Anseung () (
fl.
''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...
668–683), alternately Ansun (), was thought to be either the nephew or illegitimate son
of King
Bojang of Goguryeo
Bojang (died 682; ) was the 28th and last monarch of Goguryeo the northernmost of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He was placed on the throne by the military leader Yeon Gaesomun. His reign ended when Goguryeo fell to the allied forces of the south ...
, the last King of
Goguryeo
Goguryeo (37 BC – 668 AD) (; ; Old Korean: Guryeo) also later known as Goryeo (; ; Middle Korean: 고ᇢ롕〮, ''kwòwlyéy''), was a Korean kingdom which was located on the northern and central parts of the Korea, Korean Peninsula an ...
. He was named the new King of Goguryeo by general
Geom Mojam
Geom Mojam (?–670) was the military leader of a short-lived movement to restore Goguryeo after its fall to Silla in the later 7th century CE. After the kingdom fell to Tang and Silla in 668, he kindled an opposition movement in the Taedong Riv ...
, but later he murdered Geom and submitted to the Korean kingdom of
Silla
Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...
, taking up residence in the Silla capital of
Gyeongju
Gyeongju (, ), historically known as Seorabeol (, ), is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, covering with a population of ...
.
Background
Go Anseung was the nephew of
King Bojang of Goguryeo, and a prince of
Goguryeo
Goguryeo (37 BC – 668 AD) (; ; Old Korean: Guryeo) also later known as Goryeo (; ; Middle Korean: 고ᇢ롕〮, ''kwòwlyéy''), was a Korean kingdom which was located on the northern and central parts of the Korea, Korean Peninsula an ...
before its fall. In some Chinese sources, Go Anseung is recorded as the grandson of
Bojang, the last king of the ancient Korean kingdom of Goguryeo.
Ruler of a rump Goguryeo
In 668, Prince Anseung was in Silla, where he had been held as hostage for many years. Upon hearing of his kingdom's defeat and downfall, he searched for survivors and first sought permission to revive his kingdom. Anseung encountered the high Goguryeo official
Geom Mojam
Geom Mojam (?–670) was the military leader of a short-lived movement to restore Goguryeo after its fall to Silla in the later 7th century CE. After the kingdom fell to Tang and Silla in 668, he kindled an opposition movement in the Taedong Riv ...
, also in flight. Together they forged an alliance to revive the Goguryeo kingdom. Anseung was crowned ruler of the new Goguryeo, centered in the city of Hansung, in today's South Hwanghae province, North Korea. Envoys were soon dispatched to Silla seeking a restitution of some territory for a revived Goguryeo kingdom as well as a defensive alliance with "the Great State" (i.e. Silla). Silla, eager to break its ties with Tang, which following the defeat of Goguryeo and Baekje now threatened to impose its hegemony over the former Baekje and Goguryeo territories, agreed to reestablish, and ally with, a revived Goguryeo under king Anseung. In the eighth month of 670, King
Munmu of Silla sent a royal decree to Anseung, reading in part:
King Munmu then bestowed upon him the title of King of Bodeok (), and bequeathed him a small piece of territory in the vicinity of what is today the city of
Iksan
Iksan (; ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city and major railway junction in North Jeolla Province, South Korea.
The city center and railway junction was formerly called "Iri" (), but merged with Iksan County (''Iksan-gun'') in 19 ...
near the former Baekje capital at
Buyeo
Buyeo (; ; ), also rendered as Puyŏ or Fuyu, was an ancient kingdom that was centered in northern Manchuria in modern-day northeast China. It had ties to the Yemaek people, who are considered to be the ancestors of modern Koreans. Buyeo is ...
, ostensibly to serve as a roadblock to the expected Tang attempts to control that region.
The end of the Kingdom of Bodeok
The revived Goguryeo territory of Bodeok soon became a haven for remnants of the Goguryeo population. Shortly thereafter in 672, and under circumstances unknown but evidence of internal turmoil within the new kingdom, Geom was killed under Anseung's orders.
In the third year of the reign of Silla’s
King Sinmun (683), in the wake of rebellious plots by Silla aristocrats against King Sinmun (plots that also involved the general Daemun (), a relative of Anseung), Silla abolished the small kingdom of Bodeok and Anseung was made to reside in the Silla capital of
Gyeongju
Gyeongju (, ), historically known as Seorabeol (, ), is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, covering with a population of ...
, where he was granted the official title of ''sopan'' (), bestowed with the clan name of
Kim (金), and given a generous piece of land and magnificent dwelling. The Kingdom of Bodeok came to an end and the remnant Goguryeo populace there was repopulated in various locales in the south.
The date and circumstances of Anseung's death are unknown.
In popular culture
* Portrayed by in the 2006–2007
KBS TV series ''
Dae Jo-yeong''.
See also
*
History of Korea
The Lower Paleolithic era on the Korean Peninsula and in Manchuria began roughly half a million years ago.
Christopher J. Norton, "The Current State of Korean Paleoanthropology", (2000), ''Journal of Human Evolution'', 38: 803–825.
The earl ...
*
Three Kingdoms of Korea
The Three Kingdoms of Korea or Samhan (Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla) competed for hegemony over the Korea, Korean Peninsula during the ancient period of History of Korea, Korean history. During the Three Kingdoms period (), many states and statele ...
*
Geom Mojam
Geom Mojam (?–670) was the military leader of a short-lived movement to restore Goguryeo after its fall to Silla in the later 7th century CE. After the kingdom fell to Tang and Silla in 668, he kindled an opposition movement in the Taedong Riv ...
References
{{s-end
Goguryeo
Silla people