Korean History › Three Kingdoms › Silla's wars of unification
Fall of Baekje
July 660; revival war to 663· Event· Wars & invasions
Well documentedSolid records, physical evidence or scientific consensus.
In 660 a Tang fleet and a Silla army converged on Baekje's capital, Sabi, and the old kingdom surrendered within days.
See it on the Korean History map →What happened
Baekje (백제) fell fast. In the seventh lunar month of 660, about 130,000 Tang troops under Su Dingfang landed at the Geum River mouth while Kim Yu-sin's 50,000 marched west. After Hwangsanbeol, the allies took the capital Sabi (today's Buyeo). King Uija fled to Ungjin (Gongju) but surrendered days later and was taken to China with princes, officials and over 12,000 people. Loyalists, with a prince returned from Japan, fought on until a Japanese fleet was destroyed at Baekgang in 663.
Why it matters
It removed one of the three kingdoms, gave Tang a foothold in the south, and sent many Baekje refugees and skills to Japan.
How we know
The Samguk sagi, Chinese histories, Japan's Nihon shoki, and a Tang victory inscription carved on the Jeongnimsa stone pagoda in Buyeo.
Still debated
The tale of 3,000 court women leaping from Nakhwaam ('Falling Flowers Rock') is legend. Uija's image as a decadent last king may be victors' history.
Inside this (1)
Connections (4)
▸Silla–Tang alliance led to Fall of BaekjeWell documented
The connection
The alliance's first target was Baekje, Silla's nearest enemy. In 660 Tang sent about 130,000 men across the Yellow Sea to the Geum River, timed to meet Silla's army marching overland. Caught between them, Baekje collapsed in about ten days.
When and how
660; Tang under Su Dingfang, Silla under King Muyeol and Kim Yu-sin, converging on Baekje's capital, Sabi.
How we know
Korean, Chinese and Japanese sources all describe the joint campaign; Su Dingfang's victory inscription survives on Buyeo's Jeongnimsa pagoda.
Debates and open questions
Why the allies struck Baekje before Goguryeo is debated: as the easier target, to cut Goguryeo's ally, or to satisfy Silla first.
▸King Taejong Muyeol (Kim Chun-chu) presided over Fall of BaekjeWell documented
The connection
As king, Muyeol directed Silla's side of the 660 campaign. He moved forward with the army, sent Kim Yu-sin west to meet Tang and, after the capital fell, received King Uija's surrender, reportedly making Uija pour wine for the victors at a banquet.
When and how
660, at Sabi and Ungjin in Baekje; Muyeol with his son, Crown Prince Beommin (the future Munmu), and Kim Yu-sin.
How we know
The Samguk sagi records Muyeol's role and the victory banquet day by day.
Debates and open questions
The humiliation scene may be dramatized, and Silla's share of the victory compared with Tang's is debated.
▸Battle of Hwangsanbeol sealed Fall of BaekjeWell documented
The connection
Gyebaek's army was Baekje's last field force between Silla and the capital. Once it was gone, Silla's army joined Tang outside Sabi within days, and the city fell. Baekje had no other army close enough to save it.
When and how
Seventh lunar month of 660; Sabi fell days after Hwangsanbeol, and King Uija surrendered about a week later.
How we know
The Samguk sagi's dated entries show the quick sequence from battle to surrender.
Debates and open questions
Some historians argue Baekje's court was already divided and weakened, so it might have fallen even without this defeat.
▸Fall of Baekje ended BaekjeWell documented
The connection
With its capital taken and King Uija sent to China in 660, Baekje ended as a state. Tang ruled its land through commanderies, and a revival war failed in 663. Silla took over the territory from 671, and many Baekje nobles and craftsmen fled to Japan.
When and how
660–663, in the Baekje heartland around Buyeo, Gongju and the Geum River.
How we know
Chinese, Korean and Japanese records agree; Japan's Nihon shoki records large groups of Baekje refugees settling there.
Debates and open questions
How much Baekje identity survived under Silla is debated; it resurfaced when Gyeon Hwon founded Later Baekje in 892.