Gaero of Baekje was the 21st king of Baekje

Baekje

Baekje or Paekche was a kingdom located in southwest Korea. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla....

, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea

Three Kingdoms of Korea

The Three Kingdoms of Korea refer to the ancient Korean kingdoms of Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla, which dominated the Korean peninsula and parts of Manchuria for much of the 1st millennium...

. He was the eldest son of the 20th king Biyu

Biyu of Baekje

Biyu of Baekje was the 20th king of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea.According to the Samguk Sagi, he was the eldest son of the 19th king Guisin. The traditional dates of Biyu's rule are based on the Samguk Sagi...

. He died in battle as Baekje's capital in the present-day Seoul

Seoul

Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...

 region fell to the northern rival kingdom Goguryeo

Goguryeo

Goguryeo or Koguryŏ was an ancient Korean kingdom located in present day northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula, southern Manchuria, and southern Russian Maritime province....

.

Reign

He attempted to strengthen royal control of the aristocracy, by selecting officials from his own Yeo clan, at the expense of the powerful Hae and Jin clans.

In 469, he ordered a surprise attack in which the city of Cheongmongnyeon (청목령, 靑木嶺 ; near modern Kaesong

Kaesong

Kaesŏng is a city in North Hwanghae Province, southern North Korea , a former Directly Governed City, and the capital of Korea during the Koryo Dynasty. The city is near Kaesŏng Industrial Region and it contains the remains of the Manwoldae palace. It was formally named Songdo while it was the...

) was retaken from Goguryeo

Goguryeo

Goguryeo or Koguryŏ was an ancient Korean kingdom located in present day northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula, southern Manchuria, and southern Russian Maritime province....

. In 472, he sent an embassy bearing tribute to Northern Wei

Northern Wei

The Northern Wei Dynasty , also known as the Tuoba Wei , Later Wei , or Yuan Wei , was a dynasty which ruled northern China from 386 to 534 . It has been described as "part of an era of political turbulence and intense social and cultural change"...

 requesting support against Goguryeo’s attacks. However, these advances were rebuffed by the Wei court, which tried to avoid war with Goguryeo which had greater military power at the time, while fighting against Southern Dynasties

Southern dynasties

The Southern dynasties comprise the Liu Song, Southern Qi, Liang Dynasty and Chen Dynasty, whose capital were at Jiankang , and Emperor Yuan of Liang, as well as the later Western Liang emperors , also set their...

.

In the early 470s, according to the Samguk Sagi

Samguk Sagi

Samguk Sagi is a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of Korea: Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla. The Samguk Sagi is written in Classical Chinese and its compilation was ordered by Goryeo's King Injong Samguk Sagi (History of the Three Kingdoms) is a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of...

, King Jangsu of Goguryeo

Jangsu of Goguryeo

Emperor Jangsu of Goguryeo was the 20th monarch of Goguryeo, the northernmost of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He was born in 394, the eldest son of King Gwanggaeto the Great...

 sent a Buddhist

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

 monk named Dorim, who was actually a Goguryeo agent. Dorim used Gaero’s passion for the game of baduk

Baduk

Baduk may refer to:* Baduk , a 1992 film by director Majid Majidi.* Baduk , the Korean name for the board game Go....

 to ingratiate himself, and persuade the king to neglect the country’s defense in favor of public works.

Fall of the capital

In 475, Jangsu launched an attack with 30,000 men and overran Baekje’s defenses in seven days, taking the Han River valley including the capital. Gaero was taken to Acha Mountain Fortress

Acha Mountain Fortress

Acha Mountain Fortress is an earthen fortress of the Korean Three Kingdoms period. Originally built by Baekje, it was occupied in turn by each of the Three Kingdoms. It stands on Mount Acha, in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, South Korea, at an altitude of 200 meters above sea level...

 and slain by two men who had defected to Goguryeo from Baekje. Baekje's ally Silla

Silla

Silla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and one of the longest sustained dynasties in...

 sent an army of 10,000, but arrived too late.

He was the last to rule Baekje from its historic heartland in the Han River

Han River (Korea)

The Han River is a major river in South Korea and the fourth longest river on the Korean peninsula after the Amnok, Duman, and Nakdong rivers. It is formed by the confluence of the Namhan River , which originates in Mount Daedeok, and the Bukhan River , which originates on the slopes of Mount...

 valley. After his death, Hae Gu, of the suppressed Hae clan, led a bloody revolt.