Korean Empire
- Thread starter democracy101
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1) yes, surely. Although they might simply become part of the mothercountry fairly quickly. Was Taiwan a 'colony' of China? is Hokkaido a colony of Japan? At one point those descriptions were valid, but hardly today.
2) 437+1000
He COULD have said 'a thousand years later', but that would have been more wordy.1) yes, surely. Although they might simply become part of the mothercountry fairly quickly. Was Taiwan a 'colony' of China? is Hokkaido a colony of Japan? At one point those descriptions were valid, but hardly today.
2) 437+1000
K then. Colonies it is. I just thought that it would be too quick for them to be incorporated as colonies. When you mean the mother country, do you mean Korea?
Well yeah, but I knew that the tribes didn't really become centralized until another country conquered them much later.
Here's a map of Baekje at its height; notice that Goguryeo still has territory in Manchuria. Baekje only expanded to fill up the southwestern part of the Korean peninsula.
Also, I don't know if you can see it very well, but the small red squares are the capitals.
Note that Silla capital, Kyongju, is clearly some way away from coast.
Also note that there is no Kaya capital.
But my complaint with it is that it is unrealistic for Gwanggaeto to annex Pekche simply straight away in 4th century.
In OTL, Gwanggaeto the Great did die young in 413; but his son Jangsu went on to rule for 78 years, inheriting the throne aged 19 and living to be 97. He was a strong king. If Gwanggaeto had lived longer, what would or could he have done that Jangsu did not do in the same situation?
Gwanggaeto had reduced Paekche to a tributary, but not annexed it. After defeating Paekche and making it and Silla tributaries, he turned his attention northwest to Yan and Manchuria. He was attacked by Yan in 400; but in 408, after Yan had suffered a dynasty change, made peace with the new ruler on the grounds that he was a relative of Koguryo royal family and annexing Liaodong up to Liao river, and then in 410 conquered Dongbuyeo in Manchuria. His living longer after 413 had nothing to do with what he chose to do before 413, and his doing something else before 413 would not have prevented him from dying of illness in 413.
Even if Silla's capital is far away from the coast, it would be closer to Japan, and they would have a greter chance of invading the area.
Gaya had several capitals; they were ruled by several chieftains who were all under the rule of the king.
I'm not saying that Gwanggaeto's death before 413 would have changed his determination to conquer Baekje; I'm just saying that Baekje might have seemed more of a nuisance because they had allied with Japan (even though they did so in OTL also, I'm just saying that this was clearly possible), which was absolutely unacceptable to him considering that both Goguryeo and Baekje were descended from the same royal blood and that Baekje did not need 'barbarian' help.
Just because the Yan had a dynasty change and the king had connections with the Goguryeo royal family would not necessarily mean that he would cease attacks. It just meant that Goguryeo was expanding its influence and therefore had an excuse to attack the country because it was obviously culturally influenced by Goguryeo.
Again, this is alternate history. I'm not saying that anything that he did before his extensive conquests would have changed the fact that he died of an illness, probably from overextension, in 413. I'm just saying that if he had lived longer, then he would probably have gone far as to invade China and unite it while the divided kingdoms were squabbling for control.
Anyway . . .
100th post!
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Did he care?
Did Gwanggaeto have a determination to conquer Pekche? Did he have the means?
Jangsu did not. He accepted Pekche as a vassal state after 413. As had Gwanggaeto between 400 and 413.
Now, OTL, problems arose during the reign of King Gaero. He seized Koguryo city of Kaesong by surprise attack and held it. He tried to ally with Northern Wei against Koguryo, but Wei was busy on other fronts.
Jangsu made a long preparation for war. In 475, he attacked and conquered the longtime Pekche capital of Seoul. King Gaero was killed.
However, even then was Jangsu unable to annex Pekche. The crown prince held out in southern Pekche; and although the people of Pekche fought against each other and two Pekche kings were killed in 4 years, Pekche founded a new capital in Gongju. The Pekche people did not submit to Koguryo.
No. Gwanggaeto treated it as an excuse not to attack, rather than an excuse to attack.
