Silla

 ( States And Territories Established In The 1st Century Bc ) 

Talhae of Silla (57 CE–80 CE) was the son-in-law of Namhae of Silla (4 CE–24 CE). According to the Samguk sagi, Seoktalhae was the prince of Yongseongguk (龍成國) or Dapana (多婆那國), located 1,000-ri (里), northeast of Japan (?). Following the will of Namhae of Silla, he became the fourth king of Silla. One day, he found a low peak next to Mt. Toham (吐含山) and packed it with his own house, and he buried charcoal next to the house of a Japonic official named Hogong (瓠公), who lived there, and deceived him that his ancestors were blacksmiths, but the Hogong family took their home. Hogong was tricked into handing over his house and property to the Seoktalhae. During this period, Kim Al-chi, the ancestor of Gyeongju Kim, was adopted by Talhae of Silla.

The territory outside the capital was greatly conquered during the period of Pasa of Silla (80–112). As soon as he ascended the throne, he ordered officials to encourage agriculture, silkworm farming and train soldiers. There was a territorial dispute between the Eumjipbeol and Siljikgok, and the two countries first asked Pasa of Silla to mediate, Pasa of Silla was handed over to King Suro of Gimhae, who was the local leader at the time. King Suro instead resolved the territorial issue and ruled in favor of Eumjipbeol. However, King Suro sent an assassin to kill the head of the six Silla divisions, who hid in the Eumjipbeol while the assassin was escaping, and King Tachugan (陀鄒干) protected the assassin. In response, Pasa of Silla invaded Eumjipbeol in 102 and Tachugan surrendered, and the Siljikgok and Apdok, which were frightened by Silla, also surrendered. Six years later, it entered the inland area and attacked and merged Daegu, Bijigukuk, and Chopalguk.

During the Naehae of Silla period (196–230), the Eight Port Kingdoms War (浦上八國 亂) broke out to determine hegemony in the southern part of the peninsula. In 209, when the "eight upper countries (of the estuary)" (浦上八國) in the Nakdong River basin attacked the Silla-friendly Ara Gaya, the prince of Ara Gaya asked Silla for a rescue army, and the king ordered Crown Prince Seok Uro to gather his troops and attack the eight kingdoms. Crown Prince SeokUro saved Ara Gaya and rescued 6,000 of the pro-Silla Gaya people who had been captured and returned to their homeland. Three years later, three among the eight countries (浦上八國), Golpo-guk, Chilpo-guk, and Gosapo-guk, will launch counterattacks against Silla. A battle took place in Ulsan, the southeastern part of the capital, and the war ended when the Silla king came out to fight against it, and the soldiers of the three kingdoms were defeated.

By the 2nd century, Silla existed as its own distinct political entity in the southeastern area of the Korean peninsula. It expanded its influence over the neighboring Jinhan chiefdoms, but throughout the 3rd century was probably no more than the strongest constituent in the Jinhan confederacy.

To the west, Baekje had centralized into a kingdom by about 250 CE, overtaking the Mahan confederacy. To the southwest, Byeonhan was being replaced by the Gaya confederacy. In northern Korea, Goguryeo, founded around 50 CE, destroyed the last Chinese commandery in 313 CE and had grown into the largest regional power.

By the time of Beopheung of Silla (514–540), Silla was a full-fledged kingdom, with Buddhism as state religion, and its own Korean era name. Silla absorbed the Gaya confederacy during the Gaya–Silla Wars, annexing Geumgwan Gaya in 532 and conquering Daegaya in 562, thereby expanding its borders to the Nakdong River basin.

Jinheung of Silla (540–576) established a strong military force. Silla helped Baekje drive Goguryeo out of the Han River (Seoul) area, and then wrested control of the entire central western Korea region from Baekje in 553, breaching the 120-year Baekje-Silla alliance. Also, King Jinheung established the Hwarang.

