Later Baekje

Later Baekje was one of the Later Three Kingdoms of Korea, founded by the former Silla general Kyŏn Hwŏn and centred on the fertile south-western region around Jeonju. Kyŏn Hwŏn rose in revolt at Mujinju in 892, amid the breakdown of Later Silla's tax system and the rise of local magnates, and by the end of the century he controlled much of the old Baekje territory. He drew support from former Baekje elites and disaffected Silla officials who hoped to restore the fallen kingdom's fortunes, and in 900 he proclaimed himself king. For a time Later Baekje was the strongest of the three states, defeating both the declining Silla and the rising state of Goryeo founded by Wang Kŏn, and its armies raided deep into rival territory. Its position collapsed after a succession dispute in the 930s, when Kyŏn Hwŏn was deposed by his sons and eventually defected to Goryeo. In 936 Wang Kŏn's army defeated and absorbed Later Baekje, completing the reunification of the peninsula under the new Goryeo dynasty. The state is remembered as a revival of Baekje identity rather than a simple continuation of the old kingdom.