And Koguryo was culturally influenced by China, not vice versa.
Since Jangsu did not, Gwanggaeto probably did not have the opportunity.
But now consider the next chance.
OTL in 427, Jangsu moved the Koguryo capital from the upper Yalu valley to Pyongyang.
Gwanggaeto had made Liao river the western border of Koguryo against Northern Yan. The Northern Yan capital was in the Liaoxi region, in Jinzhou.
After 431, Northern Wei attacked Northern Yan. The defences of Northern Yan started to crumble. Generals surrendered to Wei with their fortresses.
In 436, Northern Wei was about to complete the conquest of Northern Yan.
It was then that a Koguryo army came to assist the Yan capital. But they did not even plan to defend the city. Instead they looted the city and escorted the emperor Feng Hong and the people to Koguryo borders beyond Liao River.
Many Northern Yan people did not want to leave their homes and evacuate, preferring to submit to Northern Wei. Some actually mutinied to help the Northern Wei, but were killed.
But Northern Yan ruler though that he was still the legitimate emperor, and that Koguryo ruler was just his subordinate. He wanted to order Jangsu and his officials around.
Jangsu had initially refused to extradite Feng Hong on the demand of Northern Wei. But after two year, in 438, Jangsu was so angry with Feng Hong that he ordered Feng Hong killed, and did not even want to accept the request of their common ally Liu Song that Feng Hong should be sent there instead.
Now imagine the timeline...
Koguryo makes peace with Northern Yan in 408 as per OTL.
But the capital is NOT moved to Pyongyang in 427. Initially it remains in upper Yalu valley.
After 432, Koguryo sends a large army to defend Later Yan, and they successfully defend Shanhaiguan Pass, and fortresses further west like Tangshan.
The Koguryo forces suffer friction with Emperor Feng Hong. The Koguryo King then conspires with the allied Northern Yan generals and inquires if they would turn against Koguryo or submit to Wei if Koguryo were to attack Feng Hong. They inform him that they would not. So Koguryo carries out their plot - the emperor is killed, Northern Yan annexed and the generals accept Koguryo king.
After annexation of Yan, some ministers propose that Koguryo capital be moved to the Later Yan capital in Jinzhou.
The king refuses. From 432, it was clearly shown that the Wei armies could march around the fortresses and mountain passes and attack the capital. Also the capital is much too far from the rich western coast of Korean peninsula. Whereas any Wei or nomad army that wants to attack Yalu valley must also get across Liao river and the hills of Liaodong, so it is too far out of their striking range.
The king is reminded of the plans to move the capital to Pyongyang.
Again he refuses. After the annexation of Northern Yan, those plans are outdated by far. Pyongyang would be too far to be supplied from the wealthy Liaoxi area, or to hear of Wei attacks and react to them.
Finally, someone offers to move the capital to Yalu river mouth. This way, the capital is still separated by the same Liao river and Liaodong hills from any overland nomad or Northern Wei attacks, but tax grain from either Northern Yan areas or west coast of Korea can be brought near the capital by ship.
By 440, Koguryo has capital at the mouth of Yalu, and has repelled a furious attack from Northern Wei. Koguryo still holds Shanhaiguan and some fortresses beyond.
What next?
I already told you the reason. Gwanggato didn't get so upset over it in OTL, but the fact that Baekje kept invading Goguryeo and supposedly made raids in Silla (possibly naval) could have easily driven him to conquer Baekje, then the Korean peninsula because Silla and Gaya were extremely weak, and finally Japan, ending the annoying raids completely.
Of course Gwanggato had the means to do so. When he received news that Baekje was invading along with Japan, he made a preemptive attack with naval forces in OTL and ATL, which shows the creativity, determination, and superiority that he had. Even though Baekje was surrounded on two sides (west and south) by water, they certainly did not expect such a situation to happen because it was unprecedented.
The only reason that Gwanggaeto left Baekje alone as a vassal was because once again, the royal families of both kingdoms were descended from the same royal bloodline. After Gwanggaeto accepted tribute, he decided to focus on China, because once again, he didn't consider Silla and Gaya to me much of a threat.