The early period ended with the death of Jindeok of Silla and the demise of the "hallowed bone" (; seonggol) rank system.

• mari (마리) from Middle Korean 마리〮 màlí, "head"/ countable of "head / per head" or "hair"
• mang-rip or mang-nip (網笠), "a traditional-style hat made of horsehair"
• mo-rip (毛笠), "a kind of hat worn by servants in the old days"
• mi-rip or mi-reup, meaning "a knack, a trick, the hang of something"
• madi (맏이) or maji (맏히), meaning "the firstborn, the eldest (child of a family); an elder, a senior, a person whose age is greater than someone else's age"
• mat-jip (맛집), meaning "the house in which the head of a household lives, the main house on an estate"
• mŏrŏ or maru (마루), meaning "ridge, peak, crest (of a roof, a mountain, a wave, etc.); zenith, climax, prime; the first, the standard"
• maru (마루) or mallu, meaning "floor"

The second element, gan (Hangul: 간), is a likely cognate to han (Hangul: 한) and the word for "big, great" keun, first attested as Late Old Korean 黑根 *hùkú-n. Both carry the meaning of "great, leader", which was previously used by the princes of southern Korea, and is sometimes also speculated to have an external relationship with the Mongolic/Turkic title of Khan.

Silla's middle period is characterized by the rising power of the monarchy at the expense of the jingol nobility. This was made possible by the new wealth and prestige garnered as a result of Silla's unification of the peninsula, as well as the monarchy's successful suppression of several armed aristocratic revolts following early upon unification, which afforded the king the opportunity of purging the most powerful families and rivals to central authority. Further, for a brief period of about a century from the late 7th to late 8th centuries the monarchy made an attempt to divest aristocratic officialdom of their landed base by instituting a system of salary payments, or office land ( jikjeon, 직전, 職田), in lieu of the former system whereby aristocratic officials were given grants of land to exploit as salary (the so–called tax villages, or nog-eup, 녹읍, 祿邑).

By the late 8th century, however, these royal initiatives had failed to check the power of the entrenched aristocracy. The mid to late 8th century saw renewed revolts led by branches of the Kim clan which effectively limited royal authority. Most prominent of these was a revolt led by Kim Daegong that persisted for three years. One key evidence of the erosion of kingly authority was the rescinding of the office land system and the re-institution of the former tax village system as salary land for aristocratic officialdom in 757.

In Jinjin and Silla, the king was referred to as Gan, and during the Unified Silla Period, the title "Gan" was also used as Chungji Jagan and Agan.

The middle period of Silla came to an end with the assassination of Hyegong of Silla in 780, terminating the kingly line of succession of Muyeol of Silla, the architect of Silla's unification of the peninsula. Hyegong's demise was a bloody one, the culmination of an extended civil war involving most of the kingdom's high–ranking noble families. With Hyegong's death, during the remaining years of Silla, the king was reduced to little more than a figurehead as powerful aristocratic families became increasingly independent of central control.

Thereafter the Silla kingship was fixed in the house of Wonseong of Silla (785–798), though the office itself was continually contested among various branches of the Kim lineage.

Nevertheless, the middle period of Silla witnessed the state at its zenith, the brief consolidation of royal power, and the attempt to institute a Chinese style bureaucratic system.

The tail end of this period, called the Later Three Kingdoms period, briefly saw the emergence of the kingdoms of Later Baekje and Taebong, which were composed of rebels originating from their respective regions' historical backgrounds. Silla was defeated first by Later Baekje and the era ended with Silla's submission to Goryeo.

Since its emergence as a centralized polity Silla society had been characterized by its strict aristocratic makeup. Silla had two royal classes: "sacred bone" ( seonggol, 성골, 聖骨) and "true bone" ( jingol, 진골, 眞骨). Up until the reign of King Muyeol this aristocracy had been divided into "sacred bone" and "true bone" aristocrats, with the former differentiated by their eligibility to attain the kingship. This duality had ended when Queen Jindeok, the last ruler from the "sacred bone" class, died in 654. The numbers of "sacred bone" aristocrats had been decreasing for generations, as the title was only conferred to those whose parents were both "sacred bones", whereas children of a "sacred" and a "true bone" parent were considered as "true bones". There were also many ways for a "sacred bone" to be demoted to a "true bone", thus making the entire system even more likely to collapse eventually.

