Khmer Angkor Driver

Cambodia is one country that has its own history very long time ago, good, bad, and ugly is normal in Cambodia. During Angkor period was the great empire, more developed, richest culture and with rivaled war against neighboring countries such as Cham and Vietnam, and later it was fallen into the dark period around the fifteen century. Around the seventeen to nineteen centuries the Vietnamese and Thai influences in Cambodia which rolled as the masters of deputed princes, then the nineteen century French protectorate made the neighboring powers reductions, after that the French colonized in Cambodia around 90 years. After Cambodia received independent completely the king Seihanuok ruled until the General Lon Nol toppled him from chair, this time Pol Pot created the Khmer Rouge to fight against the Lon Nol and American troops in Cambodia, then in 1975 AD Khmer Rouge took power and evacuated several citizens to the country side for growing rice and then felt into genocide, around 1.8 millions people had been killed. In 1979 Vietnamese troops and Khmer patriots drove the Khmer Rouge out, but the Khmer Rouge still hid in the dense jungle as guerillas and fought against the Vietnamese and the Phnom Penh government, until 1998 the big amount of Khmer Rouge returned into the government and then the government integrated them as the Cambodian Royal army.

• Early State of Cambodia

  No one knows for certain how long people have lived in what is now Cambodia, as studies of its prehistory are undeveloped. A carbon-l4 dating from a cave in northwestern Cambodia suggests that people using stone tools lived in the cave as early as 4000 BC, and rice has been grown on Cambodian soil since well before the 1st century ad. The first Cambodians likely arrived long before either of these dates. They probably migrated from the north, although nothing is known about their language or their way of life.

  By the beginning of the 1st century ad, Chinese traders began to report the existence of inland and coastal kingdoms in Cambodia. These kingdoms already owed much to Indian culture, which provided alphabets, art forms, architectural styles, religions (Hinduism and Buddhism), and a stratified class system. Local beliefs that stressed the importance of ancestral spirits coexisted with the Indian religions and remain powerful today.

• The Kingdom Funan

   Cambodia's modem-day culture has its roots in the 1st to 6th centuries in a state referred to as Funan, known as the oldest Indianized state in Southeast Asia. It is from this period that evolvedCambodia's language, part of the Mon-Khmer family, which contains elements of Sanskrit, its ancient religion of Hinduism and Buddhism. Historians have noted, for example, that Cambodians can be distinguished from their neighbors by their clothing, checkered scarves known as Kramas are worn instead of straw hats.

  Early Chinese writers referred to a kingdom in Cambodia that they called Funan. Modern-day archaeological findings provide evidence of a commercial society centered on the Mekong Delta that flourished from the 1st century to the 6th century. Among these findings are excavations of a port city from the 1st century, located in the region of Oc-Eo in what is now southern Vietnam. Served by a network of canals, the city was an important trade link between India and China. Ongoing excavations in southern Cambodia have revealed the existence of another important city near the present-day village of Angkor Borei.

• Chenla Kingdom

  Towards the middle of the 6th century, however, the feudal states became unsettled, and the most powerful of them, the Chenla or Kambuja (Cambodia as such), proclaimed its independence and gradually enlarged, to Funan's disadvantage, to eventually take her capital after three quarters of a century of battle during the life of Isanavarman. Gaining the throne around 615, he reigned until 644 and founded the new capital of Isanapura, probably at Sambor-Prei Kuk near Kompong Thom.

  A little afterwards, and for the whole of the 8th century, the kingdom divided into two rival states; the coastal or lower Chenla, comprising Cochinchina and the lower Mekong basin to the south of the chain of the Dangrek mountains, and the inland or upper Chenla corresponding to the territories situated to the north of these as far as upper Laos. During this period the lower Chenla suffered invasion from Java and Sumatra, where the Malayan empire of Shrivijaya had become powerful. Indeed from Java, at the beginning of the 9th century, came the king, evidently there in exile, who was to re-establish the unity of the kingdom and initiate the so called "angkorian" period.

