T H E H I S T O R Y O F C A M B O D I A 37

THE HISTORY OF CAMBODIA

F
rom the splendor of the Khmer Empire to the chilling brutality
of the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia has had a tumultuous past.
For nearly six centuries, between the fall of Angkor and the
rise of Communism, the kingdom lay buried in obscurity, forgotten
by the rest of the world. Recent years, however, have seen the nation
overcome its former misfortunes and become a developing economy.

It is likely that the Khmers Roman Empire have been

originated in China and arrived found at Oc-Eo. Unfortunately,
in what is now Cambodia no reliable written records
several millennia ago. from this era have survived.
Archaeologists have discovered Between 500 BC and
evidence of stone-working AD 500, Cambodia experienced
people in northwestern the process referred to as
Cambodia around 4000 BC. They Indianization. During this time,
date the first rice cultivation in elements of Indian culture, such
the region to around 2000 BC, as the Hindu pantheon, Buddhism,
and bronze working to perhaps a language (Sanskrit), a writing
millennium later. At that time, Statue of a system, a centralized adminis-
many Cambodians lived in Hindu deity, tration, and the idea of universal
Angkor Borei
fortified, circular villages, kingship, were absorbed by the
eating rice and fish, and raising Khmer and blended with local
domestic animals. Bronze artifacts, customs such as ancestor worship.
found in places such as Kg Chhnang The earliest inscriptions in the
in the heart of present-day Cambodia, Khmer language date from the 7th
prove that they possessed advanced century AD. Between the 5th and
metalworking skills. 8th centuries AD, several small city-
The first urban civilization in states flourished in central Cambodia
Cambodia, and what is now southern and northeastern Thailand. These
Vietnam, sprang up both inland and were known collectively as Chenla.
along the coast, where excavations Stone inscriptions from this period
of a port-city have been carried out reveal the slow unification of
near the Vietnamese town of Oc-Eo. principalities under a smaller group
The rulers of this civilization, known of rulers. This was to culminate, in
to the Chinese as Funan, established the early 9th century, in the consoli-
their capital at Angkor Borei and dation of power near the present-
built an extensive canal system, day city of Siem Reap, by the
probably used for drainage and mysterious universal monarch
transportation. They traded with known as Jayavarman II, who
China and India and coins from the established the Khmer Empire.

TIMELINE
Roman
4200 BCAD 700 Caves 200 BC Kingdom coin used
in northwestern of Funan for trading AD 600AD 700
Cambodia occupied by established The Chenla period
stone-working people in southern
Cambodia
4000 BC 2000 BC AD 1 AD 200 AD 400 AD 600 AD 800
2000 BC 500 BCAD 500 802
Cultivation of Indianization of Cambodia Jayavarman II
rice begins in establishes
the region 1000 BC Bronze the Khmer
casting begins Jayavarman II Empire

A lithograph by Louis Delaporte, dated 1873, depicting a French expedition into Angkor
38 C A M B O D I A A R E A B Y A R E A

RISE OF ANGKOR DECLINE AND FALL OF ANGKOR

Angkor, derived from the Khmer word I n t h e 1 4 t h c e n t u r y , s e v e r a l
for city, dominated much of mainland Theravada kingdoms broke away
Southeast Asia between 802 and from the empire and in 1431, Thai
1431. At the end of the 9th century, armies attacked Yasodharapura.
King Yasovarman I moved the As a result, the city was partially
capital closer to Siem Reap, where abandoned and the royal capital
it remained for the next 500 was moved south, close to
years. He named the new city Phnom Penh.
Yasodharapura after himself. The next five centuries,
Successive kings expanded the often referred to as the Middle
empire, building more tem- Period, were marked by
ples honoring themselves, frequent wars with
their forebears, and Hindu Thailand and by the slow,
deities such as Shiva, the informal expropriation of
God of Destruction. Cambodian territory in the
Between 1130 and 1150, Mekong Delta by the
King Suryavarman II built Bayon-style statue of Vietnamese. Vietnam estab-
Jayavarman VII
the spectacular Angkor lished a protectorate in
Wat, which served as an astronomical Phnom Penh in the 1830s and fought
observatory, his tomb, and a monu- Thai forces sent from Bangkok to
ment to Vishnu, the Hindu Protector dislodge them. In 1848, however, a
of Creation. The might of the Khmer fragile peace was established
Empire steadily increased and by the between the two warring states.
mid-12th century, its rule stretched
beyond present-day Cambodia to THE COLONIAL ERA
what is now northeastern Thailand, In 1863, France, which had colonized
southern Laos, and southern Vietnam. souther n Vietnam, of fered its
The powerful empire had trade links protection to Cambodia in exchange
with China, but trade was conducted
on a barter basis, because Angkor
never used currency of any kind.
Successive kings, such as
Jayavarman VII (r.11781220), a
Mahayana Buddhist, added to the
architectural magnificence of Angkor.
He built the walled city of Angkor
Thom inside Yasodharapura, and
several impressive temples, including
the Bayon. But the days of Hindu
influence were numbered and in the
13th century, most Cambodians
converted to Theravada Buddhism,
the relatively ascetic religion of the
country today, and the construction A 19th-century lithograph depicting French scholars
of stone temples ended. removing precious artifacts from Angkor

