Queen Seondeok reigned as Queen Regnant of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, from 632 to 647. She was Silla's twenty-seventh ruler, and its first reigning queen. She was the second female sovereign in recorded East Asian history and encouraged a renaissance in thought, literature, and the arts in Silla. In the Samguk sagi, Queen Seondeok was described as "generous, benevolent, wise, and smart". According to the Legend of Jigwi, she was also beautiful. She developed Buddhist culture, selected great talent, and established diplomacy with the Tang dynasty, laying the foundation for the unification of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. Queen Seondeok is known as a wise and kind monarch, making her one of the most prominent monarchs in Korean history.