• Angkorian Period

  At the late of 7th century and early 8th century Chenla broke in to two divisions, called Chenla land and Water. Chenla land is situated to the south along the gulf of the Thailand. Chenla land was fairly stable during the 8th century, In this period the Javanese probably invaded and controlled apart of the country Akrain area that was known for it's brilliant achievements in architectures and sculptures that were begun by Jayavarman II who was the prince distantly related to early dynasty, who returned from Java around the year 800 AD, ( ruled 802-850 AD) formed  himself successively at different capitals around the Tonle Sap Lake such as:  Banteay Prei Nokor, Kudisvara Pura, Amrendra Pura, Hariharalaya Pura and Mohandra Pura, at last of which was Hariharalaya Pura, It is nowadays in Rolous, 14km at the east of modern town Siem Reap. His majesty king Jayavarman II took to build several temples on the top Kulen Mountain, especially prasat Krus Aram Rong Chen which is a first mountain temple in reign that supposed to be the temple for Chakravaltin ( the ruler of universe, that identified God king dynasty " Devaraja cult " ), the temples in the reign are: Prasat Krus Aram Rong Chen, Prasat Neak Ta, Domrei Krap, O Paong, Phnom Hobb.... His successor was Jayavarman III (854-877 AD), who ruled very short times, the temple the reign are: Prei Monti, Ta Peang Pong and Kok Po...

  Indravarman I (877-889) was a nephew of Jayavarman II that inherited after Jayavarman III, and he took to built at first a huge reservoir Indratataka at least seven day after he reigned. This king built many temples in his reign too, such as: Preah Ko (879 AD) was a first temple the took from bricks with its beautiful stuccos, sex towers stand on a plinth, for dedication his Predecessors especially Jayavarman II. Bakong (881 AD) was the state temple that stood at the center of his capital city Hariharalaya and first artificial mountain temple with five staircases that took to built from massive sand stones and dedicated to Shiva and Linga Indresvara in its central santuary.

  Yasovarman I (889-910), he was the royal son of Indravarman I. He inherited after his father and then he built Lo Lei temple in 893 AD and dedicated to his Grand parents and parents. Then he moved the capital from Hariharalaya into Angkor. Here he built the huge capital city named Yasodharapura that enclosing four kilometers in square, centered at Phnom Bakheng. He built three temples on the peak of hills that dedicated to Trinity gods Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma. One is on top Phnom Krom, Phnom Bok and Phnom Bakheng, Bakheng was a state temple that centered in the Capital. The huge East Baray is measuring 7 km x 1.8km.

  Two sons succeeded Yasovarman I, then Jayavarman IV ( reigned 928-944 AD ), a usurper, set up another capital at Koh Ker, north-east of Angkor in 928 AD, and ruled for some 20 years. Colossal stone sculptures were produced during his reign and fine examples are on view at National Museum Phnom Penh. The Temple in his reign are: Prasat Thom, Prasat Linga, Baray Rohal, Prasat Chen, Banteay Picheann....

  His nephew, Rajendravarnan II (reigned in 944- 968 AD), brought the capital back in to Angkor Yasodharapura in 944 AD and consolidated the empire.  He built two great mountain temples ofEast Mebon and Pre Rup and staged a successful military campaign against Champa.

  Jayavarman V was his royal son, who inherited (968-1001 AD), who was a child when he ascended the throne. He left two significant architectural legacies: The temple Banteay Srei and the majestic mountain temple Ta Keo which dedicated to home of god king or god Shiva.

  Suryavarman I (reined in 1002-1050 AD) was the next splendid king. He declared dynastic lineage to a family at Nokor Sri Louvo or Nokor Thammarat in the south of peninsular Thailand, but his origins are obscure.  He strengthened the organization of the government, established internal security, and achieved political acclaim for extending the territorial boundaries southwards to thegulf of Thailand through a series of wars. He conquered the Mon kingdom of central and south ofThailand, sometime around 1025 AD, and established a Khmer centre at Louvo (Lophorei).

  Udayatiyavarman II (reigned in 1050- 1066 AD), He was the royal son of the king Suryavarman I. In his reign was so peaceful, he did not combated against another kings like his father.  He took to build Ba Phoun temple for Shivaism, West Mebon for Vishnuism. He built a large reservoir that so called West Baray which measures 8km X 2.2km.

