The ancient polity of the Changnyeong region exhibits diverse and complex historical contexts. This study examines diachronically the process of development of the Changnyeong polity and elucidates its power structure based on internal political relat...
The ancient polity of the Changnyeong region exhibits diverse and complex historical contexts. This study examines diachronically the process of development of the Changnyeong polity and elucidates its power structure based on internal political relationships.
The Changnyeong polity is materially attested from around the third century CE through both historical records and archaeological remains. According to the Sangukzhi (《三國志》), Bulsaguk(不斯國), one of the small polities of Jinhan(辰韓), is identified as the local polity of the Changnyeong. Wooden chamber tombs dating to the third and fourth centuries have been excavated at the Chogokri site near the Nakdong River. Tombs No.2 and No.5 at Chogokri reveal large burial pits and the inclusion of prestige iron implements, indicating hierarchical differentiation within the community. At this stage, the polity operated at the eumnak(邑落) level; the Chogokri group can thus be understood as a mid-sized settlement conducting economic activities based on its strategic location along the Nakdong River.
As the political power of the guk(國) expanded, the dispersed eumnak-level political units began to converge around a central eumnak(國邑). From the mid-fourth century onward, village, tombs, and fortress have been identified, suggesting that the Gyeseong–Yeongsan area attained the status of a political center. Alongside this internal development, external recognition of the Changnyeong polity also increased. During this period, Bisabeol(比斯伐) emerged as a prominent political force in the Nakdong River basin. Its advanced nature is evidenced by the temporally and spatially concentrated distribution of pottery production facilities and a production system focused on large storage jars, which presupposes a level of political authority capable of organizing economic activities and controlling specialized artisans.
By the mid-fifth century, tumulus culture appeared in the Changnyeong region. Two central groups responsible for the construction of monumental tombs have been identified: the Gyeseong group and the Gyodong–Songhyeondong group. Based on their locations, mound sizes, burial structures, and grave goods, these groups are interpreted as coexisting power centers within a single local polity.
The complexes of tombs of the central group were classified into four phases according to their construction periods, and the succession of the chiefs of the Changnyeong region was inferred based on the scale, location, and grave goods of the tombs in each phase. In Phase 1, Tomb No.1 at Gyeseong is presumed to represent the tomb of the paramount chief. In Phase 2, supreme authority appears to have shifted toward the Gyodong–Songhyeondong group, with Tomb No.10 of the Gyodong II cluster identified as the new paramount chief’s tomb. At the same time, the continued construction of large mounded tombs, including Gyeseong Tomb No.5, indicates the persistence of local elites within the Gyeseong group. In Phase 3, clear spatial differentiation emerges within the Gyodong–Songhyeondong burial complex, and Tomb No.7 of the Gyodong I cluster is regarded as the paramount chief’s tomb. Notably, cultural exchanges and external networks with Daegaya, Baekje, and Silla are evident in this cluster, highlighting the outward-oriented activities of the leadership at the polity level.
From the third century onward, the Changnyeong polity underwent gradual development, and from the mid-fifth century to the early sixth century, it was characterized by the presence of two prominent central power groups within a single polity. Its internal political structure operated through two mechanisms: the sharing or transfer of authority between the paramount chiefs of the polity, and the maintenance of elite succession within each group. This structure can be understood as the outcome of the polity’s endogenous developmental process.