Gyeon Hwon-wang / 견훤왕 (Hubaekje)
![[Resim: xwangkonhappy.jpg]](http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/6550/xwangkonhappy.jpg)
Gyeon Hwon (867?-936, hükümdarligi 900-935) Kore’nin Son Üç Krallik’indan biri olan Hubaekje’nin krali ve kurucusuydu. Bazi kaynaklarda adinin "Jin Hwon" (진훤) oldugu söyleniyor. Ayrica Hwanggan Gyeon kabilesinin de kurucusuydu. Hayatiyla ilgili azimsanamayacak miktardaki söylentiler sade bir hikaye olarak Samguk Sagi’de , çesitli kaynaklardan alintilarla Samguk Yusa’da anlatilmaktadir.
Çevresi ve Ailesi
Bazi kaynaklar gerçek soy isminin Gyeon degil de Lee oldugunu söylüyor. Söylentilerin çogu Gyeon Hwon’ un babasinin Lee kabilesinde bir çiftçi olan Ajagae oldugu ve 6 kardesin en büyügü olarak Kuzey Gyeongsang’da bugünkü Mungyeong’daki Gaeun-eup’ta dogdugu konusunda hemfikir. Annesi Gwangju bölgesindendi ve tarihi kaynaklara göre kim oldugu tam olarak bilinmiyor. Ajagae’ nin Lady Sangwon ve Lady Namwon adinda 2 karisi vardi. Yine de bir çok efsane annesinin Gwanju’dan oldugunu ve insan kiligina girmisi bir solucanla fiziksel temas kurduktan sonra ilk oglunu dogurdugunu söylüyor. Ayrica efsaneler Gyeon Hwon’un kaplan sütü içerek büyüdügünü de söylüyor. Ajagae yerel bir köylü isyanini yönetiyordu ve general ilan edilmisti.
Hayati ve Hubaekje’nin Kurulusu
Silla Hükümdarligi asiri derecede bozulmus ve kitlik insanlari isyana sürüklüyordu. Silla Hükümeti’nin soylular, haydutlar ve kralligin yari-bagimsiz durumunu sürdüren isyan liderleri üzerinde hiçbir etkisi yoktu. Halk korkunç bir felakete sürüklenmesine ragmen Kraliçe Jinseong sorunu ele alacak güçte degildi çünkü hükümet felaketlerle ilgilenmektense kendi pozisyonlarinin kaybetmemeye çalisan soylu aileler ve satilmis memurlar tarafindan kontrol altinda tutuluyordu.
Gyeon Hwon soyadini degistirdiginde (Lee’den Gyeon’a ) Silla ordusuna katilmak için evden ayrilmasi gerektigini söyledi. Silla kuvvetlerinden Jeolla bölümüne komutan olduktan sonra yerel halki kendi hedefi dogrultusunda örgütledi, korsanlara yaptigi gibi. Daha sonra Gyeon Hwon tasranin merkezi olan Gwangju sehrini 892’de ele geçirdi. 900’de Gyeon Hwon kendisini Hubaekje (Baekje’den sonra) Krali ilan etti ve Jeonju’yu baskent yapti. Baekje’nin son krali Kral Uija’dan intikam almaya yemin etti. Bundan sonrasi büyük ölçüde Kisa Süreli Kralliklar Tarihi’yle çakismaktadir. Çin Kralligi Wuyue’ye bir elçi gönderince, Wuyue hükümeti tarafindan tanindi.
Hükümdarligi Hubaekje’nin hükümdari olarak taç giydikten sonra, Gyeon Hwon ordusunu Silla’nin baskenti Gyeongju’nun güneybatisindaki günümüzdeki Hapcheon’a gönderdi ancak harekat basarisiz oldu ve ordu geri çekildi... 910’da Gung Ye tarafindan kurulmus olan Majin’in rakibi olan kralligin generali Wan Geon, saldirip Naju sehrini kusatti, sehri Wang’dan almak için tesebbüste bulundu ancak basarili olamadi.
