Goguryeo

Goguryeo (37 BC – 668 AD) (Korean: 고구려; Hanja: 高句麗; RR: Goguryeo; Korean pronunciation: [ko̞ɡuɾjʌ̹]; lit.: high castle; Old Korean: Guryeo) also later known as Goryeo (Korean: 고려; Hanja: 高麗; RR: Goryeo; Korean pronunciation: [ko.ɾjʌ]; lit.: high and beautiful; Middle Korean: 고ᇢ롕〮, Gowoyeliᴇ), was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of modern day Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled most of the Korean Peninsula, large parts of Manchuria and parts of eastern Mongolia and Inner Mongolia as well as Russia.

Along with Baekje and Silla, Goguryeo was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. (Korean: 한국 삼국시대) It was an active participant in the power struggle for control of the Korean peninsula and was also associated with the foreign affairs of neighboring polities in China and Japan.

The Samguk sagi (Korean: 삼국사기), a 12th-century text from Goryeo, indicates that Goguryeo was founded in 37 BC by Jumong (Korean: 주몽; Hanja: 朱蒙), a prince from Buyeo, who was enthroned as Dongmyeong.

Goguryeo was one of the great powers in East Asia, until its defeat by a Silla–Tang alliance in 668 after prolonged exhaustion and internal strife caused by the death of Yeon Gaesomun (Korean: 연개소문; Hanja: 淵蓋蘇文). After its fall, its territory was divided between the Tang dynasty, Later Silla and Balhae.

The name Goryeo, alternatively spelled Koryŏ, a shortened form of Goguryeo (Koguryŏ), was adopted as the official name in the 5th century, and is the origin of the English name "Korea".