PRE-HISTORIC TIMES

No one exactly knows for how long former Cambodia has been inhabited. Carbon 14 dates, from a cave at Laang Spean in northwestern Cambodia, suggest that it was inhabits as early as 4200 BC. Presumably the first Cambodian arrived long before this date and evidences of a more primitive, pebble working culture has been found in the eastern parts of the country. Whether the early inhabitants of Cambodia came from China, India or island in Southeast Asia is still debated, and so are theories about waves of different people moving trough the region in pre-historic times.

Skulls and bones found in the Samrong Sen, inhabited since 1500 BC, suggest that these prehistoric Cambodians resemble Cambodian today. Some recent finds also suggest that southeast Asia mainland had a comparatively sophisticated culture in the prehistoric era, with some researchers even attributing the first rice cultivation and bonze-casting to the region.

We know few about the daily lives of Cambodian in Prehistoric times. It seems likely that their houses were built above the ground and made accessible through ladders. Clothing was not important and Chinese accounts describe Cambodians as "naked". Relying on the organisation of some tribal villages, still existing in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam and several archaeological discovers, we can say that from 1000 BC their living were organised in fortified villages, often in circular forms.

Like other inhabitants of the region they had domesticated pigs and water buffalos fairly early, and they grew varieties of rice and root crops by the so-called slash and burn method, common trough the tropics and medieval Europe. Concerning their believes, even if we can not be sure of their evolutions trough the years, it is likely that some costumes have travelled through history. These timeless elements of Khmer culture include; the villages games played at the lunar new year; the association of ancestors spirits (mak ta) with stones, the calendar and the soil; the belief in water-spirits, or dragons; the idea that tattoos protect the wearers; and the custom of chewing betel, just to name a few.

PRE ANGKOR PERIOD

The early Khmer history, from 1st century AC to the beginning of the 9th century, is known as the pre-angkor period. It came to and end when Jayavarman II proclaimed himself Chakravartin (holder of the wheel), a term designating a universal ruler in Indian tradition, and was crowned king of the Khmer kings in 802 on the mountain of Mahendraparvata, the actual Phnom Kulen.

THE KINGDOM OF FUNAN

From the 1st to the 6th centuries much of Cambodia belonged to the Southeast Asian kingdom of Funan. Modern Khmer customs and language, as well as the national political institutions, culture and art, evolved from this time and have been strongly influenced by India. It was probably during the first or the second century AC that India started to have contacts with neighbouring countries in South East Asia. At that time Indian navigators set sail in search of mainly new trading partners, which led to the incorporation of many cultural Indian elements in the "indianized states" such as the Indonesian islands and the delta regions of the Irrawaddy, the Menam and the Mekong.

In the southern part of continental South East Asia, this was the age of the kings of Funan, settled in the lower and middle reaches of the Mekong. This kingdom could be described as an Indianized maritime empire involved in transcontinental trade that extended to China and India on one hand and the Roman Empire on the other. Annuals from Imperial China provide useful information on ancient Cambodia. The earliest of those dates to the mid-3rd century AC. The kingdom of Funan is described on the following terms; "the Kingdom of Funan is more than 3000 li (1 li is equivalent to 540 meters) west of Linyi (referring to Champa, originally situated in the centre and south of what is now Vietnam) in the large bay of the sea. There are walled towns, palaces and dwelling houses. The men (…) practice farming. They like to engrave ornaments and to crave. They have books and achieves. The character writing resembles to those of the Hou (people of central Asia, which writing descend, as Cambodia, from certain Indian alphabets).

Rudravarman is known as the last king of Funan and is not mentioned in any of this relates after 550 AC. This date marks the disappearance of the Funan name, which is replaced in Chinese sources by Chenla.

THE KINGDOM OF CHENLA

The cradle of Chenla laid in the region of Wat Phu, in the south of what is now Laos. Epigraphic evidences testified the existence of a capital city to this empire, known as Bhavapura. King Bhavavarman, a prince of Funan who married a princess from the royal family of Chenla and became thus the ruler of that Kingdom founded it, in the second half of the 6th century. Although the site hasn't been identify yet, it is probably situated in the actual province of Kompong Thom.

A 10th century inscription relates the legend of the Chenla Kingdom, which is also inspired from an Indian legend; Shiva himself gave an hermit called Kambu Svayambhuva, ancestor of the inhabitants of Kambujadesha (actual Cambodia), the hand of a celestial numph, Mera. It is the union of the names of Kambu and Mera, which is believed to be the origin of the term "Khmer". The long line of Kings in the Kingdom continues to refer to this alliance, as well as the mythical union of the Funan Kaundinya and Soma, as their origins.