In ATL, when Gwanggaeto decides to conquer Baekje once and for all because the alliance between two struggling kingdoms is beginning to irk him, Baekje makes a last attempt to subjugate Silla because they were unfriendly to each other, and Silla did not have the means or resources to stand up against Goguryeo or Baekje. It just wasn't plausible. That's why I have Baekje attack Silla, and Gaya if they weren't interrupted, and Goguryeo responds by destroying all of the three kingdoms.
I know that. But once again, this is alternate history. After coming back from impressive victories over the other Korean kingdoms and Japan, what would it really take for him to make an excuse that because the king had connections with Goguryeo, that he should bow down immediately?
Even though Goguryeo might have been culturally influenced by China, if the king shared the same royal bloodline and both the Yan and the Goguryeo were from around Manchuria, I'm pretty sure that there must have been some influence. Remember, we're not talking about China as a whole; rather, only the areas in which Gwanggaeto focused on that time.
You have to understand that there was an enormous difference between Gwanggaeto and Jangsu. Gwanggaeto was mostly interested in subjugating kingdoms by either conquering them outright or making them tributaries, while Jangsu was more interested in making alliances because he felt that Goguryeo was probably overextending themselves after such periods of war.
In ATL, Jangsu would not move the capital from the upper Yalu valley to Pyongyang, as you stated. In fact, they might even move it further north or west in order to consolidate the expansive empire. He only did that in OTL because he wanted to concentrate more on the other Korean kingdoms instead of ambitiously trying to dominate China.
It would be implausible for Goguryeo to move its capital to the mouth of the Yalu. The Yalu is simply too far away from China to become effective as a governing area. I would rather have the capital moved somewhere farther northwest temporarily until Goguryeo finally manages to make North China as a part of Korea proper, and decides on modern-day Beijing.
Gwanggaeto certainly had the resources to dominate both the Northern Yan and the Northern Wei. In fact, in OTL, Gwanggaeto managed to push back the Yan to the Songhua river after the leader desired to show Goguryeo who had the upper hand by burning several villages, but not actually engaging in war.
It is more than possible for Gwanggaeto to become so enraged that he decides to conquer the Yan, and later the Wei, outright so that he could establish dominance over Northern China. Of course, it might be implausible for Goguryeo to conquer the Liu Song, but with the additional soldiers that they had from China, it isn't that unlikely.
The Sandman
Banned
Korea trying to conquer China, especially in the manner you're describing, is kind of like a handful of table salt trying to conquer a lake.
Inevitably, your Korean dynasty is going to end up like the Mongols or the Manchu of OTL did: a bunch of Chinese rulers with vaguely foreign names whose ancestors came from a backwater portion of the empire. And, needless to say, no longer really Korean in any way that matters.
Inevitably, your Korean dynasty is going to end up like the Mongols or the Manchu of OTL did: a bunch of Chinese rulers with vaguely foreign names whose ancestors came from a backwater portion of the empire. And, needless to say, no longer really Korean in any way that matters.
Depends on the time period and the resources involved.
Korea was at its strongest in about 400 because Gwanggaeto the Great basically sought to greatly extend territory and subjugate minor kingdoms. At the same time, China was as divided as it could ever be. The only other periods when it was as divisive was during the Warring States period before the Qin, Southern Song, when the north was occupied by the Jin, and the period between the Ming and the Qing, when there were brief attempts to put a Chinese emperor back on the throne, but all failed by the end of the 1600's.
I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that if he considered Baekje and Japan to be more nuisances than in OTL, he would have easily conquered them, and Silla and Gaya would naturally follow therafter because they weren't even considered kingdoms until 600, therefore uniting the Korean peninsula.
He would then easily sweep through Japan, and the same with Manchuria, but would run into problems in northern China. The Yan would easily fall under his rule if he decided that because the king was closely linked to Goguryeo, they should submit to him, but when you begin to talk about the Wei and the Qi, it becomes problematic because they were more resistant, although he could easily split them apart by utilizing the fact that they were divided.
