Although ascending to the throne in 1213, Gojong did not wield much power due to decades of military rule over Goryeo. In 1216, the
Khitan invaded Goryeo but was defeated. In August 1232, Gojong moved the capital of Goryeo from
Songdo to the island of
Ganghwa and started the construction of significant defenses there, in order to better defend from the Mongol threat. Gojong resisted the Mongol invasion for nearly thirty years before the kingdom was forced to make peace with the Mongols in 1259; Gojong died soon after. In 1251, the carving of the
Tripitaka Koreana, a collection of
Buddhist scriptures recorded on some 81,000 wooden blocks, was completed. The work was perhaps motivated by Gojong's hopes to change fortunes through the act of religious devotion; however the originals were later destroyed by the Mongols — the existing Tripitaka is a replica of Gojong's original, and was commissioned around one hundred years after the originals were lost. Gojong was married to Queen Anhye, daughter of
Huijong, the twenty-first king of Goryeo. His tomb is located near the city of
Incheon. ==Family==