918’de, Gung Ye uzun bir karisikliktan sonra, tahttan indirildi ve Wang Geon’u yeni hükümdarlari ilan eden kendi ordusunun askerleri tarafindan öldürüldü. Wang’in Hubaekje’nin düsmani olmaya yeminli olmasina ragmen, Gyeon Goryeo’nun baskenti Kaesong’a bir elçi gönderdi ve Wan Geon’un tahta çikisini kutladi.
920’de Gyeon Hapcheon bölgesine baska bir kesif heyeti yolladi ve nihayetinde Kral Gyeongmyeong’u Goryeo ile antlasmaya zorlayarak bölgeyi almakta basarili oldu. Daha sonra günümüzdeki Andong bölgesini istila etti ancak birligi Silla birlikleri tarafindan bozguna ugratildi. Gyeon savastan sonra Goryeo ile soylulari tutsaklarla takas etmek karsiliginda baris yapmaya mecbur kaldi. Buna ragmen, yegeni Jin ho ölünce, Wan Geon’un kuzeni olan esir Wang Sin’i öldürdü ve savas devam etti.
927’de Gyeon Hwon ordusuna komutanlik yaparak Silla’nin baskenti Gyeongju’ya saldirdi. Kral Gyeonggae bu savasa hazirlikli degildi ve Hubaekje ordusu tarafindan öldürüldügü sirada Poseokjung’da yöneticileri ve esleriyle birlikte ziyafet veriyordu. Gyeon Kral Gyeongsun olan Kim Bu’yu yeni Silla krali ilan etti. Dönüs yolunda Wang Geon’un komuta ettigi birlikle karsilasti ve Goryeo ordusunu kolayca yendi.Wang’in önemli komutan ve savasçilarindan birçogunu öldürdü. Bir yil sonra Jinju sehrini Silla’dan geri aldi.
Gerileme ve Çöküs
Gelgelelim, Hubaekje Birligi’nin agir yenilgisi dönüm noktasi olmustu, Hubaekje agir kayiplar vermisti ve kendini toparlayamiyordu. 932'de, Hubaekje’nin en önemli generallerinden biri olan Gong Jik, bütün askerleri ve kaleleriyle Goryeo’ya teslim oldu. Gyeon, Goryeo’nun baskent Gaesung’u yagmalamasini durdurmaya çalisti ama ordusu 934’te tekrar yenilgiye ugradi.
Gyeon Hwon kral olduktan sonra çok sayida kadinla evlendi ve birçok çocugu oldu. Ayrica ilk esinden sekiz oglu ve bir kizi oldu. 935’te kralligi aldigi yenilgilerle can çekisirken, dördüncü oglu Geumgang’in ilk oglu Singeom’dan daha basarili olacagina karar verdi. Singeom kardesleri Yanggeom ve Yonggeom’la birlikte Gyeon Hwon’u hapse atti ve Geumgang’i öldürdü. Gyeon Hwon hapisten kaçti ve Goryeo’daki eski düsmani Wang Geon’a gitti. Wong Geon ona hosgörüyle karsiladi, ona toprak ve köle verdi. Gyeon Hwon’un ricasiyla gelecek yil, O ve Wong Geon Seonsam’da Hubaekje’yi yenilgiye ugratan büyük Goryeo ordusuna komuta etti.
936’nin sonlarinda Gyeo Hwon kötü huylu bir tümör sebebiyle öldü.
