Heondeok of Silla
King of Silla
Heondeok (Korean: 헌덕; r. 809–826) was the 41st to rule the Korean kingdom of Silla. He was the younger brother of King Soseong, and served as regent during the reign of Aejang.
In 790, Heondeok traveled to Tang China where he distinguished himself and received a high position. He returned to Silla, becoming regent after the death of his brother. In 809, he slew the now-adult Aejang and took the throne for himself.
In 810, Heondeok repaired the country's irrigation facilities. He also sent his son Kim Hŏnjang to Tang with gold and silver Buddhist images to pray for the emperor's eternal peace.
Heondeok's later reign saw the rebellion of Kim Hŏnch'ang in 822, and that of Kim Hŏnch'ang's son in the following year. Both were suppressed.
“Heondeok of Silla” enters the record as king of Silla. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Heondeok, Silla and King can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q488141. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Heondeok of Silla” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.