Later under the rein of Ishanavarman I, one of the successors of King Bhavavarman, in the early 7th century, Ishanapura was built. Known nowadays as Sambor Prei Kuth, it was, at the time, the centre of the most powerful and large Pre-Angkorian Kingdom. More than 100 temples representing the finest pre-Angkorian remains still testify of the power and Health of this Kingdom.

During the 8th century it appears that this large territory was split into two main parts; the Land Chenla (in the northern region) and the water Chenla (in the south bordered by the sea and lakes). This division is believed to have accompanied the fragmentation of power between different kingdoms of various sizes and strengths. Several Monuments such as the Prasat Ak Yum, the first mountain temple in the region, testify that the Khmer began to settle in the western part of Angkor during the 7th century.

THE ANGKORIAN ERA

The Angkorian era began in the 9th century and transformed the Kingdom into a major artistic, religious, and military power. This era produced a succession of powerful kings who presided over an empire that covered much of present-day Southeast Asia, stretching from Myanmar to the South China Sea and north to Laos. During this golden age, Khmer kings built extensive ornate temples, including the spectacular Angkor Wat.

JAYAVARMAN II: FATHER OF THE KHMER EMPIRE

From the Khmer and Sanskrit inscriptions contained in the hundreds of temples spread around Cambodia, twenty-six distinct Angkorian kings have been identified, ruling between 802 to approximately 1300, when the same inscriptions cease.

The great power of the Angkorian Empire was attributed to their capacity to control and rationalise the use of water for their own use and also for large-scale cultivation. The precursor of this empire is known as Jayavarman II, who despite its Javanese origins (nowadays Indonesia) granted independence to the actual Cambodian state. It was under Indravarman (nephew of Jayavarman II - 877-889) that large-scale irrigation of the Mekong River area began. The development and extension of this irrigation system allowed the creation of a more settle agricultural society. With the resulting stability the Empire increased its population as well as its power of ruling. Nevertheless this does not mean that Angkorian times were always or even often in peace. Its political arrangements seem to have been fragile, and great efforts were needed in order to keep outlying areas, and also the king's relatives, under control.

All Cambodian Kings, who enjoyed a prosperous and long rein have followed a similar path in their building activities; they dammed up local streams to form large reservoirs of water, which provided the necessary amount of water to irrigate the surrounding rice fields and canals which were used to transport goods and people. The second step was to build a temple in the middle of this water reserves, home of Hindu gods. Last but not least they build large temple-tombs for themselves, surrounded by moats. At least thirteen of the Angkorian kings are know to have built these temple-mountains. Two of the most important kings of this period were Suryavarman I (1002-1050) who centralised the political and religious power in the Angkor region and Suryavarman II (1113-1150) who built the best know temple-mountain, Angkor Wat.

LIFE IN ANGKOR

Given the opulence of the king's private city, magnificent performances were held within the Angkor temples, probably in Angkor Thom; and the Elephant Terrace would have made a perfect venue. Its five jutting outreaches one at each end and three in the middle, served as runways where costumed performers could take their acts right into the heart of the audience. Before it and around it-again, according to largely imaginative reconstructions of those times-streamed thousands of troops, a mighty cavalry, parades of elephants and horse-drawn chariots, perhaps drawing displays of rate and amazing creatures, all of them adorned with gold and silver and pennants and standards of silk cloth. The field and viewing pavilion would have served perfectly for royal reviews of armies returning, triumphant, from the far reaches of the great Khmer Empire.

Chou Ta-Kuan's (Chinese visitor to Angkor in 1296) description of the king coming forth from his palace suggests a dual purpose for the Elephant Terrace, for the ancient kings liked their subjects to see their power and wealth, and a royal arrival would have been as much of a display as the show itself. "The procession is headed by the soldiery," he wrote. "Then come the flags, the banners, the music. Girls of the palace, three of five hundred in number, gaily dressed, with flowers in their hair and tapers in their hands, are massed together in s separate column… then come other girls carrying gold and silver vessels from the palace and a whole galaxy of ornaments."

The initial parade was followed by goats and horses adorned with gold, high-ranking officials and prices "without number" mounted on elephants and shaded by scarlet parasols, royal wives and concubines by the score riding chariots under umbrellas of gold. "Finally," the awestruck Chou Ta-Kuan recorded in his book, The Customs of Cambodia, "the sovereign appeared standing erect on an elephant and holding in his hand the sacred sword. Bearers of 20 white parasols with golden shafts accompanied this elephant with its tusks sheathed in gold. All around was a bodyguard of elephants, drawn close together, and still more soldiers for complete protection, marching in close order."

The king would have reviewed parades and performances such as these attended by enormous retinues of servants and concubines, nobles and members of his royal family, all shaded by magnificent umbrellas by day, or lit by massive fiery lanterns at night.