Diplomasi
Rakibi Gung Ye’nin aksine, Gyeon Hwon diplomaside çok aktif biriydi. Baekje’nin mesru krali olarak Çinli Kralliklar tarafindan resmen tanindi. Ayrica kuzeyde Khitanlar tarafindan yeni kurulan ve Goryeo’yu kuzey ve güneyden saran Liao Kabilesi’yle anlasmaya varmaya çalisti. Khitan elçilerin dönüs yolunda Çinliler tarafindan öldürülmesiyle anlasma bozuldu. Ayrica Gyeon hükümdarligi boyunca ticari sebeplerden dolayi Japonya’ya iki kez elçi göndermisti. Gteon’un kralligini kurdugu Jeolla bölgesi o zamanlar Dogu Asya’nin ticaret merkeziydi ve Jang Bogo gibi tüccarlarin ugrak yeriydi. Naju’da ordu komutaniyken edindigi ticaret ve diplomasi tecrübesiyle birlikte hariak bir siyaset yetenegi vardi.
Bütün bu diplomatik, askeri ve ticari yetenekleri, Kore’nin yeni lideri olarak ortaya çikmasina ve Wang Geon’un yerine Korelileri bir araya getirmesine yetmedi. Aslinda en önemli neden, Wang zengin soylu bir aileden gelirken, Silla hükümeti tarafindan bölgeye askeri memur olarak gönderildiginden beri Gyeon’un hiç destekçisinin olmamasiydi.Dolayisiyla, Hubaekje hükümet sistemi Silla’ninkinden pek de farkli degildi; bu tür bir yönetim sekli yerel toprak agalarini ve soylulari yönetme gücüne sahip degildi ve Hubaekje oradaki insanlari etkilemek için pratik yapamamisti.
Çeviri: Shawnodese (Tesekkür Ederim)
Kaynak: Wikipedia
ENGLISH
Gyeon Hwon of Hubaekje
Gyeon Hwon (867?-936, reigned 900-935) was the king and founder of Hubaekje, one of the Later Three Kingdoms of Korea. Some records render his name as "Jin Hwon" (진훤). He was also the progenitor of the Hwanggan Gyeon clan. Substantial accounts of his life are preserved in the Samguk Sagi, which presents a single narrative, and the Samguk Yusa, which presents excerpts about him from various sources
Background and Family
Records say that his original last name was Lee, not Gyeon. Most accounts agree that Gyeon Hwon's father was Ajagae, a farmer of the Lee clan, and that he was born in what is today Gaeun-eup in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang province, as the oldest of six children. His mother was from the Gwangju area, and her exact identity is not known; according to history, Ajagae had two wives, first one called Lady Sangwon and the other Lady Namwon, and that Gyeon Hwon was born to his first wife. However, many folklores and legends say that his mother was from Gwangju, and gave birth to her firstborn son after having physical contact with a worm disguising as human. Folklores also say that Gyeon Hwon grew up drinking the milks of tiger. Ajagae later led a local peasant revolt and declared himself a general.
Early Life and Founding of Hubaekje
At the time, the Silla court was heavily corrupted and widespread famine drove many of the people into rebel forces. The Silla government had no control over the local nobles, bandits and rebel leaders, who maintained semi-independent status throughout the kingdom. Even though the nation was falling into disaster, Queen Jinseong was not able to handle the problem; the government was controlled by the corrupt officials and royal family members, who only sought to increase their personal possessions, rather than trying to take care of the troubles.
Gyeon Hwon is said to have left home at 15 to join the Silla army, at which time he changed his family name from Lee to Gyeon. After becoming the commander of Silla forces in the Jeolla region, he marshalled local peasants to his cause, as well as defeating and incorporating the local pirates. Then Gyeon Hwon seized the city of Gwangju, which was a provincial capital, in 892. In 900, Gyeon Hwon declared himself the king of Hubaekje ("later Baekje") and established his capital at Jeonju. He swore to avenge King Uija, the last king of Baekje. From that time forth, his life largely coincides with the history of his short-lived kingdom. Sending an embassy to the Chinese kingdom of Wuyue, he was confirmed by the Wuyue court as a legitimate ruler.
Reign
After crowning himself as ruler of Hubaekje, Gyeon Hwon sent his army to present-day Hapcheon, which is located southwest of the Silla capital Gyeongju, but the campaign failed and the army retreated. Then in 910, when Wang Geon, the general of the rivalring kingdom of Majin, which was established by Gung Ye, attacked and captured the city of Naju, the very city that Gyeon Hwon started his rebellion, he made an attempt to retake the city from Wang but it was not successful.