TIMELINE Angkor Wat

120050 1431 Thais

113050 Angkor Conversion of attack; Angkor
Wat built Khmer people partially
to Theravada abandoned
Buddhism
1010 1130 1250 1370 1490

Bas-relief, 11781220 Jayavarman VII

the Bayon builds the Bayon and the walled Bas-relief depicting
city of Angkor Thom Thai mercenaries,
Angkor Wat
 T H E H I S T O R Y
Prince Norodom Sihanouk at a ceremony celebrating
the victory of his political party
for certain economic privileges. The
French protectorate evolved into
complete control after an anti-French
rebellion was suppressed in the 1880s.
The French record in Cambodia,
however, was mixed. On the one
hand, they established towns, roads,
and institutions; the economy
flourished, the population doubled,
and Cambodia was at peace for the
first time in centuries. France also
forced Thailand to retur n the
annexed territory, and French scholars
restored the Angkorian temples,
reconstructing the history of Angkor.
On the other hand, France did little
to improve education or health and
also imposed high taxes on the locals.
INDEPENDENCE AND REVOLT
In 1941, the French crowned
19-year-old Prince Norodom
Sihanouk as king of Cambodia.
They also allowed Japanese
troops to be stationed in
Cambodia during World War II.
In March 1945, the Japanese
imprisoned French officials
throughout Indochina
(Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam) Communist soldiers during the Cambodian Civil War, 1975
French in Cambodia
183049 Wars between
Thailand and Vietnam
over Cambodia
1610 1730
1794 Thais annex
northwestern quarter
1593 Thais sack of Cambodia
Cambodian capital
at Longvaek
O F C A M B O D I A 39
and urged local leaders to declare
independence. Sihanouk did so reluc-
tantly, welcoming back the French
when they returned to power in
October 1945. But in 1952, he
launched a royal crusade, forcing the
French to grant Cambodia its inde-
pendence the following year. In 1955,
however, Sihanouk abdicated the
throne to become a full-time politician,
founding a political party, Sangkum
Reastr Niyum, that won several elec-
tions unopposed. The Communist
Party, led by Pol Pot (192598), had a
small following at that time and had
little chance of coming to power.
In 1968, the war in Vietnam began
to spill over into Cambodia as the US
Army bombed Communist supply
bases in the country. By this time,
local and international pressure had
weakened Sihanouks control and in
March 1970, the National Assembly
voted to depose him. A pro-American
regime, led by Lon Nol, came to
power. This event precipitated the
Cambodian Civil War. Sihanouk
vowed to return, accepting support
from North Vietnam, China, and
Cambodian Communists. Months of
fighting and heavy bombing ensued
between Communist and US-backed
forces until the former occupied the
capital, ending the war in April 1975.
1945 French return to power
1953 France grants Cambodia
1941 Norodom independence
Sihanouk crowned
king by the French 197075 Cambodian
Civil War
1850 1970
1863 1968 War begins 1970 Sihanouk
Imposition between US-backed overthrown in bloodless,
of French South Vietnam and pro-American coup
protectorate Communist North
Vietnam
40 C A M B O D I A A R E A B Y A R E A

POL POTS KHMER ROUGE unidentified enemies destroying DK,

On April l7, 1975, Cambodian they also began indiscriminate exe-
Communist forces occupied Phnom cutions the next year. In the
Penh, welcomed by a population countryside, where the regime
exhausted by five years of civil war. irrationally sought to triple rice pro-
Within 48 hours, however, duction overnight, thousands
the victors forcibly evacuated died of malnutrition, over-
the city, driving over two work, and disease.
million people into the coun- When fighting broke out
tryside to take up agricultural between DK and Vietnam in
work. The Communists, under September 1977, Pol Pot
Pol Pot, established the finally came into the open,
government of Democratic traveling to China to seek
Kampuchea (DK) and in military aid. In a speech
order to form a new society delivered before the visit, he
with no oppressors and no Pol Pot (192598) led claimed that the Communist
the Khmer Rouge
oppressed, abolished money, Party of Kampuchea (CPK),
personal property, schools, laws, which until then had been hidden to
religious practices, markets, and all but its members, had ruled
freedom of movement. Cambodia since April 1975. As the
Pol Pot, the prime minister of DK, fighting with Vietnam expanded into
remained hidden during this time, a full-scale war, thousands of
denying DKs Communist affiliations. inhabitants from the eastern parts of
He wanted the revolution to be seen Cambodia, suspected of being pro-
as uniquely Khmer. In reality, he Vietnamese, were executed. Several
borrowed many policies and slogans DK cadres, including a 25-year-old
directly from Maoist China. regimental commander called Hun
In 1975, the regime executed Sen, sought refuge in Vietnam, where
thousands of former soldiers and the Vietnamese began recruiting
ex-civil servants. Paranoid about refugees into a liberation army.

