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Alternate meaning: Bohai Sea

Balhae (Korean) or Bohai (Chinese) was a kingdom in northeast Asia from AD 698 to 926, occupying parts of Manchuria, northern Korea, and Russian Far East. Balhae was founded by Dae Jo-young the leader of Goguryeo remnants. It was conquered by the Khitan in 926.

In the confusion of the Khitan attack against the Tang in 696, Goguryeo remnants, led by Geolgeol Jungsang and Sumo Mohe tribe, led by Qisi Piyu , escaped eastward to their homeland. The two leaders died but Dae Jo-young, the son of Geolgeol Jungsang, established the State of Jin. Dae Joyŏng established his capital at Dongmu Mountain in the south of today's Jilin province. Since it gained power under protection of the northern nomadic empire of Gokturk, Tang gave Dae Jo-young the title of "Prefecture King of Bohai" in 713. Balhae had been a Chinese prefecture, but since then referred to the kingdom. The title was upgraded to "State King of Bohai" in 762.

The second king Mu , who felt encircled by Tang, Silla and Black Water Mohe along the Amur River, attacked Tang and his navy briefly occupied a port on the Shandong Peninsula in 732. Later, a compromise was forged between Balhae and Tang, which resumed tributary mission to Tang. He also sent a mission to Japan in 728 to threaten Silla from the rear. Balhae kept diplomatic and commercial contacts with Japan until the end of the kingdom. Because of its proximity to many powerful states, Balhae became a buffer zone for the region.

The third king Mun expanded its territory into the Amur valley in the north and the Liaodong Peninsula in the west. He also established the permanent capital near Lake Jingpo in the south of today's Heilongjiang province around 755.

After destroying Balhae in 926, the Khitan established the puppet Dongdan Kingdom, which was soon followed by the annexation by Liao in 936. Balhae aristocrats were moved to Liaoyang but small fragments of the state remained semi-independent. Some Balhae people fled southward to Goryeo, including a son of the last king. Some descendants of the royal family live in Korea, changing their family name to Tae (太). The Jurchen Jin Dynasty favored the Bohai people as well as the Khitans. The fourth, fifth and seventh emperors were mothered by Bohai concubines. The 13th century census of Northern China by the Mongols distinguished Balhae from other ethnic groups such as Goryeo (Korean), Khitan and Jurchen. This suggests that the Balhae people still preserved their identity.

Sovereigns of Balhae/Bohai 698-926

The names in this table are given in McCune-Reischauer romanisation, Hangŭl/Chosŏn’gŭl, Chinese characters and Pinyin.

An important source of cultural information on Balhae was discovered at the end of the 20th century at the Ancient Tombs at Longtou Mountain, especially the Mausoleum of Princess Zhenxiao.

See also

• History of Korea
• Ethnic groups in Chinese history