(Source)
With a population of around 17,000,000, Cambodia could be described (geographically) as a central plan surrounded by a series of highlands. The plains extend to forest. The beginnings of the Mekong Delta find their origin here as it flows East towards Vietnam. The country has a coastline along the Gulf of Thailand. It is a tropical climate with the monsoons that are common to this part of the world.
If I had to describe the history of Cambodia, it would be the history of the Khmer People.
Absorbing influences passed along from India to the west (originally the Khmer people were Hindu), local states were absorbed into the declaration of the Khmer Empire by Javarman II in A.D. 802. The empire he founded - The Kabuja or Khmer Empire - would last until 1431.
The devaraja (God-kings) were both builders and conquerors. They built a series of temples and cities as well as waterways and canals, their biggest achievement being the capital of Yasodharapudra, with the temple city of Angkor Wat.
(Angkor Wat)
At its height, the Khmer Empire covered all of modern Cambodia and parts of Vietnam. It treated with the Chinese Empire and was able to buy its way out of the depredations of the Mongols. During the time of the Empire, the state religion changed from Hinduism to Buddhism; temples were rededicated accordingly.
In 1431 Angkor Wat fell to the forces of the Siamese kingdom of Ayuttha (a pre-cursor to the modern state of Thailand). The main royal line moved to Phnom Penh, which became (and still is) the capitol.
Following the defeat in 1431, the Khmer Empire slowly continued to lose territory to the growing states of Thailand and the states that made up modern Vietnam until, by the 19th century, the area of Cambodia was effectively split between the rule of Siam and Vietnam until 1847, when the Kingdom of Cambodia regained its independence.
Just in time, as it turned out, for the French to arrive...
Putting this into context, Christopher Columbus wouldn't be born for another 20 years after the fall of the Khmer Empire! A constant reminder of how little history my country has compared to other countries.
ReplyDeleteEd, the Khmer Empire flourished for 600 years - and yet the only records we have of it are written in stone or people that wrote about it. We have one surviving text from a Zhou Daguan, who was a Yuan Chinese diplomat from 1296 to 1297. Imagine what it would be like in years in the future trying to explain the U.S. only from the buildings that remained and a scattering of texts.
DeleteExcellent short history course TB, appreciate it. There were very few Asian History courses offered when I attended university back last century.
ReplyDeleteNylon12, I really struggled with this. In a way it is almost a forerunner to the actual tour, but it is important. How do you compress almost 1500 years of history into a meaningful narrative.
Delete(Vietnam will prove even more challenging in that regard...)