JAYAVARMAN VII AND THE END OF THE EMPIRE

From 1150 to 1181, Ankorian Armies were at war not only with Champa to the east but also with Vietnam then centred on what is now Hanoi. Cham armies and a naval force invaded Angkor in 1177 and sacked the city. Nevertheless a young prince, who took the throne in 1181, as Jayavarman VII, defeated some years after the Chams and took over the Empire. Due to the invasion there was a need to rebuilt the city and Jayavarman VII is overall known for his ambitious and impressive program of reconstruction, as well as the sites of Angkor Thom and Bayon, which came into being under his ruling period. Jayavarman VII was fervent Buddhist and also the last great builder at Angkor. He is also remembered for the very unusual fact, between Angkorian Kings, that several statues are almost certainly posed portraits of him; where he is seen with his eyes half closed, in meditation.

Many theories exist about the end of the Khmer empire but the lack of any documents from this period difficult the researches. Two of the theories which seem more probable are first of all that continuous fighting have weaken the Khmer empire thought the destabilisation of their complex irrigation system, which allowed not only transportation thought the kingdom but overall the disposability of water for the crops production and therefore their survival. The second theory evocated is the spread of a mortal disease, which killed much of the Angkor population and left the city vulnerable to exterior attacks. In any case historian agree in the fact that the shift occurred sometime around the 14th century and that remaining population went to the region of Phnom Penh, the actual capital city of Modern Cambodia.

By the middle of the thirteen-century, Angkor began to be assaulted and under constant pressure of what was to become Thailand and from Vietnam, that have been so characteristic of Cambodian history since then.

CHRONOLOGY

1430 Thai invasion of Angkor, the last of several, forces Cambodians to abandon it. Cambodian Capital swift to Phnom Penh.

1767 Thai Kingdom of Ayudhya defeated by Burmese army. Chaos spreads into Cambodia from Thailand and Vietnam.

1794 New Thai regime in Bangkok places a teenaged Cambodian prince on the throne of Cambodia. He dies within three years, ushering in a period of Thai-Vietnamese conflict over the country.

1841 A rebellion led by Cambodian officials against Vietnamese control brings on a Thai invasion. Six years later Vietnamese troops withdraw; Cambodia regains its independence.

1858 Cambodian King, Duang, unsuccessfully seeks protection from the French against the Thai and Vietnamese.

1863 France proclaimed a protectorate over Cambodia, concluding a treaty with Duang's son, King Norodom.

MODERN HISTORY

THE FRENCH PROTECTORATE

In 1863, king Norodom signed a treaty of protectorate agreement with France, in order to prevent any invasion of intrusion from both Vietnam and Thailand that resulted in Cambodia being placed under French rule for the next 90 years. Cambodia was then integrated to the Union of Indochina, governed by a general based in Hanoi. Nevertheless the French continued to support monarchy and improved social conditions by abolishing slavery and building an educational system. Schools were built and the Khmer elite was introduced to French education and culture. Agriculture was organised in the northern par of the country and French made of Cambodia one of the main rice exporter of the region. In 1941, Preah Bat Norodom Sihanouk, the current monarch, came to the throne. During World War II, in 1945, the Japanese ousted the French, declare independence of Cambodia and King Sihanouk took control of the country.

Nevertheless at the end of Second World War, French took over and it was only by a long campaign to gather international support that Sihanouk finally proclaimed independence of Cambodia in 1953. He became then the head of state but by 1966 the communist insurgency in Cambodia forces him to break its neutrality and allow Viet Cong to use its territory as a base against US forces. By then Cambodia had became the war field of American against the Vietnamese communist forces. In 1969 one of the worth attack on Cambodia was raised by Americans in order to destroy the Vietnamese supply lines, at the Vietnamese border, and caused many causalities within Cambodian civilians. This bombing continued for 4 years and increased in scope until vast areas in the east of the country were being systematically bombed. Cambodia is believed to have received 50% more bombs during that period than Japan during the whole Second World War.

In 1970, while abroad its own cabinet overthrow Sihanouk, and Lon Nol takes the head of Cambodia supported by the US, which, along with South Vietnamese troops, invaded the country. Cambodia became deeply involved in the war, fighting mainly against the Communist Khmer military faction, the Khmer Rouge. In order to regain power Sihanouk gave its support to this Cambodian Communist forces, directly headed by Saloth Sar, which revolutionary name became known worldwide as Pol Pot. Under Pol Pot's leadership, the Khmer Rouge took over the government in 1975.