Then we go on to south China. This is the one with the most issues because Goguryeo would start overextending themselves, and they would have a strong probablity of claiming hegemony. The population would also be an issue because the south was the most populated, although there were also other kingdoms in the area. In fact, all of the foreign kingdoms (excluding the Sui) before 1300 were beaten back at the Yangtze until the Mongols managed to conquer them and rule for about 100 years.
Keep in mind that when the Sui invaded Goguryeo, they were easily repelled when a dam broke, and the Sui later fell to the Tang. Even though Goguryeo was fighting a defensive battle, and Goguryeo eventually surrendered to the Silla-Tang alliance, the important part is that they were able to hold out for so long.
If this becomes possible, then it isn't hard to envision Korea demanding subservient status from various kingdoms like Tufan, Southeast Asia, the Ainu, Taiwan, northern India, and possibly Persians. The latter might be objectionable, but it was strained in its conflicts with the Romans and the Byzantines, so would probably offer little resistance.
Things will greatly change in the future, but keep in mind that for the present, Korea only directly claims the Korean peninsula, Japan, and Manchuria. They haven't decided to do anything about China yet, although I promise that much more will eventually come.
The update will be coming up soon, but here's an update for my second map for those who critized it.
All I did was make the Ainu and Taiwan into colonies, and fixed the border a little bit for the Byzantines in the Balkans.
All I did was make the Ainu and Taiwan into colonies, and fixed the border a little bit for the Byzantines in the Balkans.
Here's the update.
The next century passed by quietly, but there were a few important developments.
Although gunpowder had been known to the Chinese since the 1st century AD, and Goguryeo quickly gained access after their conquest of China, the weapons associated with it were greatly improved. For example, cannons with longer burning time were introduced so that the mixture would not explode unexpectedly in their faces, and guns eventually began to have faster reloading times.
Other inventions, such as the compass, paper, and the printing press relatively stayed the same, although production increased greatly as Goguryeo began to utilize workers in their territories.
Silk also remained mostly the same, as its price remained unchanged, but other countries such as the Byzantine gained access to the inner workings of the practice, and the Silk Road continued to flourish.
Meanwhile, Goguryeo retained its territories and maintained peace both within and outside the empire. Although there was some minor internal strife over succession that greatly affected the aristocracy as it divided into factions, it was not as serious as in OTL, as no major kingdoms used this as an excuse to attack the empire. The Sui never came to power, as Goguryeo retained China during its rule, and as a result, the Grand Canal was never completed, resulting in much less loss of life, although some elements dating from a hundred years ago still remained intact.
In terms of religion, Buddhism remained dominant, although it was mixed with elements of Chinese philosophy such as Confucianism and Daoism. There was no widespread persecution of Buddhists as in OTL, as the Tang did not come into power during this time period.
Goguryeo also began to plan establishing permanent Korean settlements in northern China, which resulted in mass emigrations of millions of Chinese to the south. By 623, most of northern China had been completely incorporated into the empire, and the ethnicities were split 50-50 between the Chinese and the Koreans.
There were minor territorial expansions into OTL Xinjiang, but Goguryeo still managed to retain the same amount of territory directly under their control.
The Muslims in the form of the Rashidun Caliphate managed to come into prominence in the early 600’s, although they only controlled Arabia until 635.
It was clear that a newly emerging empire was beginning to threaten the dominance of Goguryeo.
The map will be posted soon.
So, here’s a pretty important question. The Battle of Talas will take place at the same time as in OTL, but with the changes presented so far, do you think that Goguryeo would be able to triumph over Islam and render it a minor religion?
Also, although this is hundreds of years in the future, Talas will also determine the Ottoman Empire. If Islam prevails, it is likely that the Ottoman Empire will stay in place, but if it fails miserably, then it is possible for the Ottoman Empire to either come into power or not.
The future of the world might depend on this battle . . .
The next century passed by quietly, but there were a few important developments.