In 918, Gung Ye, after long period of misrule, was dethroned and murdered by his army commanders, who crowned Wang Geon as their new ruler, marking the beginning point of Goryeo Dynasty. Although Wang was the sworn enemy of Hubaekje, Gyeon sent an envoy to Goryeo capital Kaesong and congratulated Wang Geon's coronation.
In 920, Gyeon sent another major expedition to Hapcheon area and finally succeeded in taking over the region, forcing King Gyeongmyeong into alliance with Goryeo. Then he invaded the present-day Andong area, but his troops were defeated by local Silla guards. Gyeon was forced to make peace with Goryeo after the battle, through exchanging one of the royal family members as prisoners. However, when his nephew Jin Ho died, he killed the Goryeo prisoner Wang Sin, cousin of Wang Geon, and resumed war against Goryeo.
In 927, Gyeon Hwon led his army himself and directly attacked the Silla capital of Gyeongju. King Gyeongae was unprepared to this attack, and was having a feast at the Poseokjung with many of his officials and wives when he was captured and murdered by the invading army of Hubaekje. Then Gyeon established Kim Bu as the next Silla king, who became King Gyeongsun. On his way back, he was met by the forces led by Wang Geon, and easily defeated the Goryeo army, killing many of Wang's notable generals and warriors. One year later he took over the city of Jinju from Silla.
Decline and Fall
However, the heavy defeat of the Hubaekje troops at the battle near present-day Andong marked the turning point; Hubaekje was not able to recover from the loss. In 932, Gong Jik, one of the most important generals of Hubaekje, surrendered to Goryeo with all of his troops and fortress. Gyeon attempted to reverse the current by sacking the Goryeo capital of Gaesung, but his army suffered another defeat in the year of 934.
Gyeon Hwon took numerous wives after becoming king, and had numerous children by them in addition to the eight sons and a daughter borne by his first wife. In 935, as his kingdom reeled from military defeats, he decided that his fourth son Geumgang should succeed him, rather than his firstborn son Singeom. Singeom, together with his brothers Yanggeom and Yonggeom, imprisoned Gyeon Hwon and killed Geumgang. Gyeon Hwon escaped from prison and fled to his old enemy Wang Geon in Goryeo, who welcomed him and provided him with land and slaves. At Gyeon Hwon's request, the following year he and Wanggeon led the massive Goryeo army which defeated Hubaekje at Seonsan.
Later in 936, Gyeon Hwon died of an inflamed tumor.
Diplomacy
Unlike his rival Gung Ye, Gyeon Hwon was active in diplomacy; he was formally confirmed by the Chinese kingdoms of Wuyue and Later Tang as legitimate ruler of Baekje. In addition, he sought an alliance with the newly-formed Liao Dynasty in the north, which was founded by the Khitans, in order to surround Goryeo from both north and south. However the khitan envoys were murdered by the Chinese in their way back, so the alliance was failed. Also, Gyeon sent envoys to Japan twice during his reign, for mainly commercial reasons; the Jeolla region, where Gyeon Hwon began his kingdom, was center of trade in East Asia during the period, and had already served as the base for traders such as Jang Bogo. With his experience in diplomacy and trade from being the army officer at Naju, he had great diplomatic skills.
However, even though with all of his diplomatic, military and trade abilities he was not able to emerge as the new leader of the Korea, and instead Wang Geon reunited the Koreans. The major reason lies within the fact that while Wang was from the wealth local merchant/noble family, while Gyeon had no local support, since he was the military officer sent to the province by the Silla government. Consequently, his Hubaekje government system was not very much different from the one of Silla; however that kind of the government system proved not to be effective in controlling the local landlords and merchants, and Hubaekje was not able to exercise influence over many of its people, giving the way for Goryeo to incorporate the kingdom.
