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."
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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.
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