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Jinhan confederacy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Jinhan was a loose confederacy of chiefdoms that existed from around the 1st century BC to the 4th century CE in the southern Korean peninsula, to the east of the Nakdong River valley, Gyeongsang Province. Jinhan was one of the Samhan (or "Three Hans"), along with Byeonhan and Mahan. Apparently descending from the Jin state of southern Korea, Jinhan was absorbed by the later Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea.
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Jinhan, like the other Samhan confederacies, arose out of the confusion and migration following the fall of Gojoseon and establishment of the Chinese commanderies in the northern part of the Korean peninsula in 108 BCE.
Its relation to the earlier state of Jin is not clear, although the contemporary Chinese chronicle San Guo Zhi alleges that Jinhan was identical with Jin (while another record describes Jin as the predecessor of the Samhan as a whole). Jinhan and Byeonhan shared essentially the same culture, with varying religious customs, and apparently were not separated by a clear boundary.
According to the San Guo Zhi , Jinhan consisted of 12 statelets of 600 to 5000 families each:
- Saro (사로국, 斯盧國), in Gyeongju, most powerful, later center of the Silla Kingdom
- Gijeo (기저국, 己柢國)
- Bulsa (불사국, 不斯國)
- Geun-gi (근기국, 勤耆國)
- Nanmirimidong (난미리미동국, 難彌理彌凍國)
- Yeomhae (염해국, 冉奚國)
- Gunmi (군미국, 軍彌國)
- Yeodam (여담국, 如湛國)
- Horo (호로국, 戶路國)
- Juseon (주선국, 州鮮國)
- Mayeon (마연국, 馬延國)
- U-yu (우유국, 優由國)
According to Korean records, the Silla Kingdom (around present-day Gyeongju), was founded by Bak Hyeokgeose in 57 BC, who united the leading clans of Jinhan under his rule. The records are sparse and conflicting regarding the relationship of the names Jinhan, Saro, Seorabeol, and the later Silla kingdom.
We know little of the daily life of Jinhan people. The religion appears to have been shamanistic, and to have played an important role in politics as well. Agriculture was heavily dominated by rice, but also included substantial rearing of livestock including horses, cattle, and chickens.
Most theories indicate that Jinhan was located in the area later occupied by the Silla kingdom: the Gyeongju Basin and adjacent Sea of Japan (East Sea) coast. It would have been neighbored by the Byeonhan confederacy on the southwest, and by the much larger Mahan confederacy on the west. On the north it would have been bounded by the Chinese commanderies and the small coastal state of Dongye. However, some scholars place Jinhan in the Han River valley, bounded by Mahan on the north and Byeonhan on the south.