Source: Wikipedia
![[Resim: xwangkonhappy.jpg]](http://img269.imageshack.us/i/xwangkonhappy.jpg/)
Gyeon Hwon (867?-936, hükümdarligi 900-935) Kore’nin Son Üç Krallik’indan biri olan Hubaekje’nin krali ve kurucusuydu. Bazi kaynaklarda adinin "Jin Hwon" (진훤) oldugu söyleniyor. Ayrica Hwanggan Gyeon kabilesinin de kurucusuydu. Hayatiyla ilgili azimsanamayacak miktardaki söylentiler sade bir hikaye olarak Samguk Sagi’de , çesitli kaynaklardan alintilarla Samguk Yusa’da anlatilmaktadir.
Çevresi ve Ailesi
Bazi kaynaklar gerçek soy isminin Gyeon degil de Lee oldugunu söylüyor. Söylentilerin çogu Gyeon Hwon’ un babasinin Lee kabilesinde bir çiftçi olan Ajagae oldugu ve 6 kardesin en büyügü olarak Kuzey Gyeongsang’da bugünkü Mungyeong’daki Gaeun-eup’ta dogdugu konusunda hemfikir. Annesi Gwangju bölgesindendi ve tarihi kaynaklara göre kim oldugu tam olarak bilinmiyor. Ajagae’ nin Lady Sangwon ve Lady Namwon adinda 2 karisi vardi. Yine de bir çok efsane annesinin Gwanju’dan oldugunu ve insan kiligina girmisi bir solucanla fiziksel temas kurduktan sonra ilk oglunu dogurdugunu söylüyor. Ayrica efsaneler Gyeon Hwon’un kaplan sütü içerek büyüdügünü de söylüyor. Ajagae yerel bir köylü isyanini yönetiyordu ve general ilan edilmisti.
Hayati ve Hubaekje’nin Kurulusu
Silla Hükümdarligi asiri derecede bozulmus ve kitlik insanlari isyana sürüklüyordu. Silla Hükümeti’nin soylular, haydutlar ve kralligin yari-bagimsiz durumunu sürdüren isyan liderleri üzerinde hiçbir etkisi yoktu. Halk korkunç bir felakete sürüklenmesine ragmen Kraliçe Jinseong sorunu ele alacak güçte degildi çünkü hükümet felaketlerle ilgilenmektense kendi pozisyonlarinin kaybetmemeye çalisan soylu aileler ve satilmis memurlar tarafindan kontrol altinda tutuluyordu.
Gyeon Hwon soyadini degistirdiginde (Lee’den Gyeon’a ) Silla ordusuna katilmak için evden ayrilmasi gerektigini söyledi. Silla kuvvetlerinden Jeolla bölümüne komutan olduktan sonra yerel halki kendi hedefi dogrultusunda örgütledi, korsanlara yaptigi gibi. Daha sonra Gyeon Hwon tasranin merkezi olan Gwangju sehrini 892’de ele geçirdi. 900’de Gyeon Hwon kendisini Hubaekje (Baekje’den sonra) Krali ilan etti ve Jeonju’yu baskent yapti. Baekje’nin son krali Kral Uija’dan intikam almaya yemin etti. Bundan sonrasi büyük ölçüde Kisa Süreli Kralliklar Tarihi’yle çakismaktadir. Çin Kralligi Wuyue’ye bir elçi gönderince, Wuyue hükümeti tarafindan tanindi.
Hükümdarligi Hubaekje’nin hükümdari olarak taç giydikten sonra, Gyeon Hwon ordusunu Silla’nin baskenti Gyeongju’nun güneybatisindaki günümüzdeki Hapcheon’a gönderdi ancak harekat basarisiz oldu ve ordu geri çekildi... 910’da Gung Ye tarafindan kurulmus olan Majin’in rakibi olan kralligin generali Wan Geon, saldirip Naju sehrini kusatti, sehri Wang’dan almak için tesebbüste bulundu ancak basarili olamadi.