The king (or queen) theoretically was an absolute monarch, but royal powers were somewhat constrained by a strong aristocracy. Notably, Silla was unique in having female monarchs. There were, for example, three reigning Sillan female "kings" (yeouang, 여왕), distinct from queens who were merely the consorts of male rulers.

The "Hwabaek" (화백,和白) served as royal council with decision-making authorities on some vital issues like succession to the throne or declarations of war. The Hwabaek was headed by a person (Sangdaedeung) chosen from the "sacred bone" rank. One of the key decisions of this royal council was the adoption of Buddhism as state religion.

Following unification Silla began to rely more upon Chinese models of bureaucracy to administer its greatly expanded territory. This was a marked change from pre-unification days when the Silla monarchy stressed Buddhism, and the Silla monarch's role as a "Buddha-king". Another salient factor in post-unification politics were the increasing tensions between the Korean monarchy and aristocracy.

A number of Silla's greatest generals and military leaders were Hwarang (equivalent to the Western knights or chevaliers). Originally a social group, due to the continuous military rivalry between the Three Kingdoms of Korea, they eventually transformed from a group of elite male aristocratic youth into soldiers and military leaders. Hwarang were key in the fall of Goguryeo (which resulted in the unification of the Korean Peninsula under Unified Silla) and the Silla–Tang Wars, which expelled Tang forces in the other two Korean kingdoms.

Silla is known to have operated crossbows called the Cheonbono () that was said to have had a range of one thousand steps and a special pike unit called the Jangchang-Dang () to counter enemy cavalry. In particular, Silla's crossbows were prized by Tang China due to its excellent functions and durability. Silla would later employ special crossbow units against its Korean counterparts such as Goguryeo and Baekje, as well as the Tang dynasty during the Silla–Tang War. The pike unit, called Changchangdang that would later be known as the Bigeum Legion () as part of the Nine Legions () and which was consisted of Silla folks, had a special purpose to counter the Göktürks cavalries operated by the Tang army during the Silla-Tang War.

In addition, Silla's central army, the Nine Legions (), were consisted of Silla, Goguryeo, Baekje, and Mohe people people. These nine legions aimed at defending the Gyeongju became complete in formation and compilation after Later Silla. Each Legions were known for their representative colors marked on their collars and were constituted by different groups. The Golden, Red, and Dark Blue Legion employed Goguryeoans while the Blue and White Legion accepted Baekje folks into their ranks. The Bigeum (also Red in color), Green, and Purple Legion were formed by Sillan people whilst the Black Legion took dispersed Mohe refugees into their fold that came along with Goguryeo refugees after the Fall of Goguryeo.

Silla is also known for its maritime prowess shown by the navy backed with master shipbuilding and seamanship. The boats employed were usually called Sillaseon (신라선), which had an international reputation for its solid durability and effective capabilities that were said to 'enable men surf across the biggest of waves' amongst the Chinese and Japanese according to the Shoku Nihon Koki. During the Silla-Tang War, the Silla navy under the command of general Sideuk defeated the Tang Navy 22 times out of 23 engagements in Gibeolpo, today's Seocheon County. Jang Bogo, a prominent maritime figure of Silla, was also famous for his navy based on the Cheonghaejin Garrison.

The massive Bronze Bell of King Seongdeok the Great of Silla is known to produce a distinctive sound. Cheomseongdae near Gyeongju is the oldest extant astronomical observatory in East Asia but some disagree on its exact functions. It was built during the reign of Queen Seondeok (632–647).

