Onjo

Korean spelling
Hangeul	온조
Hanja	溫祚
Revised ; Romanization	Onjo
McCune- ; Reischauer	Onjo
	See also : Korean name

Onjo (* 1st century BC; † 28 ) was the founder of Baekje ( 百濟 ), one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea . He ruled from 18 BC. Chr. To 28 . According to the Samguk Sagi ( 三國史記 ) he is the ancestor of all other kings of Baekje.

ancestry

There are a few theories and legends about Onjo's ancestry. One of them is that he is the third son of Dongmyeong (Jumong), the founder of the northern Korean kingdom of Goguryeo . Thus he was the younger brother of Yuri of Goguryeo, who became the second king of Goguryeo. Biryu was another elder brother who founded a small state in Michuho . Another theory is that he was the son of Wutae, his mother's first husband. A third legend says that Biryu was his mother's first son with Wutae, but Onjo was not born until after the second marriage to King Dongmyeong .

Baekje founded and expanded

Dongmyeong had three sons: Yuri, Biryu and Onjo. When Yuri, born of Dongmyeong's previous wife in the Kingdom of East Buyeo ( 동부여 Dong-buyeo ), became heir apparent in Goguryeo , Biryu and Onjo moved south to establish their own kingdoms. According to the Samguk Yusa , Biryu founded his kingdom near Michuhol ( 彌鄒忽 ), near today's Incheon . Onjo, on the other hand, probably founded his empire Sipje ( vermutlich 濟 ) first north of the Hangang in what is now Seoul, before moving its capital south of the Hangang. The name of the first capital was Habuk Wiryeseong (kor. For Wiryeseong = "north-of-the-river") and after the relocation Hanam Wiryeseong (kor. For Wiryeseong "south-of-the-river"). Biryu had now realized that his land was too barren and too salty. So he and his people moved to Hanam Wiryeseong to live with Onjo. There Biryu demanded to take control of Sipje and when this was not granted to him he moved against Onjo. This defeated his brother's troops whereupon Biryu committed suicide and his people joined Onjo. From then on the empire was known under the name Baekje.

In the years 8 and 3 BC The Malgal attacked from the north. Both times Onjo led his armies himself and defeated the invaders. The shift of the capital south of the Hangang was 5 BC. Because of the aggression of the Malgal, because the new place was easy to defend. He reported this action via a messenger to the Mahan , a loose confederation of states to which Baekje belonged.

At that time Onjo already had plans to conquer areas of Mahan . In 7 AD he prepared his armies to attack during 8 AD. First he secretly crossed the border with his armies under the pretext of hunting in the woods. Within a short time a large part of Mahan was conquered except for two fortifications. The inhabitants of the last two fortresses surrendered and were spared by Onjo. The king of the conquered territories took his own life, but left Onjo a letter in which he asked him to welcome his people with kindness and grace. Onjo respected this last wish and complied with it. Baekje thus expanded into a larger empire, after which several fortresses were built every year. Peace reigned for eight years before a former general from a conquered area started a rebellion in AD 16. Onjo suppressed the rebellion by leading an army of 5000 men. Soon after, the Malgal tribes attacked again in AD 22, but were again defeated by Onjo and his army.

Death and legacy

Onjo died of natural causes in the spring of AD 28 when he had ruled for 46 years. He was succeeded by Daru , his eldest son. Onjo created the conditions for a powerful dynasty that would exist for 678 years and produce 31 rulers.

Individual evidence

^ Gina Lee Barnes: State Formation in Korea: Emerging Elites. Routledge, 2013, ISBN 978-1-136-84097-5 , p. 13.
↑ Information from the translators of Il-yeon : Samguk Yusa: Legend and Wonder Stories from the Three Kingdoms of Korea. EB-Verlag, 2007, ISBN 978-1-59654-348-5 , p. 25.
^ Martin Zatko: The Rough Guide to Seoul. Penguin, 2011, ISBN 978-1-4053-8102-4 , p. 170.
^ Yŏng-jun Ch'oe: Land and Life: A Historical Geographical Exploration of Korea. Jain Publishing Company, 2005, ISBN 0-89581-835-3 , p. 258.
↑ Samguk Sagi, Scroll 23
↑ ^a ^b ^c Jinwung Kim: A History of Korea: From "Land of the Morning Calm" to States in Conflict. Indiana University Press, 2012, ISBN 978-0-253-00078-1 , p. 38.
^ Duk-kyu Jin: Historical Origins of Korean Politics. 2005, ISBN 89-423-3063-0 , p. 87.

personal data
SURNAME	Onjo
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	溫祚 (Hanja)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Founder of the Baekje Kingdom
DATE OF BIRTH	1st century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH	28

[Barnes_2013_S13-1] Gina Lee Barnes: State Formation in Korea: Emerging Elites. Routledge, 2013, ISBN 978-1-136-84097-5 , p. 13.

[Samguk_Yusa_2007_S25-2] Information from the translators of Il-yeon : Samguk Yusa: Legend and Wonder Stories from the Three Kingdoms of Korea. EB-Verlag, 2007, ISBN 978-1-59654-348-5 , p. 25.

[3] Martin Zatko: The Rough Guide to Seoul. Penguin, 2011, ISBN 978-1-4053-8102-4 , p. 170.

[4] Yŏng-jun Ch'oe: Land and Life: A Historical Geographical Exploration of Korea. Jain Publishing Company, 2005, ISBN 0-89581-835-3 , p. 258.

[5] Samguk Sagi, Scroll 23

[KOREA-6] Jinwung Kim: A History of Korea: From "Land of the Morning Calm" to States in Conflict. Indiana University Press, 2012, ISBN 978-0-253-00078-1 , p. 38.

[Jin-7] Duk-kyu Jin: Historical Origins of Korean Politics. 2005, ISBN 89-423-3063-0 , p. 87.