918’de, Gung Ye uzun bir karisikliktan sonra, tahttan indirildi ve Wang Geon’u yeni hükümdarlari ilan eden kendi ordusunun askerleri tarafindan öldürüldü. Wang’in Hubaekje’nin düsmani olmaya yeminli olmasina ragmen, Gyeon Goryeo’nun baskenti Kaesong’a bir elçi gönderdi ve Wan Geon’un tahta çikisini kutladi.
920’de Gyeon Hapcheon bölgesine baska bir kesif heyeti yolladi ve nihayetinde Kral Gyeongmyeong’u Goryeo ile antlasmaya zorlayarak bölgeyi almakta basarili oldu. Daha sonra günümüzdeki Andong bölgesini istila etti ancak birligi Silla birlikleri tarafindan bozguna ugratildi. Gyeon savastan sonra Goryeo ile soylulari tutsaklarla takas etmek karsiliginda baris yapmaya mecbur kaldi. Buna ragmen, yegeni Jin ho ölünce, Wan Geon’un kuzeni olan esir Wang Sin’i öldürdü ve savas devam etti.
927’de Gyeon Hwon ordusuna komutanlik yaparak Silla’nin baskenti Gyeongju’ya saldirdi. Kral Gyeonggae bu savasa hazirlikli degildi ve Hubaekje ordusu tarafindan öldürüldügü sirada Poseokjung’da yöneticileri ve esleriyle birlikte ziyafet veriyordu. Gyeon Kral Gyeongsun olan Kim Bu’yu yeni Silla krali ilan etti. Dönüs yolunda Wang Geon’un komuta ettigi birlikle karsilasti ve Goryeo ordusunu kolayca yendi.Wang’in önemli komutan ve savasçilarindan birçogunu öldürdü. Bir yil sonra Jinju sehrini Silla’dan geri aldi.
Gerileme ve Çöküs
Gelgelelim, Hubaekje Birligi’nin agir yenilgisi dönüm noktasi olmustu, Hubaekje agir kayiplar vermisti ve kendini toparlayamiyordu. 932'de, Hubaekje’nin en önemli generallerinden biri olan Gong Jik, bütün askerleri ve kaleleriyle Goryeo’ya teslim oldu. Gyeon, Goryeo’nun baskent Gaesung’u yagmalamasini durdurmaya çalisti ama ordusu 934’te tekrar yenilgiye ugradi.
Gyeon Hwon kral olduktan sonra çok sayida kadinla evlendi ve birçok çocugu oldu. Ayrica ilk esinden sekiz oglu ve bir kizi oldu. 935’te kralligi aldigi yenilgilerle can çekisirken, dördüncü oglu Geumgang’in ilk oglu Singeom’dan daha basarili olacagina karar verdi. Singeom kardesleri Yanggeom ve Yonggeom’la birlikte Gyeon Hwon’u hapse atti ve Geumgang’i öldürdü. Gyeon Hwon hapisten kaçti ve Goryeo’daki eski düsmani Wang Geon’a gitti. Wong Geon ona hosgörüyle karsiladi, ona toprak ve köle verdi. Gyeon Hwon’un ricasiyla gelecek yil, O ve Wong Geon Seonsam’da Hubaekje’yi yenilgiye ugratan büyük Goryeo ordusuna komuta etti.
936’nin sonlarinda Gyeo Hwon kötü huylu bir tümör sebebiyle öldü.
Diplomasi
Rakibi Gung Ye’nin aksine, Gyeon Hwon diplomaside çok aktif biriydi. Baekje’nin mesru krali olarak Çinli Kralliklar tarafindan resmen tanindi. Ayrica kuzeyde Khitanlar tarafindan yeni kurulan ve Goryeo’yu kuzey ve güneyden saran Liao Kabilesi’yle anlasmaya varmaya çalisti. Khitan elçilerin dönüs yolunda Çinliler tarafindan öldürülmesiyle anlasma bozuldu. Ayrica Gyeon hükümdarligi boyunca ticari sebeplerden dolayi Japonya’ya iki kez elçi göndermisti. Gteon’un kralligini kurdugu Jeolla bölgesi o zamanlar Dogu Asya’nin ticaret merkeziydi ve Jang Bogo gibi tüccarlarin ugrak yeriydi. Naju’da ordu komutaniyken edindigi ticaret ve diplomasi tecrübesiyle birlikte hariak bir siyaset yetenegi vardi.
