Search by tag : history, ancient cambodia, angkorian period, post angkorian period, art
| History of ancient Cambodia |
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| Sunday, 28 October 2007 | ||||
The pre-Angkorian period During the first century before Christ, the Môns and the Khmers were the first people to settle in the Indochinese peninsula.Although a large part of Cambodia's origins remain in the shadows of time, traces are found in legends and chronicles but are sometimes contradictory. Some Chinese chronicles say that in the 1st century AC, the Funan kingdom, precursor of the Khmer empire, was spreading along the gulf of Thailand and on the lower plains of the Mekong. Two great religions of Indian origin influenced the Funan civilization, Buddhism and Hinduism. In Indochina, Cambodia and Laos were especially influenced by India, while Vietnam was more influence by China. The Funan even adopted Indian language and writing - the sanskrit script. The kings were following the Indian conception of the Devaraja, the god-king. It's true that Cambodians originally migrated from southern India or Sri Lanka. Around the middle of the 6th century, the Funan kingdom lost his supremacy over the area to the Zhenla kingdom, whose origins came from the North, between Cambodia and Laos. The first Khmer writings, derived from Indian sanskrit are dated from this period. Isanavarman, who reigned on the Zhenla kingdom until 635, completed the conquest of Funan and expanded the Khmer kingdom all the way to the Tonle Sap area, which was going to become the cradle of the Angkorian civilization. The Zenlha kingdom became very unstable in the period leading up to the begining of the 8th century : numerous pirates coming from the islands of Java and Sumatra and from the Malaysian peninsula conquered pieces of the kingdom during this period. The Angkorian period During the year 802, Jayavarman II, first king of the "god-kings" line, brought stability to the Khmer kingdom and settled his capital on Mount Kulen, in the north of Angkor. His crowning marked the beginning of the Angkorian period. Every Angorian king was elevated to the status of god by building a magnificent temple.When his successor, Indravarman became king in 877, the great architectural foundations of this region really started to appear - he built the Bakong, precursor temple to Angkor Wat and the first great architectural and artistic Khmer construction. He was also the first king to build a large irrigation dam for the Angkorian region. His son, Yaçovarman who became king in 889, built the first 'Angkor' building, which was the first royal city of the Khmer empire, situated around Phnom Bakheng hill. Successive kings in this dynasty successively built several new 'Angkor', each larger and more magnificent than the last, to honor their privileged relations with Hindu divinities. King Suryavarman II, who brought unity back to the kingdom in 1113 after a period of political unrest, ordered the construction of Angkor Wat to honor Vishnu.  The last great sovereign of Angkorian Cambodia was Jayavarman VII (1181-1218) who pushed back the Chams from the Mekong delta outside of the Khmer kingdom, and expanded his kingdom's influence further than ever; over parts of Thailand, Vietnam and Laos (see map). A large number of monuments were built under his reign, and the majority of those that are still visible can be found on the Ankor wat site. These include the fortified royal city of Angkor Thom with the famous Bayon towers at its center and the temples of Banteay Kdei, Ta Prohm and Preah Khan. A new and much admired style was created under the religious influences of the king - Mahayana buddhism - from which the famous smile of Angkor derives.
The post-Angkorian period During the 13th century, the Thais freed themselves from the Khmer kingdom and started to threaten Cambodia.With the demise of the Angkorian dynasties a more humble style of monarch emerged. Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism disappeared to the benefit of Theravada Buddhism, which originally came from Sri Lanka and was strengthened by the influence of Thai kings.The social hierarchy that was installed as a result of Hinduism and the king-god concept, disappeared and the now weaker kingdom faced multiple attacks and incursions from its neighbors. Angkor, annexed several times by the Thai kings of Ayuthaya, was abandoned in 1431 for locations further south that were less exposed to foreign invasion. This marked the end of the Angkorian period. Facing Vietnamese attacks on the eastern front , Cambodia fell under a mixture of Thai and Vietnamese control, which lasted for the next three hundred years.In the 17th century, the country remained under Siamese influence and the Vietnamese Ngyuen people also invaded the country in 1673. Udong become the capital of a weak and unstable Khmer kingdom. In the 18th century, conflicts with the Vietnamese and the Siamese continued. But the fatal blow to Khmer sovereignty came when the French Indochinese period of conquests began, with the French establishing protectorates over Cambodia, Laos, and Annam (Southern Central Vietnam) and complete administrative control over Cochinchina (the southern Mekong delta region of Vietnam). With this final blow to regional independance (the complete conquest of Cochinchina) came a mass of human displacement and consequently there still exists a minority community of roughly one million Khmer living in Southern Vietnam. Views: 334
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- History of Cambodia -25/10/2007
- Khmer society -20/10/2007
- Khmer religion -20/10/2007
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