It was from Silla that Korea's oldest extant genre of poems, known as hyangga, developed and were recorded. Additionally, among the three kingdoms, Silla has the best preserved ancient Korean literature written in Classical Chinese, which includes the hanshi poetry of Ch'oe Ch'i-wŏn, as well as the travelogue of Buddhist monk Hyecho.

Muslim traders brought the name "Silla" to the world outside the traditional East Asian sphere through the Silk Road. Geographers of the Arab and Persian world, including ibn Khurdadhbih, Masudi, Dimashiki, Al-Nuwayri, and al-Maqrizi, left records about Silla.

The current descendants to the Silla dynasty fall under the Park name. Family records since the last ruler have been provided, but these records have yet to be fully verified.

The ethnic religion of Silla was a key element within the Silla state and constituted the State religion around which many of the national rites, festivals and ceremonies revolved around. The ruler of Silla was simultaneously its religious head and one of the most revered figures in the nation, having a near deity/saint like status due to their descendance from the spirits of the skies. The title of the second ruler of Silla, Nurye "Yuri" Isageum, called Chachaung was one of the high shamans of the state for example.

The ruler also performed the national ceremonies to support the nation in upcoming times together with his sister serving as a high ranking shamaness figure only second to the ruler himself. Silla's unique exceptionalist nationalism focused on the struggle for survival against the much more powerful neighbours of Goguryeo and Baekje.

The Hwarang had its origin in Silla's native religion as well, where the youth would strive to fight for their country and monarch. They would embark on nationalistic pilgrimages to seek out the spirits, who would grant them powers to vanquish their enemies. The Hwarang Segi is one of the manuscripts that give insight into their lives and practices.

Springs and Mountains are some of the sources, where the spirits of life originate from, who sometimes take on the form of animals and girls.

When Silla adopted Buddhism, the previous ethnic religion was syncretized with the new faith and largely became synonymous to it. Buddhist deities are often treated the same way deities from the native religion are. Buddhism subsequently also found its way into native folk beliefs.

Shamanism remained important well into the Goryeo period, with a nativist uprising nominally led by a Buddhist court monk named Myocheong occurring in the 12th century.

The national festivals of Goryeo, Palgwanhoe and Yeondeunghoe, while they were Buddhist festivals were originally native shamanistic ones.

During Joseon shamans were still reached out to by the common folk, who for example often went to them to decide the names of their kids.

The importance of Buddhism in Silla society of the late early period is difficult to exaggerate. From King Beopheung and for the following six reigns Silla kings adopted Buddhist names and came to portray themselves as Buddhist–kings. Retrieved on 2008-03-08

By the time of the 7th century, Buddhism in Korea reached its golden age with the advent of prominent, elite scholar-monks such as Wonhyo, Uisang, and Jajang that influenced East Asian philosophy and played pivotal roles in laying key ideas within East Asian Buddhism like Essence-Function. With the support of the government, massive temples like the Hwangnyongsa, Bulguksa and hermitages like Seokguram were built across the nation. Buddhist ideals and practices permeated the people's daily lives regardless of class and the court, as well as the government, actively promoted Buddhism as a symbol of patriotism in times of invasions. The main assessment is that relics and temple ruins related to Silla found today were ahead of their time and surpassed those of Goryeo and Joseon in terms of size and extravagancy. Many Sillan monks who were part of the elite caste chose to expand their experience and knowledge by studying abroad in Tang China or travelling far west to India. Hyecho, known for his travelogue " An Account of Travel to the Five Indian Kingdoms", was one of the many Korean monks that ventured to territories west to China yet to be visited by Koreans at that time.

Silla's strong Buddhist nature is also reflected by the thousands of remnant Buddhist stone figures and carvings, mostly importantly on Namsan. The international influence of the Tang dynasty on these figures and carvings can be witnessed in the hallmarks of a round full form, a stern expression of the face, and drapery that clings to the body, but stylistic elements of native Korean culture can still be identified.