Although gunpowder had been known to the Chinese since the 1st century AD, and Goguryeo quickly gained access after their conquest of China, the weapons associated with it were greatly improved. For example, cannons with longer burning time were introduced so that the mixture would not explode unexpectedly in their faces, and guns eventually began to have faster reloading times.
Other inventions, such as the compass, paper, and the printing press relatively stayed the same, although production increased greatly as Goguryeo began to utilize workers in their territories.
Silk also remained mostly the same, as its price remained unchanged, but other countries such as the Byzantine gained access to the inner workings of the practice, and the Silk Road continued to flourish.
Meanwhile, Goguryeo retained its territories and maintained peace both within and outside the empire. Although there was some minor internal strife over succession that greatly affected the aristocracy as it divided into factions, it was not as serious as in OTL, as no major kingdoms used this as an excuse to attack the empire. The Sui never came to power, as Goguryeo retained China during its rule, and as a result, the Grand Canal was never completed, resulting in much less loss of life, although some elements dating from a hundred years ago still remained intact.
In terms of religion, Buddhism remained dominant, although it was mixed with elements of Chinese philosophy such as Confucianism and Daoism. There was no widespread persecution of Buddhists as in OTL, as the Tang did not come into power during this time period.
Goguryeo also began to plan establishing permanent Korean settlements in northern China, which resulted in mass emigrations of millions of Chinese to the south. By 623, most of northern China had been completely incorporated into the empire, and the ethnicities were split 50-50 between the Chinese and the Koreans.
There were minor territorial expansions into OTL Xinjiang, but Goguryeo still managed to retain the same amount of territory directly under their control.
The Muslims in the form of the Rashidun Caliphate managed to come into prominence in the early 600’s, although they only controlled Arabia until 635.
It was clear that a newly emerging empire was beginning to threaten the dominance of Goguryeo.
The map will be posted soon.
So, here’s a pretty important question. The Battle of Talas will take place at the same time as in OTL, but with the changes presented so far, do you think that Goguryeo would be able to triumph over Islam and render it a minor religion?
Also, although this is hundreds of years in the future, Talas will also determine the Ottoman Empire. If Islam prevails, it is likely that the Ottoman Empire will stay in place, but if it fails miserably, then it is possible for the Ottoman Empire to either come into power or not.
The future of the world might depend on this battle . . .
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And here's the world in 642, after the death of Yeongnyu.
I added the Franks, the Lombards, and the Rashidun Caliphate, extended Korea proper to Xinjiang, and shrunk the Byzantines.
I added the Franks, the Lombards, and the Rashidun Caliphate, extended Korea proper to Xinjiang, and shrunk the Byzantines.
But Jangsu was creative, too. When Pekche took back Kaesong by surprise attack, Jangsu sent a Buddhist monk agent to befriend and secretly distract the Pekche king for six years - then killed the king and permanently conquered the Pekche capital and Han river valley.
Yet even then, Jangsu was unable to conquer the rest of Pekche.
But he was probably right.
Either Gwanggaeto would have made the same decisions - or else he would have bled his people dry and led them to disastrous defeats.
Another reason was that the Pyongyang area always was richer than the old capital region - and after Gwanggaeto´s victories over Pekche, Jangsu felt it was now safe.
But the vulnerability of the areas further west to Northern Wei invasion was demonstrated in 430-s. And moving to the old Northern Yan capital would take the capital too far from the rich Pyongyang area.
Certainly not. Northern Wei was far stronger.
I'm not saying that he wasn't creative. Instead, he was skilled enough to expand Goguryeo to its height of power and conduct negotiations, but not as much as Gwanggaeto. Of course, Jangsu commanded 330 people from different cultures to maintain the Gwanggaeto Stele, but I'm pretty sure that Gwanggaeto would have done the same, or even more, if he had the time to do so.
I don't think that you quite get my timeline. Notice that I have the Wei/Qi and later the Liu Song invade Goguryeo first, because as soon as Gwanggaeto consolidated power in Korea, Manchuria, and Japan, they definitely viewed him as a threat to their security. Gwanggaeto, on the other hand, would view them as a rich source of resources and manpower that he could utilize after he had conquered them. As a result, the battle would be a winner-take-all situation.
