Queen Seondeok of Shilla
| Seondeok | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Queen of Silla | |
| Reign | 632 – 647 (15 years) |
| Coronation | 632 |
| Predecessor | Jinpyeong of Silla |
| Successor | Jindeok of Silla |
| Born | c. 595~610 |
| Died | 17 February 647/January 8, Lunar Calendar Silla |
| Burial | Four Heavenly Kings |
| Father | Jinpyeong of Silla |
| Mother | Queen Maya of Silla |
| Queen Seondeok of Silla | |
| Hangul | 선덕여왕, also 선덕왕 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 善德女王, also 善德王 |
| Revised Romanization | Seondeok yeowang, also Seondeok wang |
| McCune–Reischauer | Sŏndŏk yŏwang, also Sŏndŏk wang |
Queen Seondeok of Silla (Hangul: 선덕여왕 Korean pronunciation: [sʌn.dʌk jʌ.waŋ]; c. 595~610 – 17 February 647/January 8, Lunar Calendar) reigned as Queen Regnant of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, from 632 to 647. She was Silla's twenty-seventh ruler, and its first reigning queen. She was the second female sovereign in recorded East Asian history and encouraged a renaissance in thought, literature, and the arts in Silla.
Before she became queen, Seondeok was known as Princess Deokman (hanja: ). According to the Samguk Sagi, she was the first of Jinpyeong of Silla's daughters, but according to other historical records, she was the second of King Jinpyeong's daughters and much younger than her elder sister, Princess Cheonmyeong. Her nephew, Princess Cheonmyeong's son, eventually became King Muyeol of Silla while Seondeok's other sister, Princess Seonhwa, eventually married Mu of Baekje and became the mother of Uija of Baekje. Seonhwa's existence is controversial due to the discovery of evidence in 2009 that points to King Uija's mother as being Queen Sataek and not Seonhwa as indicated by historical records.
Because he had no sons, Jinpyeong selected Seondeok as his heir. Though unprecedented, this action would probably not have been all that shocking within Silla as women of the period already had a certain degree of influence as advisors, queens dowager and regents - Jinpyeong himself gained the throne as a result of a coup d'état organized by Mishil. Throughout the kingdom, women were the heads of families since matrilineal lines of inheritance existed alongside patrilineal ones. Within Silla, the status of women was relatively high, but there were still restrictions on female behavior and conduct; they were discouraged from activities considered unwomanly. She became the first female ruler of Shilla on January of 632. On December of the same year, she sent a diplomat to Tang dynasty in order to pay tributes and let Tang know that she became the new monarch. On July of 633, she paid tributes to Tang again. However, Emperor Taizong of Tang, refused to aknowledge her as the new monarch of Shilla until 635 because she was a woman. Queen Seondeok hated Taizong for this reason.
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