The Fall of Dae Gaya

Dae Gaya grew and fell in its competitions with the neighboring kingdoms of Baekje and Silla. Starting early 6th Century, Baekje occupied the small states of the Gaya confederacy and they expanded their territory holding into the southern regions of the Korean Peninsula.

Dae Gaya was the central state of the Gaya confederacy, and it allied with Silla, which was a kingdom located in the northeast of Dae Gaya, to keep an eye on Baekje's activities. Also, to make this alliance stable, the king of Dae Gaya married the princess of Silla.

But the problems began when Silla sent 100 servants along with the princess. In order to show the marriage alliance, the king of Dae Gaya sent Silla’s servants to many of small states in the Gaya confederacy, besides Dae Gaya. But a few years later, the king of Silla secretly made these servants wear Silla’s clothes to show off his power. The king of one small state was infuriated by this, and deported the servants back to Silla. This in turn made Silla’s king angry, and he demanded the princess to be returned. But the king of Dae Gaya said that it is impossible to break off a marriage. And so because of this, Dae Gaya and Silla became hostile to each other.

From the beginning Silla had planned this strategy to break apart the Gaya confederacy. Silla’s attack destroyed the small states of the Gaya confederacy, and Dae Gaya finally fell to the Silla army in 562.