  Suryavarman II ( reigned in 1113-1150 AD ), was one of brilliant of the Khmer rulers and  the builder of great temple Angkor Wat, and also he established relations  with China and sent embassies to the Song Emperor. At the near end of his reign he engaged in several wars against Chams.  In 1145 of AD, he attacked, defeated the king, and sacked the royal capital. He especially built many temples in Angkor such as: Angkor Wat, Chau Say Tevoda, Thomaon and Banteay Samre.... The king emerged twice at the Bas-reliefs of Angkor Wat at Southwest, first he sat in his throne and the second at his elephant while he marched his army direction to Champa and Anam.

  Jayavarman VII (reigned in 1181-1220 AD), he undertook a massive building program and is accredited for construction more monuments, roads, bridges, rest houses than all other kings put together. He was a follower of Mahayana Buddhism and this spiritual dedication permeated every aspect of his reign. He lived outside Angkor for several years before he became king and then he returned in to Angkor. Before he took the power, the Chams invaded in Angkor Thom 1177, battled in and destroyed the royal capital. The Chams launched a brilliantly planned and unexpected attack by sailing their fleet around the coast from centralVietnam and up the Mekong River to the great lake, and then ravaged the city and setting it on fire. The Chams occupied Cambodia for next four years until  Jayavarman VII staged a war, regained the capital and ascended the throne at the age of 56, then he ruled around 39 years more. After he ruled in Angkor, he invaded in to Champa and sacked Champa king as a prisoner of Khmer Kingdom in 1190, claiming the military victory.

  Jayavarman IIX (1243-1295 AD), this king was a king that destroyed a lot of Buddha's figures at the Buddhist temples and he combated against the Mongolian. 

  Indravarman III (reigned 1295-1307 AD); Hinayana Buddhism became the state religion ofCambodia. In 350, the Thais established their capital at Ayuthaya and became a great threat toAngkor. The names and dates of the kings who ruled during the remainder of the Angkor period are obscure and dependent on unreliable chronicles composed at the later date. Angkor remained the Capital until 1432 AD, but from then onwards the Khmers moved, by degrees, southwards to Phnom Penh.

  Some scholars maintain that decline was hovering in the wings at the time Angkor Wat was built, when the Angkorian Empire was at the height of its remarkable productivity. There are indications that the irrigation network was overworked and slowly starting to silt up due to the massive deforestations that had taken place in the heavily populated areas to the north and east ofAngkor. Massive construction projects such as Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom no doubt put an enormous strain on the royal coffers and on thousands of slaves and common people who subsidized them in hard work and taxes. Following the reign of Jayavarman VII, temple construction effectively ground to a halt, in large part because Jayavarman VII’s  public works quarried local sandstone into oblivion and the population was exhausted.

  Another important aspect of this period was the decline of Cambodian political influence on the peripheries of its empire. At the same time, the Thais were ascendant, having migrated south fromYunnan to escape Kublai Khan and his Mongol hordes. The Thais, first from Sukhothai, later Ayuthaya, grew in strength and made repeated incursions into Angkor, finally sacking the city in 1431 and making off with thousands of intellectuals, artisans and dancers from the royal court. During this period, perhaps drawn by the opportunities f trade with China and fearful of the increasingly bellicose Thais, the Khmer elite began to migrate to the Phnom Penh area. The capital shifted several times in the 16th century but eventually settled in present day Phnom Penh

• The Middle Period or dark period of Khmer

  This map of Southeast Asia in the mid-16th century shows the major centers of power in the region prior to the arrival of Europeans. During this period, these kingdoms were constantly at war. Eventually the Kingdom of Ayutthaya (modern Thailand) expanded to the north and east, absorbing much of Lan Na and Lan Xang (modern Laos). Dai Viet (modern Vietnam) expanded to the south, taking over the remaining territory of the Kingdom of Champa and the southern tip of the Kingdomof Lovek (modern Cambodia). Toungoo evolved into modern Myanmar.

  The four centuries of Cambodian history following the abandonment of Angkor are poorly recorded, and therefore historians know little about them beyond the bare outlines. Cambodiaretained its language and its cultural identity despite frequent invasions by the powerful Thaikingdom of Ayutthaya and incursions by Vietnamese forces. Indeed, for much of this period,Cambodia was a relatively prosperous trading kingdom with its capital at Lovek, near present-dayPhnom Penh. European visitors wrote of the Buddhist piety of the inhabitants of the Kingdom ofLovek. During this period, Cambodians composed the country's most important work of literature, the Reamker (based on the Indian myth of the Ramayana).

