Korean historyAD 598 – AD 67617 events
Wars of Korean Unification
From Goguryeo's wars with Sui and Tang to Silla's unification — eighty years of East Asian war on the peninsula
The theme on the map
17 events in this theme
- AD 598Goguryeo Strikes Liaoxi
King Yeongyang led some 10,000 Malgal troops in a pre-emptive attack on Sui’s Liaoxi; Emperor Wen’s counter-invasion of 300,000 failed.
- AD 598 – AD 614Goguryeo–Sui Wars
Sui, having reunified China, invaded Goguryeo four times and failed every time; the campaigns helped bring Sui down.
- AD 612Battle of Salsu River
Goguryeo forces under Eulji Mundeok routed a Sui strike force at the Salsu (Cheongcheon) River.
- AD 631 – AD 647Building the Thousand-li Wall
Bracing for Tang, Goguryeo built a line of fortifications over a thousand li long from Buyeo Fortress in the north to Bisa Fortress in the south, taking sixteen years.
King Uija seized some forty Silla fortresses and sent General Yunchung to take Daeya; Kim Chun-chu’s daughter and son-in-law died there.
- AD 642Yeon Gaesomun’s Coup
Yeon Gaesomun killed King Yeongnyu and his opponents, enthroned King Bojang and ruled as Dae-mangniji (supreme minister).
- AD 645Siege of Ansi Fortress
Emperor Taizong of Tang took the Liaodong fortresses, but Ansi held out for 88 days and forced him to withdraw.
- AD 648Silla–Tang Alliance
Kim Chun-chu travelled to Tang and concluded a military alliance with Emperor Taizong: once Baekje and Goguryeo fell, Silla would have the land south of Pyongyang.
- AD 660 – AD 663Baekje Restoration Movement
Boksin, Dochim and Heukchi Sangji rose at Juryu and Imjon fortresses, crowned Prince Buyeo Pung, recalled from Wa, and fought the Silla–Tang allies.
- AD 660Battle of Hwangsanbeol
Gyebaek met Kim Yu-sin’s 50,000 Silla troops with 5,000 picked men, won four clashes and finally fell.
- AD 660Fall of Baekje
Allied Silla and Tang forces took the capital Sabi, and King Uija surrendered, ending Baekje.
- AD 663Battle of Baekgang
A Wa fleet sent to aid the Baekje rebels was crushed by the Silla–Tang allies at the mouth of the Baek River; 400 ships burned.
- AD 668Fall of Goguryeo
Allied Silla and Tang forces took Pyongyang and King Bojang surrendered, ending Goguryeo.
Geom Mo-jam rose at Hanseong (Jaeryeong, Hwanghae) with the Goguryeo prince An Seung as king; Silla later installed An Seung as king of Bodeok at Geummajeo (Iksan).
- AD 670 – AD 676Silla–Tang War and Unification
Silla drove out the Tang armies that sought to rule the peninsula and unified the land south of a line from the Taedong River to Wonsan Bay.
- AD 675Battle of Maeso Fortress
Silla defeated the 200,000-strong Tang army of Li Jinxing camped at Maeso Fortress, capturing some 30,000 horses.
- AD 676Battle of Gibeolpo
The Silla navy under Sachan Sideuk defeated Xue Rengui’s Tang fleet at Gibeolpo on the Geum estuary, the last major battle of the war.
Key people
- King MunmuAD 626 – AD 681
Thirtieth king of Silla, who destroyed Goguryeo, expelled Tang and completed unification
- Yeon GaesomunAD 665
Grand Mangniji of late Goguryeo who seized power in a coup and stood firm against Tang
- King Muyeol (Kim Chun-chu)AD 603 – AD 661
Twenty-ninth king of Silla, who forged the Tang alliance, became the first jingol king and conquered Baekje
- Kim Yu-sinAD 595 – AD 673
Silla general of Geumgwan Gaya royal descent who defeated Gyebaek and led the unification wars
- Eulji Mundeok
Goguryeo general who lured the Sui strike force inland and destroyed it at the Salsu River
- King UijaAD 660
Last king of Baekje, who took Daeya Fortress from Silla but surrendered to the Silla–Tang allies
- Emperor Taizong of TangAD 598 – AD 649
Second Tang emperor whose 645 invasion of Goguryeo stalled at Ansi Fortress
- Buyeo Pung
Son of King Uija, brought back from Wa as king by the Baekje restoration forces, who fled to Goguryeo after the defeat at Baekgang
- Queen JindeokAD 654
Twenty-eighth ruler and last "hallowed-bone" monarch of Silla, enthroned during Bidam’s revolt, under whom the Silla–Tang alliance was made and the Jipsabu set up