THE DEMOCRATIC KAMPUCHEA

By 1946, the Khmer rouge obliged Sihanouk to resign and kept him in custody until 1979 in Cambodia. A new government was formed and a four-years plan was draft in order to "build socialism in all fields", nevertheless this plan has never been formally launched. Under this four-year plan crops such as cotton, jute, rubber, coconuts, sugar and kapok were to be cultivated for exports. With the money, light industry was to be established in the country. The first step the communist took was to empty all cities, replacing thousand of civilians that had already suffer many years of war. In order to met objectives this population were forced to work hard, with much of the time not enough food. With the lack of medicines soon many Cambodian died of malaria, overwork, malnutrition, etc.

In fact the Khmer Rouge unleashed a reign of terror, turning the population into slave labourers and systematically torturing and killing an over 1 million people (targeting the educated, religious, artist, and all minorities in particular), which represented one Cambodian out of seven. This action was based on a revolution that was to set the "year zero" for the Cambodians. This meant no money, no markets, no formal education, no religion, no books, no private properties, no clothing style and no freedom of movement. Pol pot's dream was to restore the prestige of ancient Cambodia by reviving their rice fields and he forced every civilian to cultivate the fields. During 4 year Cambodia was transform into a giant concentration camps that ended in the biggest genocide known nowadays. In this context we have to underline that American hostility toward Vietnam played a large part in ensuring that Pol Pot's Democratic Kampuchea kept its seat at the United Nations.

The suspicious climate between Vietnam and Cambodia combine with Pol Pot's desire to restore the "great Cambodia" led to his alliance with the Chinese, who saw Vietnam as a pro-soviet country and gave military help to Cambodia. Vietnamese, seeing this act as provocation, and in alliance with Soviet Union, attacked Cambodia and penetrate as far as 32 kilometres within their territory. They brought with them many civilians as hostage and began to form and train them in order to fight back. In December 1978, Vietnamese forces, numbering over a hundred thousand at the Cambodian border, launched a major offensive on several fronts. Phnom Penh, was abandon by the communist forced in January 7, 1979. By 1980, Hun Sen, a young Cambodian commander, came out as one of the main leaders.

THE VIETNAMESE OCCUPATION

The People's Republic of Kampuchea was established at the same time as a new government lead by ancient DK soldiers and officials that had defeated to the Vietnamese in 1978. This presented the opportunity for the country to re-establish itself. Nevertheless the famines that ruin the country during the following years, with a strong feeling of being occupied led many Cambodians to the refugee camps at the Thai border, and for intellectuals and upper Cambodian to leave the country. Even if Vietnamese troops had had liberated the Cambodian people from Pol Pot's Tyranny, the international community was reluctant to recognize the "puppet" government installed in Phnom Penh. Nevertheless schools were re-established all over the country from 1979, and the basic human rights recognize to all Cambodians. By 1985 the Vietnamese had force the Khmer Rouge guerrillas into Thailand. From there, Pol Pot's army continued to plague the country with guerrillas attack and also by planting thousand of land mines that continue to undermine Cambodian territory. This intervention of Vietnamese lasted for 11 year before international community pressure for withdrawal, and especially Mikhail Gorbachev's new Soviet Union's, convinced the Vietnamese to leave Cambodia in 1989.

THE UNTAC AND MODERN CAMBODIA

In 1991, an international sponsored peace agreement was signed in Paris. The signatories of this agreement included most of the political groups that had held power for the last two decades and let to, in 1993, administered elections by the United Nations that reinstated King Sihanouk as monarch of Cambodia. By then a democratic system began to be re-established in the country. The Khmer rouges became the party of Democratic Kampuchea (PDK), the Vietnamese backed government that run Cambodia following their invasion became the Cambodian People's Party (CPP); a royalist party, headed by the King's son, Prince Ranariddh, reverted to its old name, the National United Front for an independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia (FUNCIPEC); while a non-communist group headed by Son Sann split into the Buddhist Liberal Democratic Party (BLDP) and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

After this first election, the three parties having won the most seats (FUNCIPEC, CPP and BLDP) were forced into a coalition government, with a double head of prime Ministers, the Prince Ranariddh and Hun Sen (CPP). A second general election was held in July 1998, and Hun Sen, after negotiations with the King himself, took the leadership of Cambodia. This period sign the opening of the country to a new life with its integration with the ASEAN, the Great Mekong Sub region and soon enough its accession to the World Trade Organisation. The last election, in July 2003, have confirmed this position with Hun Sen's party having over 55% of all national votes.

Today, Cambodia operates as a constitutional monarchy, with His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Norodom Sihanouk Varnam serving as King and Head of State; H.E. Samdech Chea Sim as President of the Senate; H.R.E. Samdech Krom Preah Norodom Ranariddh as President of the National Assembly; and H.E. Samdech Hun Sen as Prime Minister.