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Mahan confederacy

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Mahan was a loose confederacy of chiefdoms that existed from around the 1st century BC to the 3rd century CE in the southern Korean peninsula in the Chungcheong Province. Arising out of the confluence of Gojoseon migration and Jin (Korean history) federation, Mahan was one of the Samhan (or "Three Hans"), along with Byeonhan and Jinhan. Baekje began as a member statelet, but later overtook all of Mahan and became one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea.

Mahan probably developed from the existing bronze society of 3rd to 2nd centuries BC, continuing to absorb migration from the north in subsequent centuries. King Jun of the kingdom of Gojoseon in northern Korea, having lost the throne to Wiman, fled to the state of Jin in southern Korea around 194-180 BC. He and his followers are thought to have established a base within Jin territory, where he called himself the Han King. It is not certain whether Mahan conquered or arose out of this entity, but Mahan was certainly influenced by this influx of northern culture.

Further migration followed the fall of Gojoseon and establishment of the Chinese commanderies in the northern part of the Korean peninsula in 108 BC. It is described in the Chinese chronicle San Guo Zhi and the much later Korean chronicles Samguk Yusa and Samguk Sagi.

Mahan kings originally called themselves "King of Jin," referring to the earlier Jin state and asserting nominal sovereignty over all of Samhan.
History of Korea
Gojoseon, Jin
Proto-Three Kingdoms:
 Buyeo, Okjeo, Dongye
 Samhan
Three Kingdoms:
 Goguryeo
 Baekje
 Silla, Gaya
Unified Silla, Balhae
 Later Three Kingdoms
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  Mongol invasions
Joseon
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North, South Korea
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A wealth of bronze artifacts and production facilities indicate that Mahan was probably the earliest developed of the three Hans. At its height, Mahan covered much of the Han River Basin and the modern-day provinces of Gyeonggi, Chungcheong, and Jeolla, although political unity was strongest in Chungcheong, led by the Mokji (목지국, 目支國).

In the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, with the transition to iron culture, the focus of power shifted from Mokji to Baekje in the Han River region. Baekje eventually absorbed or conquered all of Mahan by the 3rd century, growing into one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, along with Silla and Goguryeo.

According to the San Guo Zhi , Mahan consisted of 54 statelets of up to ten thousand families each:

See also

 


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