Shindan dynasty

The Shindan dynasty (Zhenian: 신단국, literally translated as "New Danguk", formally 대신단국/大新檀國), was a historical  and  that existed in the Danguk Peninsula and northern Zhenia from 1298 to 1866, until it was reorganized into the Empire of Shindan, after which it was reorganized into the Empire of Zhenia in 1868 alongside most of mainland Zhenia.

It was founded after a dynastic revolution by Seok Juwon that overthrew Daehwa in modern-day Sanggyeong, after which the nation was retitled in tribute to the primordial Dan dynasty. The Shindan dynasty remains the longest-surviving single entity in the Danguk peninsula apart from the Zhen dynasty. The Shindan dynasty adopted Sambong thought in advance, an ideology consisting of pragmatic combined with the teachings of Kim Dojin, as its ruling principle, encouraging the absorption of Sambong thought and legalist ideals in Shindanese society as well as attempting internal political stability. Subsequent rulers, including kings Taejong and Saejo, consolidated the dynasty's rule over the peninsula and laid the fundamentals to its prosperity. In the 15th and 16th centuries, it led a series of expeditions to the east, linking the dynasty into the extensive global trade network and establishing a series of colonies and trading posts across the world, including modern-day Kapuku and Florencia. Experiencing almost two centuries of economic and military prosperity afterwards, the dynasty entered the Shindanese Golden Age, which lasted well into the 16th century.

The Shindan dynasty fell into decadence after its defeat in a series of military conflicts with the Greater Wu, after which it became a tributary state to the Greater Wu and was stripped of its former glory. The dynasty met an era of resurgence with the 19th century, with a series of reforms by King Jeongjo and his successor King Seongjo, resulting in the transformation of Shindan from a backwater colonial empire into a modernized industrial power. A series of military conflicts against the Greater Wu resulted in the Shindan's reentry into the international stage as a leading military power, with the Greater Wu ultimately collapsing in 1851. While the Confederation of Zhenia led by the Shindan was briefly established over the mainland during the Zhenian Civil War, all of modern-day Zhenia later unified into a single nation in 1868, marking the end of the civil war.

Shindan is regarded as the legal predecessor of both the Empire of Zhenia and today's Republic of Zhenia, although the Kingdom of Shindan within the Empire of Zhenia primarily succeeded its legal position. Much of the legal and political systems established during the Shindan dynasty were, with some revisions, carried on into the Empire of Zhenia, while the Shindan dynasty solidified the cultural identity of the Danguk Peninsula as opposed to the mainland, leaving a significant cultural legacy that lasts in Zhenia to this day.