백제의 영역확장과 마한병탄

Abstract

There remain different theories on the period and the process that Baekje absorbed Mahan. Very few scholars believe that Baekje already had absorbed Mahan at the reign of King Onjo although it is recorded in 『Samguksagi』. This is because the archaeological facts are completely dissimilar to the record. Nonetheless, it is hard to clearly reconstruct the process of territorial expansion by Baekje as the archaeological results are inconsistent with the written cultural aspects and political situation. It is believed by many that Baekje extended the size of its nation to the southern coast of the peninsula until the reign of King Geunchogo around the late 4thcentury. Their major reasons for this argument are the intense military activities by King Geunchogo and active diplomacy with Wae. Most scholars assume that, without the occupation of the southern coast, it must have been difficult to mobilise troops from Wae for the war with Goguryeo between 4th and 5thcentury. However, the management of the trade route between Baekje and Wae could be separated from the territorial issue. The representative example of this opinion is the delegation of Haji(荷知) the king of Gaya as the King of Bonguk(本國王) by sending an envoy to Namje(南齊) where is across the south coast in the year of 479. Obviously, King Geunchogo of Baekje must have gained continuous support from Gaya and Wae by becoming Nakrangtaesu(樂浪太守) who inherited the leadership of the previous Nakranggun(樂浪郡), until early 5thcentury. The epitaph of King Gwanggaeto of Goguryeo explaining that he reached Imnagara(任那加羅) Jongbalseong(從拔城) while chasing Wae proves the intention of his plan to break the backup support of Baekje. There is a interpretation that Baekje territorialized Jeonnam province since 6th century. It is based on the record in 「Yangjikgongdo(梁職貢圖)」 about 'around the small country' and the cultural characteristics of ruins and artifacts. But there is a need to look back on the overly strict judgement about political criteria of country and social-cultural characteristics. According to the record that the king Dongseong went to the Mujinju to conquest but cameback because of apology of Tamla and that the king Muryeong found the Descendants of Baekje in Imna and they were incorporated into the family, Organizational administration of the Jeonnam province has been made no later than the late 5th century, the early 6th century. It is widely understood that the absorption by armed force in slow social-cultural integration by two bodies compared to the one by political-economical phenomenon.