  In the late 18th century, a civil war in Vietnam and disorder following a Burmese invasion ofAyutthaya spilled over into Cambodia and devastated the area. In the early 19th century, newly established dynasties in Vietnam and Thailand competed for control over the Cambodian court. The warfare that ensued, beginning in the l830s, came close to destroying Cambodia.

• French Rule

  Phnom Penh, as planned by the French, came to resemble a town in provincial France. By the second half of the 19th century, France had begun to expand its colonial penetration of Indochina (the peninsula between India and China). In 1863 France accepted the Cambodian king's invitation to impose a protectorate over his severely weakened kingdom, halting the country's dismemberment by Thailand and Vietnam. For the next 90 years, France ruled Cambodia. In theory, French administration was indirect, but in practice the word of French officials was final on all major subjects-including the selection of Cambodia's kings. The French left Cambodian institutions, including the monarchy, in place, and gradually developed a Cambodian civil service, organized along French lines. The French administration neglected education but built roads, port facilities, and other public works. Phnom Penh, as planned by the French, came to resemble a town in provincial France.

  The French invested relatively little in Cambodia's economy compared to that of Vietnam, which was also under French control. However, they developed rubber plantations in eastern Cambodia, and the kingdom exported sizable amounts of rice under their rule. The French also restored the Angkor temple complex and deciphered Angkorean inscriptions, which gave Cambodians a clear idea of their medieval heritage and kindled their pride in Cambodia's past. Because France left the monarchy, Buddhism, and the rhythms of rural life undisturbed, anti-French feeling was slow to develop.

  King Sihanouk, through skillful maneuvering, managed to gain Cambodia's independence peacefully in 1953. During World War II (1939-1945), Japanese forces entered French Indochina but left the compliant French administration in place.

  On the verge of defeat in 1945, the Japanese removed their French collaborators and installed a nominally independent Cambodian government under the recently crowned young king, Norodom Sihanouk. France re-imposed its protectorate in early 1946 but allowed the Cambodians to draft a constitution and to form political parties.

  Soon afterward, fighting erupted throughout Indochina as nationalist groups, some with Communist ideologies, struggled to win independence from France. Most of the fighting took place in Vietnam, in a conflict known as the First Indochina War (1946-1954). In Cambodia, Communist guerrilla forces allied with Vietnamese Communists gained control of much of the country. However, King Sihanouk, through skillful maneuvering, managed to gain Cambodia's independence peacefully in 1953, a few months earlier than Vietnam. The Geneva Accords of 1954, which marked the end of the First Indochina War, acknowledged Sihanouk's government as the sole legitimate authority inCambodia.

• Modern State of Cambodia

  Sihanouk's campaign for independence sharpened his political skills and increased his ambitions. In 1955 he abdicated the throne in favor of his father to pursue a full-time political career, free of the constitutional constraints of the monarchy. In a move aimed at dismantling Cambodia's fledgling political parties, Sihanouk inaugurated a national political movement known as the Sangkum Reastr Niyum (People's Socialist Community), whose members were not permitted to belong to any other political group. The Sangkum won all the seats in the national elections of 1955, benefiting from Sihanouk's popularity and from police brutality at many polling stations. Sihanouk served as prime minister of Cambodia until 1960, when his father died and he was named head of state. Sihanouk remained widely popular among the people but was brutal to his opponents.

  In the late 1950s the Cold War (period of tension between the United States and its allies and theUnion of Soviet Socialist Republics, or USSR, and its allies) intensified in Asia. In this climate, foreign powers, including the United States, the USSR, and China, courted Sihanouk. Cambodia's importance to these countries stemmed from events in neighboring Vietnam, where tension had begun to mount between a Communist regime in the north and a pro-Western regime in the south. The USSR supported the Vietnamese Communists, while the United States opposed them, andChina wanted to contain Vietnam for security reasons. Each of the foreign powers hoped that Cambodian support would bolster its position in the region. Sihanouk pursued a policy of neutrality that drew substantial economic aid from the competing countries.

