller, Park Jinhoon, Yi Hyun-Hae, 2014, Korean History in Maps, Cambridge University Press, pp. 44-49, 52-60. * Geumgwan Gaya (lit. Gaya Confederacy) or Bon Gaya (lit. Original Gaya) era #

King Suro Suro (수로) or Sureung (posthumous name: 수릉, 首陵, 42?–199), commonly called Gim Suro, was the legendary founder and Hero King of Geumgwan Gaya (43–532), in southeastern Korea.King Geodeung # King Mapum # King Geojilmi # King Isipum # King Jwaji # King Chwihui # King Jilji # King Gyeomji # King Guhyeoung

Decline

Geumgwan Gaya declined due to the wars with Japan and the tribes in north. Its various constituent city statelets fell one by one to Silla. After Geumgwan Gaya capitulated to

in 532 AD, its royal house was accepted into the Sillan aristocracyBarnes, Gina L. (2001). Introducing Kaya History and Archaeology. In ''State Formation in Korea: Historical and Archaeological Perspectives'', pp. 179–200. Curzon, London.(2001). Kaya. In ''The Penguin Archaeology Guide'', edited by Paul Bahn, pp. 228–229. Penguin, London. (perhaps because by that time, a major house of Silla, of the

Gyeongju Kim Gyeongju ( ko, 경주, ), historically known as ''Seorabeol'' ( ko, 서라벌, ), is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province in South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, ...

clan, was related to the Gaya royal house, which was the

Gimhae Kim The Gimhae Kim clan () is one of the Korean clans. This clan traces their origin to Suro of Geumgwan Gaya. King Suro was the founder of Gaya confederacy, and his descendant, Gim Yu-sin, Kim Yu-sin is renowned for unifying the Silla polity. It was ...

clan) and given the rank of "true bone," the second-highest level of the Silla

bone rank system The bone-rank system was the system of aristocratic rank used in the ancient Korean kingdom of Silla. It was used to segregate society, and particularly the layers of the aristocracy, on the basis of their hereditary proximity to the throne and th ...

. General

Kim Yu-shin Kim or KIM may refer to: Names * Kim (given name) * Kim (surname) ** Kim (Korean surname) *** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties **** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948 ** Kim, Vietnamese fo ...

of Silla (also of the Gimhae Kim clan) was a descendant of the last king of Gaya.

Gallery

File:Gayahorsearmor.JPG, Gaya horse armour File:GayaironarmorFINAL.JPG, Gaya armour File:PressapochistaA.jpg, Gaya crown File:Duck-shaped pottery 오리형 토기.jpg, Gaya pottery

References

*Cheol, S.K. (2000). Relations between Kaya and Wa in the third to fourth centuries AD. ''Journal of East Asian Archeology 2''(3-4), 112-122. *Il, yeon. Garak-gukgi chronicles,

Samgukyusa ''Samguk yusa'' () or ''Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms'' is a collection of legends, folktales and historical accounts relating to the Three Kingdoms of Korea (Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla), as well as to other periods and states before, duri ...