The was a powerful noble clan of

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 ...

, one of the

Three Kingdoms of Korea Samhan or the Three Kingdoms of Korea () refers to the three kingdoms of Goguryeo (고구려, 高句麗), Baekje (백제, 百濟), and Silla (신라, 新羅). Goguryeo was later known as Goryeo (고려, 高麗), from which the modern name ''Kor ...

History

They were one of the " Great Eight Families" (''Daeseongpaljok'', 大姓八族) of Baekje: (Sa (沙氏), Yeon (燕氏), Hyeop (劦氏), Hae (解氏), Jin (眞氏), Guk (國氏), Mok (木氏), and Baek (苩氏)). This helped them gain high court positions in the government and military. After the Battle at Mt. Amak fortress (阿莫山城) against

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 ...

during the beginning of the reign of King Mu of Baekje the Great Eight Families lost a great deal of power. Among the families the Hae clan (who had led the battle), Hyeop, Jin and Mok disappeared from the central political stage leaving only the Yeon, Guk and Baek clans. The Sa clan promoted their influence by military force and produced a queen in the late reign of Mu of Baekje. They did not lose their status as central nobles during the reign of the last King, Uija of Baekje by colluding with royal authority. The Buyeo clan (the royal family, 扶餘氏) acquired influence with the collapse of the Great Eight Families. After King Uija acceded the throne, royal might was also divided and the lineal descendant of the royal clan with the king as its center was in control of political situation. Among the Great Eight Families, Yeon and Baek clans fell behind and only clans of Sa and Guk maintained their status as central nobles. In the late Baekje all the Great Eight Families except for Sa and Guk clans lost their status as the central nobles and were degraded to local influence at last.

Known Members

The records of the Yeon clan are sparse and broken making it hard to create a family tree but can be viewed as a timeline. * 21st King: Gaeru of Baekje, 23rd King:

Samgeun of Baekje Samgeun of Baekje (465–479) (r. 477–479) was the 23rd king of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. According to the ''Samguk Sagi'', he was the eldest son of the 22nd king Munju. Background In 475, the northern Korean kingdom ...

** Yeon Sin (연신, 燕信, ?–478), held the position of Eunsol (恩率: 3rd official rank). He rebelled against the 23rd king,

. Yeon Sin is the first person of the Yeon clan (燕氏) to show up in the ''

Samguk Sagi ''Samguk Sagi'' (, ''History of the Three Kingdoms'') is a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of Korea: Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla. The ''Samguk Sagi'' is written in Classical Chinese, the written language of the literati of ancient Korea, ...

''.Samguk Sagi, scroll 27 In 478 he rebelled against the king along with

Hae Gu Hae Gu (? – 478) was a noble of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He was a member of the Hae clan (解氏), one of the "Great Eight Families" (''Daeseongpaljok'', 大姓八族). He held the position of Minister of Defense (''Byeong'gw ...

and was defeated. He fled to Goguryeo but was executed by beheading in the market square. * 24th King:

Dongseong of Baekje Dongseong of Baekje (?–501, r. 479–501by the translators of Il-yeon's: ''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). ) was ...

** Yeon Dol (연돌, 燕突, ?–?), appointed Dalsol (達率: 2nd official rank) in 490 and then in 497 appointed Minister of Defense (''Byeong'gwan-jwa'pyeong'', 兵官佐平) when the previous Minister of Defense, Jin Ro, died. * 26th 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 capi ...

** Yeon Mo (연모, 燕謨, ?–?), was a general who was sent in 529 to defend Baekje when the King of Goguryeo,

Anjang of Goguryeo Anjang of Goguryeo (died 531, r. 519–531) was the 22nd ruler of Goguryeo, the northernmost of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. With his original name of Heung-an, he was the eldest son of Munjamyeong. He was named Crown Prince in the seventh year o ...

attacked from the North. There is a theory that the man called "灼莫古" who was sent to Japan in 516 is the same person as Yeon Mo. ** Yeon Hoe (연회, 燕會, ?–?), was a general who in 540 surrounded Usanseong Fortress (牛山城) of

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 ...

but King

Anwon of Goguryeo Anwon of Goguryeo (died 545) (r. 531–545) was the 23rd ruler of Goguryeo, the northernmost of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He was the younger brother of Anjang of Goguryeo, and is said to have been tall and wise. The other two of the Three K ...

attacked and set them to flight.

References

Content in this article was copied fro
Samguk Sagi Scroll 23
at the Shoki Wiki, which is licensed under th
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{{reflist Baekje people

History

Known Members

See also

References