Bütün bu diplomatik, askeri ve ticari yetenekleri, Kore’nin yeni lideri olarak ortaya çikmasina ve Wang Geon’un yerine Korelileri bir araya getirmesine yetmedi. Aslinda en önemli neden, Wang zengin soylu bir aileden gelirken, Silla hükümeti tarafindan bölgeye askeri memur olarak gönderildiginden beri Gyeon’un hiç destekçisinin olmamasiydi.Dolayisiyla, Hubaekje hükümet sistemi Silla’ninkinden pek de farkli degildi; bu tür bir yönetim sekli yerel toprak agalarini ve soylulari yönetme gücüne sahip degildi ve Hubaekje oradaki insanlari etkilemek için pratik yapamamisti.
Çeviri: Shawnodese (Tesekkür Ederim)
Kaynak: Wikipedia
ENGLISH
Gyeon Hwon of Hubaekje
Gyeon Hwon (867?-936, reigned 900-935) was the king and founder of Hubaekje, one of the Later Three Kingdoms of Korea. Some records render his name as "Jin Hwon" (진훤). He was also the progenitor of the Hwanggan Gyeon clan. Substantial accounts of his life are preserved in the Samguk Sagi, which presents a single narrative, and the Samguk Yusa, which presents excerpts about him from various sources
Background and Family
Records say that his original last name was Lee, not Gyeon. Most accounts agree that Gyeon Hwon's father was Ajagae, a farmer of the Lee clan, and that he was born in what is today Gaeun-eup in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang province, as the oldest of six children. His mother was from the Gwangju area, and her exact identity is not known; according to history, Ajagae had two wives, first one called Lady Sangwon and the other Lady Namwon, and that Gyeon Hwon was born to his first wife. However, many folklores and legends say that his mother was from Gwangju, and gave birth to her firstborn son after having physical contact with a worm disguising as human. Folklores also say that Gyeon Hwon grew up drinking the milks of tiger. Ajagae later led a local peasant revolt and declared himself a general.
Early Life and Founding of Hubaekje
At the time, the Silla court was heavily corrupted and widespread famine drove many of the people into rebel forces. The Silla government had no control over the local nobles, bandits and rebel leaders, who maintained semi-independent status throughout the kingdom. Even though the nation was falling into disaster, Queen Jinseong was not able to handle the problem; the government was controlled by the corrupt officials and royal family members, who only sought to increase their personal possessions, rather than trying to take care of the troubles.
Gyeon Hwon is said to have left home at 15 to join the Silla army, at which time he changed his family name from Lee to Gyeon. After becoming the commander of Silla forces in the Jeolla region, he marshalled local peasants to his cause, as well as defeating and incorporating the local pirates. Then Gyeon Hwon seized the city of Gwangju, which was a provincial capital, in 892. In 900, Gyeon Hwon declared himself the king of Hubaekje ("later Baekje") and established his capital at Jeonju. He swore to avenge King Uija, the last king of Baekje. From that time forth, his life largely coincides with the history of his short-lived kingdom. Sending an embassy to the Chinese kingdom of Wuyue, he was confirmed by the Wuyue court as a legitimate ruler.
Reign
After crowning himself as ruler of Hubaekje, Gyeon Hwon sent his army to present-day Hapcheon, which is located southwest of the Silla capital Gyeongju, but the campaign failed and the army retreated. Then in 910, when Wang Geon, the general of the rivalring kingdom of Majin, which was established by Gung Ye, attacked and captured the city of Naju, the very city that Gyeon Hwon started his rebellion, he made an attempt to retake the city from Wang but it was not successful.
