Oleung - Look Around Oleung

Looking at Oleung

Have you arrived in front of Oleung?
Although the interior structure of Oleung is unknown, its exterior appearance is similar to other typical Silla tombs; with earth that is piled up in the shape of a semispherical mound. This type of grave appeared after the 4th century in Silla and was not the kind used during the time of Bak Hyeokgeose.

According to the records of Samguk Sagi, however, the five tombs of Oleung are regarded as those of Bak Hyeokgeose Geoseogan; his wife, Queen Aryeong; the second king, Namhae Chachaung; the third king, Yuri Isageum; and the fifth king, Pasa Isageum.
You may have realized the variety of names that were used to call the Silla kings.
Shall we briefly talk about the changes of the titles of Silla kings?
In the early stages of Silla, the governing ruler was not designated as the king; instead, he was called Geoseogan, Chachaung, Isageum and Maripgan, and it was only during the reign of Jijeung, the 22nd king of Silla, when the designation, king, started to be used.

First of all, Geoseogan was used during the reign of Bak Hyeokgeose, the progenitor of Silla, and the name, which meant a precious person, referred to the leader of a small nation.

The second ruler following Bak Hyeokgeose was known as Chachaung, which meant a shaman.
As the name suggests, Chachaung was a leader who communicated with gods and oversaw both rituals and politics.

Isageum, which literally means a person with many teeth, is the term that refers to an elder. Silla at the time was a league of several states, and the leaders of the states took turns to inherit the throne.
Then, Yuri and Talhae, the son and the son-in-law of Namhae Chachaung, respectively, wanted the other person to become the next ruler and, as they continued to yield to each other, stories say that they both bit into a rice cake and the one with more teeth marks, which was Yuri, ended up taking the throne first.

After Isageum, the term, Maripgan, was used. Maripgan means the chief who sits on a high peak and refers to a great leader. As the Kim Clan monopolized the hereditary right to the throne, they began using the title, Maripgan, to manifest their desire to strengthen the royal authority.

Since then, the father-son inheritance system was solidified and the political structure (6-bu) was reformed to achieve centralization of power. In the process, the title of king started to be used.

As you can see, the terms to call the king of Silla continued to evolve together with the changes in the scope of royal authority.

Now, shall we move to Aryeongjeong where Bak Hyeokgeose's wife, Queen Aryeong, was supposed to be born from?
Aryeongjeong is located to the east of Oleung.