Geumgwan Gaya, also known as Bongaya (본가야, 本伽倻) (meaning the "original Gaya") was a major chiefdom of the Gaya confederacy. It is believed to have been located in modern-day Gimhae, South Gyeongsang, near the mouth of the Nakdong River. Aided by its strategic location, this kingdom played a dominant role in the regional affairs from the Byeonhan period forward.
According to Samguk Yusa, Geumgwan Gaya was made of 9 villages and King Suro united them. Geumgwan Gaya existed from 43 to 532.
Royal tombs attributed to Geumgwan Gaya were unearthed in Daeseong-dong, Gimhae in the early 1990s. Interestingly, this tomb complex appears to have been used since Byeonhan times. However, a sharp break in burial styles is found around the later 3rd century. Burial forms associated with North Asian nomadic peoples, such as the burial of horses with the dead, suddenly replace earlier forms in the tombs of the elite (Cheol 2000). In addition, earlier burials were systematically destroyed. Partially on this basis, Cheol (2000) argues that the rulership of Geumgwan Gaya was taken over by invaders from Buyeo after the decline of the Chinese commanderies.
After Geumgwan Gaya capitulated to Silla in 532, the royal house was accepted into the Silla aristocracy and given the rank of "true bone," the second-highest level of the Silla bone rank system.
See also
References
- Cheol, S.K. (2000). Relations between Kaya and Wa in the third to fourth centuries AD. Journal of East Asian Archeology 2(3-4), 112-122.
