About District | Gaya | India

Contents:

• GAYA
• GAYA NFERACY
• GAYA
• WHAT IS GAYA? | THE CY OF HISTORIL SIGNIFINCE
• #CITIZENSOFGAYA

GAYA

Gaya (aka Kaya or Karak) was a nferatn which led central-southern Korea durg the Three Kgdoms perd om the 1st to 6th century CE. The pensula was domated by Gaya's more powerful neighbourg kgdoms of Goguryeo (Koguryo), Baekje (Paekche), and Silla, but Gaya, often the fotten enty this perd, was neverthels rich iron ore and their craftsmen beme highly skilled at fashng iron objects such as armour and weapons. The high level of culture achieved by the Gaya stat would fluence Japan, their most important tradg partner.

GAYA NFERACY

The tradnal dat for the Gaya nferacy are 42-532 CE, however, morn historians prefer to emphasise the enty's more certa existence om the 2nd century CE.

The nferatn nsisted of six trib, the most powerful of which were the Dae Gaya and Guya trib, wh the latter later known as the Bon Gaya ('Origal').

The Gaya nferatn prospered due to s fertile agricultural lands, marime tra, and above all, s rich iron ore poss. There are few tails available on the workg of the Gaya stat or daily life, but we n image a siar mol to the ntemporary Three Kgdoms where a royal fay domated a hierarchil aristocracy which, turn, erned the provc domated by a farmg peasantry. Throughout their history, the Gaya stat were nstantly harassed by their neighbours the Silla and Baekje kgdoms and nsequently never had the opportuny to form a more centralised state which polil stabily might have permted.

GAYA

From the mid-4th century CE, Baekje beme more terrorial amb durg the reign of Kg Gnchogo and attacked Gaya lands.

Then when the Silla kgdom expand the 6th century CE, Gaya's alliance wh Baekje did no good at all and Bon-Gaya was nquered and stroyed (532 CE), as was Daegaya (562 CE) and the other important Gaya towns.

The issue is loured by natnalistic bias so that some historians claim that Gaya was a Japane lony while others propose that horse rirs om the Eurasian steppe me to Japan via Gaya and troduced the burial tumul to that culture. Evince is lackg eher way, although most scholars agree that the Gaya was the more advanced culture and recent fds of iron horse armour, notably om a 5th century CE tomb, suggt that the Gaya did master the e of that animal. Early relatns wh Han Cha is evinced by 1st-century CE Che fds at Bon-Gaya and by the prence of the slopg kiln ed by Gaya potters.

WHAT IS GAYA? | THE CY OF HISTORIL SIGNIFINCE

Gaya artists produced grey stoneware clay pottery the form of stemmed cups, horn-shaped cups, tall jars wh pierced stems, and spouted vsels the form of ducks, sho, warrrs, boats, and even ho.

#CITIZENSOFGAYA

Gaya potters likely passed on this novatn to Japan where the famo sueki (or sue) stoneware would be produced as a rult. Another succsful export was the gayagm (kayagum), a zher wh 12 silk strgs thought to have been vented by Kg Gasil the 6th century CE, which would be taken up by micians Japan and which remas a potent symbol of Korean culture even today.

In the 4th century CE, the tombs of the Gaya typilly took the form of rectangular or oval p grav set to natural mounds. From the mid-5th century CE, the Gaya nstcted stone chamber tombs wh later exampl havg a horizontal entrance.

As already mentned, many tombs have equtrian equipment such as iron armour, saddle parts, bs, and stirps suggtg the horse was an important part of Gaya culture and warfare. Gaya refers to a nferacy of chiefdoms the Nakdong River valley of south eastern Korea that alced out a shiftg mosaic of group allianc and lasted roughly om 42 C.