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Gaya confederacy
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Gaya was a 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 42 - 532 CE. According to archaeological evidence in the third and fourth centuries some of the city-states of Byeonhan evolved into the Gaya confederacy, which was later annexed by Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. The individual polities that made up the Gaya confederacy have been characterized as small city-states.
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Gaya was a 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 42 - 532 CE. According to archaeological evidence in the third and fourth centuries some of the city-states of Byeonhan evolved into the Gaya confederacy, which was later annexed by Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. The individual polities that made up the Gaya confederacy have been characterized as small city-states. . The material culture remains of Gaya culture mainly consist of burials and their contents of mortuary goods that have been excavated by archaeologists. Archaeologists interpret mounded burial cemeteries of the late third and early fourth centuries such as Daeseong-dong in Gimhae and Bokcheon-dong in Busan as the royal burial grounds of Gaya polities.
Names
Although most commonly referred to as Gaya (??; ??, ??, ??), probably due to the imprecision of transcribing Korean words into hanja, historical sources use a variety of names, including Kaya, Garak (??; ??, ??), Gara (??; ??, ??, ??, ??), Garyang (??;??), and Guya (??; ??).
History
According to a legend recorded in the Samguk Yusa written in the 13th century, in the year 42 CE, six eggs descended from the heaven with a message that they would be kings. Six boys were born, and within 12 days they grew mature. One of them, named Suro, became the king of Geumgwan Gaya, and the other five founded the remaining five Gayas, namely Daegaya, Seongsan Gaya, Ara Gaya, Goryeong Gaya, and Sogaya.
The Gaya polities evolved out of the chiefly political structures of the twelve tribes of the ancient Byeonhan, one of the Samhan confederacies. The loosely organized chiefdoms resolved into six Gaya groups, centered around Geumgwan Gaya. On the basis of archaeological sources as well as limited written records, scholars such as Sin have identified the late 3rd century as a period of transition from Byeonhan to Gaya, with increasing military activity and changing funerary customs. Sin further argues that this was associated with the replacement of the previous elite in some principalities (including Daegaya) by elements from Buyeo, who brought a more militaristic ideology and style of rule.
The Gaya Confederacy disintegrated under pressure from Goguryeo between 391 and 412 AD, although the last Gaya polities remained independent until they were conquered by Silla in 562 AD, as punishment for assisting Baekje in a war against Silla. (see Daegaya).
Economy
Polities were situated in the alluvial flats of tributary river valleys and the mouth of the Nakdong. In particular, the mouth of the Nakdong has fertile plains, direct access to the sea, and rich iron deposits. Gaya polities had economies that were based on agriculture, fishing, casting, and long-distance trade. They were particularly known for its iron-working, as Byeonhan had been before it. Gaya polities exported abundant quantities of iron ore, iron armor, and other weaponry to Baekje and the Kingdom of Wa in Yamato period Japan. In contrast to the largely commercial and non-political ties of Byeonhan, Gaya polities seem to have attempted to maintain strong political ties with those kingdoms as well.
Politics
Several ancient historical records list a number of polities of Gaya. For example, Goryeo Saryak (????; ????) lists five: Geumgwan Gaya, Goryeong Gaya, Bihwa Gaya, Ara Gaya, and Seongsan Gaya.
The various Gaya polities formed a confederacy in the 2nd and 3rd centuries that was centered around the heartland of Geumgwan Gaya in modern Gimhae. After a period of decline, the confederacy was revived around the turn of the 5th and 6th centuries, this time it was centred around Daegaya of modern Goryeong. However, it was unable to defend itself against the incursions and attacks of the neighboring kingdom of Silla.
Political and trade relations with Japan are a matter of controversy. Archaeological evidence suggests that Gaya polities were the main exporter of technology and culture to Kyushu at that time. Japanese publicists during the twentieth-century looked to the controversial Nihonshoki, which claims that Gaya (named "Mimana" also "Kara" in Japanese) was a military outpost of Japan during the Yamato period (300-710). However, this theory is widely rejected even in Japan as there was no Japanese dynasty at the time which had a strong enough military power to conquer Gaya or any other part of Korea. The technology of Gaya was much more advanced than that of the Japanese dynasties of the time. While there is absolutely no evidence to support this contention, it has nonetheless been advocated at various times by the Japanese press to justify the Japanese colonization of Korea (1910-1945).
Gallery
See also
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