In 918, Gung Ye, after long period of misrule, was dethroned and murdered by his army commanders, who crowned Wang Geon as their new ruler, marking the beginning point of Goryeo Dynasty. Although Wang was the sworn enemy of Hubaekje, Gyeon sent an envoy to Goryeo capital Kaesong and congratulated Wang Geon's coronation.
In 920, Gyeon sent another major expedition to Hapcheon area and finally succeeded in taking over the region, forcing King Gyeongmyeong into alliance with Goryeo. Then he invaded the present-day Andong area, but his troops were defeated by local Silla guards. Gyeon was forced to make peace with Goryeo after the battle, through exchanging one of the royal family members as prisoners. However, when his nephew Jin Ho died, he killed the Goryeo prisoner Wang Sin, cousin of Wang Geon, and resumed war against Goryeo.
In 927, Gyeon Hwon led his army himself and directly attacked the Silla capital of Gyeongju. King Gyeongae was unprepared to this attack, and was having a feast at the Poseokjung with many of his officials and wives when he was captured and murdered by the invading army of Hubaekje. Then Gyeon established Kim Bu as the next Silla king, who became King Gyeongsun. On his way back, he was met by the forces led by Wang Geon, and easily defeated the Goryeo army, killing many of Wang's notable generals and warriors. One year later he took over the city of Jinju from Silla.
Decline and Fall
However, the heavy defeat of the Hubaekje troops at the battle near present-day Andong marked the turning point; Hubaekje was not able to recover from the loss. In 932, Gong Jik, one of the most important generals of Hubaekje, surrendered to Goryeo with all of his troops and fortress. Gyeon attempted to reverse the current by sacking the Goryeo capital of Gaesung, but his army suffered another defeat in the year of 934.
Gyeon Hwon took numerous wives after becoming king, and had numerous children by them in addition to the eight sons and a daughter borne by his first wife. In 935, as his kingdom reeled from military defeats, he decided that his fourth son Geumgang should succeed him, rather than his firstborn son Singeom. Singeom, together with his brothers Yanggeom and Yonggeom, imprisoned Gyeon Hwon and killed Geumgang. Gyeon Hwon escaped from prison and fled to his old enemy Wang Geon in Goryeo, who welcomed him and provided him with land and slaves. At Gyeon Hwon's request, the following year he and Wanggeon led the massive Goryeo army which defeated Hubaekje at Seonsan.
Later in 936, Gyeon Hwon died of an inflamed tumor.
Diplomacy
Unlike his rival Gung Ye, Gyeon Hwon was active in diplomacy; he was formally confirmed by the Chinese kingdoms of Wuyue and Later Tang as legitimate ruler of Baekje. In addition, he sought an alliance with the newly-formed Liao Dynasty in the north, which was founded by the Khitans, in order to surround Goryeo from both north and south. However the khitan envoys were murdered by the Chinese in their way back, so the alliance was failed. Also, Gyeon sent envoys to Japan twice during his reign, for mainly commercial reasons; the Jeolla region, where Gyeon Hwon began his kingdom, was center of trade in East Asia during the period, and had already served as the base for traders such as Jang Bogo. With his experience in diplomacy and trade from being the army officer at Naju, he had great diplomatic skills.
However, even though with all of his diplomatic, military and trade abilities he was not able to emerge as the new leader of the Korea, and instead Wang Geon reunited the Koreans. The major reason lies within the fact that while Wang was from the wealth local merchant/noble family, while Gyeon had no local support, since he was the military officer sent to the province by the Silla government. Consequently, his Hubaekje government system was not very much different from the one of Silla; however that kind of the government system proved not to be effective in controlling the local landlords and merchants, and Hubaekje was not able to exercise influence over many of its people, giving the way for Goryeo to incorporate the kingdom.
Source: Wikipedia
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