-According to the Samguk Sagi, around 18 BC, 2 princes (Onjo and Biryu, sons of King Dongmyeong (Jumong!)) left Gogoryeo and formed the kingdom of Baekje.
-They felt stiffed because King Dongmyeong named another prince as heir.
-They left Gogoryeo with their mom, and a crew of nobles and their servants and warriors.
-Settled in Sipji, around modern-day Seoul, chosen by Prince Onjo.
-Biryu wanted to settle present-day Incheon (debated), but it was too humid and the salt flats sucked so he returned to Sipji. Then he died, either from disease, or suicide (!).
-Prince Onjo then re-named Sipji to Baekje.
-Baekje immediately began to experience invasions from Malgal hordes from the north. The Malgal (Mohe) were a proto-Jurchen barbarian horde who used to inhabit Manchuria.
-It is actually unclear who exactly these "Malgal" were, as the Malgal didn't live this far south in the Korean peninsula.
-Onjo fought them in 8 BC, and won, but found that it was a dangerous place to live so he moved south of the Han River.
-However, he now had to worry about the nearby Mahan and Jinhan confederacies, as well as the looming presence of both the "Malgal" and the Chinese commanderies!
-A few years later, somehow Onjo was able to move an army into Mahan and take it over, but it's still unclear as to how exactly this went down. Perhaps Mahan was just too fragmented to get its shit together? It was a loose confederacy of about 50 petty states.
-Baekje was now dangerously sandwiched between Jinhan and the Malgal.
-Onjo then appointed his son Daru as crown prince.
-Baekje continued to be attacked by the Malgal. It's possible also that the Malgal were also being manipulated by the Chinese commanderies in an effort to destabilize the peninsula.
-Onjo died in 28 AD, succeeded by King Daru.
-Baekje quickly began to fill out their newly conquered lands for farmland, since the new lands were located in the south and the north was susceptible to Malgal attacks.
-There was an especially large attack in 30 AD.
-Daru appointed his son Giru as crown prince in 33 AD.
-55 AD- the Malgal attack again, so Daru built a fortress in the north to try and stave off future invasions.
-Meanwhile, shit was starting to happen between Baekje and Silla (technically not known as Silla yet at this time, still going by Jinhan).
-King Daru began leading attacks in 64 AD, 66 AD, and 75 AD, before finally dying in 77 AD.
-King Giru had had to wait for so long to finally be king that this gave people a lot of suspicion around his rule, believing that the divine powers disliked him because of this and other ill omens.
-King Giru continued attacing Silla, but finally signed a peace treaty in 105 AD.
-King Giru died in 128, replaced by King Gaeru.
-Built Bukhansanseong (in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do), a powerful fortress, in 132 AD (and still stands today! but has been rebuilt and modified).
-This fortress will be very important in repelling future invasions.
-During King Gaeru's reign, relations with Silla were mostly peaceful, but trouble broke out in 165 AD, and war was fought over the Sobaek Mountains.
-King Gaeru died during this time, replaced by King Chogo in 166 AD.
-King Chogo continued the war with Silla.
-He successfully acquired new territory from Silla, and fortified it and populated it with Baekje folk.
-214 AD- King Chogo decided to finally take on the Malgal raiders, but they counterattacked after fleeing so it was kind of a failure for Baekje.
-Silla also invaded some of Baekje's territory.
-King Chogo died, replaced by King Gusu.
-King Gusu kicked out the Malgal from the Korean peninsula, and in 220 also pushed out Silla from former Baekje territory, before dying in 234 AD, replaced by King Saban.
-Many thought King Saban was too young to be king. So, his power was usurped by a dude named Goi, who claimed to be a secret son of King Gaeru and brother of King Chogo. It is unclear as to if this shit is actually true or not.
-So, King Saban was sent into exile, and the Korean records don't say anything about what happened to him after this, BUT he shows up in the Japanese chronicles (Shinsen ShÅjiroku) as the ancestor of certain Japanese Yamato clans. So I guess he went to Japan?
-Chinese records claim that King Goi is the true founder of Baekje, meaning that before him the kingdom wasn't quite powerful enough to be an international player or legit kingdom.
-King Goi also created a centralized royal bureaucracy with its own ranks and corresponding dress codes- also a central military command and harsh penalties against corruption.
-Baekje was now a legit, undisputed ruler of SW Korea after finally swallowing up the last of the Mahan Confederacy.
-Finally strong enough to actually rival the Chinese commanderies as well!
-Began to attack Daifang in 246, and actually killed the governor there.
-This is also documented in the Chinese Wei Zhi records.
-A peace treaty was finally settled, and Daifang sent a noblewoman to Baekje to marry King Goi's eldest son, Chaekgye.
-286- King Goi dies, replaced by King Chaekgye.
-King Chaekgye was now allied with Daifang due to his marriage.
-This made Baekje an enemy of Gogoryeo, since during this time Gogoryeo was fighting with the commanderies.
-Before this, Gogoryeo has always considered Baekje as a little brother, since according to legend, King Onjo was a son of King Dongmyeong.
-286- Gogoryeo attacks Daifang, and Baekje sends troops to help defend Daifang, and begins to fortify Baekje's northern border in anticipation of a Gogoryeo retaliation.
-For whatever reason, in 298 Baekje was attacked by barbarian tribes (maybe Dongye?) and Lelang.
-King Chaekgye was killed!
-Unclear as to why this happened, since Baekje was allied with Daifang. Possibly due to the chaos happening in China due to the collapse of the Jin Dynasty and the ensuing civil war?
-King Bunseo, son of King Chaekgye, was now king in 298 AD, and continued to wage war against Lelang, but died from poisoning in 304.
-King Bunseo's sons were too young to rule, so a descendent of King Onjo took power- King Biryu.
-King Biryu was able to ease tensions and warfare, and made peace with Silla in 337, dying in 344.
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