Khmer Rouge fighters celebrating their victory as
they enter Phnom Penh, April 17, 1975
A DEMOCRATIC STATE
In December 1978, Vietnam invaded
DK with a force of over 100,000 men.
Phnom Penh fell in January 1979, and
Pol Pot, his colleagues, and
thousands of DK troops fled to
Thailand. The three years, eight
months, and twenty days of tyranny,
as Cambodians commonly refer to
this period, were over, but not before
over 1.5 million people had met with
unexpected, and often violent, deaths.
The Vietnamese established a friendly
regime in Phnom Penh that called
itself the Peoples Republic of

TIMELINE Khmer Rouge soldier

1975 Cambodian
Communists come to power
1984 Hun Sen 1991 Paris Peace
1977 War breaks becomes prime 1989 Vietnamese withdraw Conference establishes
out between DK minister military support UN protectorate over
and Vietnam Cambodia
1975 1980 1985 1990 1995
1979 Vietnamese topple 1993 Coalition
DK, establish pro- government takes
Vietnamese regime office after UN-
sponsored elections
1976 Democratic Kampuchea (DK)
established, with Pol Pot as prime minister Paris Peace Conference, 1991
 T H E H I S T O R Y O F C A M B O D I A 41

Kampuchea (PRK). Hun Sen; at 27,

he was named foreign minister, the
youngest in the world to hold the post.
Protected by 200,000 Vietnamese
troops, the PRK moved cautiously to
stabilize the country. It re-opened
schools, re-introduced money, and
allowed the revival of Buddhism.
Unfortunately, although the horrors
of the Khmer Rouge regime had now
become widely known, DK retained
Cambodias seat at the UN, because
Coronation ceremony of King Norodom Sihamoni,
China, the US, and their allies
October 29, 2004
vigorously opposed the Vietnamese
invasion. This isolated PRK from all Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) was
except the former Soviet Bloc. As a the most expensive UN operation to
result, most of the assistance the coun- date and accomplished mixed results.
try needed to recover never arrived. They held fresh elections in July
1993, won by the royalists. Sihanouk
PEACE AT LAST was crowned king for the second
Vietnam withdrew its troops from time, with Hun Sen serving as prime
Cambodia in 1989, and the PRK minister. Initially, the SOC and DK
renamed itself the State of Cambodia factions refused to disarm, which
(SOC), rejecting Marxism-Leninism. forced the victors into an uneasy
The PRK party structures coalition that lasted until
remained in place, and 1997, when the Khmer
political opposition was Rouge finally collapsed.
dealt with severely. Over In the new millennium,
the next two years, foreign inves tment and
Cambodias fate hung in assistance poured in, as
the balance. did millions of tourists.
A major international King Sihanouk retired in
conference held in Paris 2004, succeeded by his
in 1991, however, decided son, Norodom Sihamoni.
to establish a temporary In 2007, the UN estab-
UN protectorate over lished the Extraordinary
Cambodia to disarm the Chambers in the Courts
three Cambodian factions of Cambodia (ECCC) to
that opposed the PRK try leaders of the Khmer
Sihanouks Funcinpec Cambodian soldiers holding Rouge. Pol Pot was never
party, the Khmer Rouge, portraits of Norodom Sihanouk tried by the tribunal as
and the Khmer Peoples National h e d i e d i n 1 9 9 8 . H u n S e n s
Liberation Front repatriate over Cambodian Peoples Party has
300,000 Khmer from Thailand, and tightened control over politics and for
prepare the country for general elec- the first time, the kingdom is at peace
tions. The United Nations Transitional and part of the globalized world.

Norodom Sihamoni at his coronation

1997 Hun Sen deposes

his coalition partners;
Khmer Rouge movement 2007 International tribunal
finally collapses to try leaders of DK opens
in Phnom Penh Cambodian flag
2000 2005 2010 2015
2004 Sihanouk retires as
king and is replaced by Prime Minister
1998 Cambodia his son, Sihamoni Hun Sen in
joins ASEAN Phnom Penh