  In 1965, however, Sihanouk broke off diplomatic relations with the United States. At the same time, he allowed North Vietnamese Communists, then fighting the Vietnam War against the United States and the South Vietnamese in southern Vietnam, to set up bases on Cambodian soil. As warfare intensified in Vietnam, domestic opposition to Sihanouk from both radical and conservative elements increased. The Cambodian Communist organization, known as the Workers Party of Kampuchea (later renamed the Communist Party of Kampuchea, or CPK), had gone underground after failing to win any concessions at the Geneva Accords, but now they took up arms once again. As the economy became unstable, Cambodia became difficult to govern single-handedly. In need of economic and military aid, Sihanouk renewed diplomatic relations with the United States. Shortly thereafter, in 1969, U.S. president Richard Nixon authorized a bombing campaign against Cambodiain an effort to destroy Vietnamese Communist sanctuaries there.

• Khmer Republic

  In March 1970 Cambodia's legislature, the National Assembly, deposed Sihanouk while he was abroad. The conservative forces behind the coup were pro-Western and anti-Vietnamese. General Lon Nol, the country's prime minister, assumed power and sent his poorly equipped army to fight the North Vietnamese Communist forces encamped in border areas. Lon Nol hoped that U.S. aid would allow him to defeat his enemies, but American support was always geared to events inVietnam. In April U.S. and South Vietnamese troops invaded Cambodia, searching for North Vietnamese, who moved deeper into Cambodia. Over the next year, North Vietnamese troops destroyed the offensive capacity of Lon Nol's army.

  In October 1970 Lon Nol inaugurated the Khmer Republic. Sihanouk, who had sought asylum inChina, was condemned to death despite his absence. By that time, Chinese and North Vietnamese leaders had persuaded the prince to establish a government in exile, allied with North Vietnam and dominated by the CPK, whom Sihanouk referred to as the Khmer Rouge (French for "Red Khmers").

  In 1975, despite massive infusions of U.S. aid, the Khmer Republic collapsed, and Khmer Rouge forces occupied Phnom Penh.

  The United States continued bombing Cambodia until the Congress of the United States halted the campaign in 1973. By that time, Lon Nol's forces were fighting not only the Vietnamese but also the Khmer Rouge. The general lost control over most of the Cambodian countryside, which had been devastated by U.S. bombing. The fighting severely damaged the nation's infrastructure and caused high numbers of casualties. Hundreds of thousands of refugees flooded into the cities. In 1975, despite massive infusions of U.S. aid, the Khmer Republic collapsed, and Khmer Rouge forces occupied Phnom Penh. Three weeks later, North Vietnamese forces achieved victory in South Vietnam.

• Democratic Kampuchea

Pol Pot Pol Pot is a pseudonym for the Cambodian guerrilla commander Saloth Sar, who organized the Communist guerrilla force known as the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge ousted General Lon Nol in 1975, establishing a brutal Communist regime that ruled until 1979.

  Immediately after occupying Cambodia's towns, the Khmer Rouge ordered all city dwellers into the countryside to take up agricultural tasks. The move reflected both the Khmer Rouge's contempt for urban dwellers, whom they saw as enemies, and their utopian vision of Cambodia as a nation of busy, productive peasants. The leader of the regime, who remained concealed from the public, was Saloth Sar, who used the pseudonym Pol Pot. The government, which called itself Democratic Kampuchea (DK), claimed to be seeking total independence from foreign powers but accepted economic and military aid from its major allies, China and North Korea.

  Khmer Rouge Carnage The Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, killed close to 1.7 million people in the mid- to late 1970s. In this photo, human bones and skulls fill a museum in Cambodia that had been used as a prison and torture center during Pol Pot's reign, Sygma.

  Without identifying themselves as Communists, the Khmer Rouge quickly introduced a series of far-reaching and often painful socialist programs. The people given the most power in the new government were the largely illiterate rural Cambodians who had fought alongside the Khmer Rouge in the civil war. DK leaders severely restricted freedom of speech, movement, and association, and forbade all religious practices. The regime controlled all communications along with access to food and information. Former city dwellers, now called "new people," were particularly badly treated. The Khmer Rouge killed intellectuals, merchants, bureaucrats, members of religious groups, and any people suspected of disagreeing with the party. Millions of other Cambodians were forcibly relocated, deprived of food, tortured, or sent into forced labor.  While in power, the Khmer Rouge murdered, worked to death, or killed by starvation close to 1.7 million Cambodians.