Yes, but I'm pretty sure that there were several areas in North China/Manchuria which were richer in natural resources than Pyongyang.
What are you talking about? The Northern Wei never directly engaged in war with Goguryeo. In fact, Goguryeo illustrated further superiority as it destroyed the Yan in 438 and even executed the king. Although this enraged the Liu Song, Goguryeo made amends by persuading it to invade the Wei in 459, which enraged them, but could not do anything about it, and was forced to maintain peace with Goguryeo in order to continue battles against the Liu Song. In other words, Goguryeo clearly illustrated its skillful use of battles and diplomacy. And once again, there were much richer areas in Manchuria/North China than Pyongyang.
There is no clear evidence stating that. As I stated before, the Wei and Goguryeo never engaged each other directly; they only engaged the Yan. Also, the Wei was a nomadic kingdom, so it had minimal support from the Chinese.
Keep in mind that I'm not going to take the time to go back and change my timeline that I wrote on the past, unless there is an anachronism, although I might edit maps. As a result, anything that you state about anything I wrote before won't really change anything. If you have any suggestions about the future, though, such as the upcoming conflict between the Rashidun Caliphate and Goguryeo, then feel free to do so.
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Here's the final edit for the second map.
I only extended Axum's boundaries to Yemen.
I only extended Axum's boundaries to Yemen.
And for the third map.
I changed the borders for the Byzantines, Rashidun, and the Sassanids.
I changed the borders for the Byzantines, Rashidun, and the Sassanids.
I see that there are no suggestions, so moving right along . . .
The Rashidun Caliphate began to expand at an exponential rate, conquering the Sassanid Empire in 545, and finally managed to reach their height in 655 by controlling North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and Persia.
This caused much consternation for Goguryeo, as they lost their alliance with the Sassanids, and temporarily lost influence in Central Asia. It was clear that a newly emerging empire was beginning to threaten the dominance of Goguryeo.
Thankfully, however, there was about a half century of peace, until a revolt temporarily weakened Goguryeo.
South China finally revolted in 702, and declared independence in 705 as the Tang Dynasty under Gao Zu (OTL Shang Di). This cut off Goguryeo’s ties with Central Asia, which became incorporated as tributaries under Chinese control, and South Asia. However, Goguryeo forced the Tang to become a tributary in 713, and reinstated control over their tributaries.
The gains did little to relieve Goguryeo, though, as it began sliding into the Dark Age starting in 701. It was becoming clear that it was beginning to overexpand its territories, resources, and manpower. Most of the military was recalled into Korea proper, and the technology began to decline.
Meanwhile, the Rashidun, Goguryeo, and the Tang began to squabble over Central Asia. The Avars were too busy in a crisis of their own to pay any attention to the power struggle. Although the Tang only held Tibet as a co-tributary, they came into frequent conflict with Goguryeo, and almost managed to drive them out of the area altogether. However, Goguryeo struck back with the general Go Sagye, driving the Tang back into South China in 726, and refocused their efforts on the Islamic Caliphate. Both sides competed for support among minor kingdoms in the area, and managed to split evenly.
Finally, in 751, the Abbasids made a preemptive attack into Goguryeo, sparking the Battle of Talas. Go Seonji (OTL Gao Xianchi), son of Go Sagye, led Goguryeo by amassing 500,000 (out of three million) troops, while Ziyad ibn Salih led the Abbasids by controlling 250,000.
Initially, Goguryeo suffered a setback as 20,000 Karluk mercenaries defected to the Arabs, but as they did not constitute a majority as in OTL, and the Arabs were outnumbered two to one, they pressed on.
The battle was close, as the battlefield witnessed numerous dead fighting for both sides. Initially, the Arabs almost succeeded in driving Goguryeo back to the Talas River, but Goguryeo managed to pull out a comeback, and crushed their enemy. Goguryeo eventually emerged triumphant, and the Abbasids were forced to flee for their lives.
