In A.D. 1177, the Khmer Kingdom was invaded by the Cham people from what is now Vietnam, who sailed up the Mekong River to the great freshwater lake of the Tonlé Sap. They sacked the capitol of Yasodharapura and killed the reigning king before being driven back and defeated on land and lake by the future king JayavarmanVIII. Under his rule, the Angkor kingdom reached its highest peak.
(Ta Prohm Wat)
(Ta Prohm Wat)
Interestingly (and an unknown fact to me), the origins of the temples of Angkor were Hindu, not Buddhist as is now associated with this country. Over time, the religion changed and the temples changed with them - for example, Angkor Wat originally started as a temple dedicated to the god Vishnu, but was later transformed into a Buddhist temple.
(Ta Prohm Wat)
Another interesting sidenote is that in A.D. 1296, a diplomat from the Yuan dynasty of visited Angkor. The record of his visit is one of the few - if only - records we have of life in the Khmer kingdom by an eyewitness.
(Angkor Wat)
(Angkor Wat)
In A.D. 1431, the capitol was again sacked, this time by the kingdom of Ayutthaya (in modern day Thailand). The Khmer capitol relocated twice before finally locating in Phnom Penh in A.D. 1618.
(Angkor Wat)
The city was never really forgotten: the first European visitor, a Portugese Friar, visited in the 16th Century, and there were notable Japanese settlements along with the local Khmer residents in the 17th century.
(Angkor Wat)
It was not until the 19th century that city began to emerge from the forest and the restoration process started, which continues to this day.
(Angkor Wat)
Prior to 2020, approximately 2,000,000 visitors a year came to Angkor. That number, after decreasing, is starting to come back.
Thanks so much for sharing! I doubt I'll ever get to that corner of the globe, so nice to see.
ReplyDeleteAnon - You are welcome! It is a great privilege to be able to share!
DeleteCambodia was so very different from what I am used to. The distance makes it difficult for many in the West to go. Hopefully the pictures and the narrative give a flavour of it.
World history is replete with invasions of one group by another group with varying degrees of death and destruction. Didn't realize that India extended it's influence so far East TB, still not too old learn something every day eh?
ReplyDeleteNylon12 - Wait until we get to a short history of Vietnam. It is equally interesting and surprising. The reach of Hinduism and Buddhism was far beyond what I had originally thought.
DeleteIt is interesting to me how we think of the pre-modern world as separated and detached, when it seems more and more it was interconnected - just at the speed of sail, hoof, and foot.