Goguryeo then pushed onward to re-conquer their territories in Central and South Asia, but this time bringing them directly under their control as colonies. By 755, the Arabs were pushed back into the Arabian Peninsula, and became a tributary of Goguryeo.
When Goguryeo attempted to push into the Byzantine Empire, however, they faced a much more formidable enemy. They were much more prepared, leading to numerous defeats.
Although Goguryeo triumphed on land due to their skillful use of gunpowder, they failed miserably on the sea, as the Byzantines brought out Greek Fire and crushed Goguryeo battleships.
After three years of continuous warfare, the two empires finally agreed to a truce. An alliance was formed after Goguryeo threatened to cut off the Silk Road, and the borders were formalized.
However, one more hurdle remained for Goguryeo to overcome . . .
The map will follow up later.
The Rashidun Caliphate began to expand at an exponential rate, conquering the Sassanid Empire in 545, and finally managed to reach their height in 655 by controlling North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and Persia.
This caused much consternation for Goguryeo, as they lost their alliance with the Sassanids, and temporarily lost influence in Central Asia. It was clear that a newly emerging empire was beginning to threaten the dominance of Goguryeo.
Thankfully, however, there was about a half century of peace, until a revolt temporarily weakened Goguryeo.
South China finally revolted in 702, and declared independence in 705 as the Tang Dynasty under Gao Zu (OTL Shang Di). This cut off Goguryeo’s ties with Central Asia, which became incorporated as tributaries under Chinese control, and South Asia. However, Goguryeo forced the Tang to become a tributary in 713, and reinstated control over their tributaries.
The gains did little to relieve Goguryeo, though, as it began sliding into the Dark Age starting in 701. It was becoming clear that it was beginning to overexpand its territories, resources, and manpower. Most of the military was recalled into Korea proper, and the technology began to decline.
Meanwhile, the Rashidun, Goguryeo, and the Tang began to squabble over Central Asia. The Avars were too busy in a crisis of their own to pay any attention to the power struggle. Although the Tang only held Tibet as a co-tributary, they came into frequent conflict with Goguryeo, and almost managed to drive them out of the area altogether. However, Goguryeo struck back with the general Go Sagye, driving the Tang back into South China in 726, and refocused their efforts on the Islamic Caliphate. Both sides competed for support among minor kingdoms in the area, and managed to split evenly.
Finally, in 751, the Abbasids made a preemptive attack into Goguryeo, sparking the Battle of Talas. Go Seonji (OTL Gao Xianchi), son of Go Sagye, led Goguryeo by amassing 500,000 (out of three million) troops, while Ziyad ibn Salih led the Abbasids by controlling 250,000.
Initially, Goguryeo suffered a setback as 20,000 Karluk mercenaries defected to the Arabs, but as they did not constitute a majority as in OTL, and the Arabs were outnumbered two to one, they pressed on.
The battle was close, as the battlefield witnessed numerous dead fighting for both sides. Initially, the Arabs almost succeeded in driving Goguryeo back to the Talas River, but Goguryeo managed to pull out a comeback, and crushed their enemy. Goguryeo eventually emerged triumphant, and the Abbasids were forced to flee for their lives.
Goguryeo then pushed onward to re-conquer their territories in Central and South Asia, but this time bringing them directly under their control as colonies. By 755, the Arabs were pushed back into the Arabian Peninsula, and became a tributary of Goguryeo.
When Goguryeo attempted to push into the Byzantine Empire, however, they faced a much more formidable enemy. They were much more prepared, leading to numerous defeats.
Although Goguryeo triumphed on land due to their skillful use of gunpowder, they failed miserably on the sea, as the Byzantines brought out Greek Fire and crushed Goguryeo battleships.
After three years of continuous warfare, the two empires finally agreed to a truce. An alliance was formed after Goguryeo threatened to cut off the Silk Road, and the borders were formalized.
However, one more hurdle remained for Goguryeo to overcome . . .
The map will follow up later.
Nonsense.
Northern Wei of 410-s was quite simply too strong to be conquered in such a manner.
Did you even look at this?
In other words, the two never engaged each other until 459, so it's impossible to determine exactly which had the edge in 410.