  The Khmer Rouge also attacked neighboring countries in an attempt to reclaim territories lost byCambodia many centuries before. After fighting broke out with Vietnam (then united under the Communists) in 1977, DK's ideology became openly racist. Ethnic minorities in Cambodia, including ethnic Chinese and Vietnamese, were hunted down and expelled or massacred. Purges of party members accused of treason became widespread. People in eastern Cambodia, suspected of cooperating with Vietnam, suffered severely, and hundreds of thousands of them were killed. While in power, the Khmer Rouge murdered, worked to death, or killed by starvation close to 1.7 million Cambodians-more than one-fifth of the country's population.

• Developing Period of Cambodia

  In October 1991 Cambodia's warring factions, the UN, and a number of interested foreign nations signed an agreement in Paris intended to end the conflict in Cambodia. The agreement provided for a temporary power-sharing arrangement between a United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) and a Supreme National Council (SNC) made up of delegates from the various Cambodian factions. Prince Norodom Sihanouk, the former king and prime minister of Cambodia, served as president of the SNC.

  The Paris accords and the UN protectorate pushed Cambodia out of its isolation and introduced competitive politics, dormant since the early 1950s. UNTAC sponsored elections for a national assembly in May 1993, and for the first time in Cambodian history a majority of voters rejected an armed, incumbent regime. A royalist party, known by its French acronym FUNCINPEC, won the most seats in the election, followed by the CPP, led by Hun Sen. Reluctant to give up power, Hun Sen threatened to upset the election results. Under a compromise arrangement, a three-party coalition formed a government headed by two prime ministers; FUNCINPEC's Prince Norodom Ranariddh, one of Sihanouk's sons, became first prime minister, while Hun Sen became second prime minister.

  In September 1993 the government ratified a new constitution restoring the monarchy and establishing the Kingdom of Cambodia. Sihanouk became king for the second time. After the 1993 elections, no foreign countries continued to recognize the DK as Cambodia's legal government. The DK lost its UN seat as well as most of its sources of international aid.

  The unrealistic power-sharing relationship between Ranariddh and Hun Sen worked surprisingly well for the next three years, but relations between the parties were never smooth. The CPP's control over the army and the police gave the party effective control of the country, and it dominated the coalition government. In July 1997 Hun Sen staged a violent coup against FUNCINPEC and replaced Prince Ranariddh, who was overseas at the time, with Ung Huot, a more pliable FUNCINPEC figure. Hun Sen's action shocked foreign nations and delayed Cambodia's entry into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). By the end of 1997, Cambodia was the only nation in the region that was not a member.

  Despite the coup, elections scheduled for July 1998 proceeded as planned. Hundreds of foreign observers who monitored the elections affirmed that voting was relatively free and fair; however, the CPP harassed opposition candidates and party workers before and after the elections, when dozens were imprisoned and several were killed. The election gave the CPP a plurality of votes, but results, especially in towns, where voting could not be dictated by local authorities, indicated that the party did not enjoy widespread popular support. Prince Ranariddh and another opposition candidate, Sam Rainsy, took refuge abroad and contested the outcome of the election. In November the CPP and FUNCINPEC reached an agreement whereby Hun Sen became sole prime minister and Ranariddh became president of the National Assembly. The parties formed a coalition government, dividing control over the various cabinet ministries. In early 1999 the constitution was amended to create a Senate, called for in the 1998 agreement. These signs that Cambodia's political situation was stabilizing encouraged ASEAN to admit Cambodia to its membership a short time later.

  Pol Pot died in 1998, and by early 1999 most of the remaining Khmer Rouge troops and leaders had surrendered. Rebel troops were integrated into the Cambodian army. In 1999 two Khmer Rouge leaders were arrested and charged with genocide for their part in the atrocities.

  Since the Paris Accords of 1991, Cambodia's economic growth has depended on millions of dollars of foreign aid. Foreign interest in Cambodia has decreased, however, and the country has received diminishing economic assistance. This development, along with the continued lack of openness in Cambodian politics, has made Cambodia's prospects for democratization dim, as well as its chances for sustained economic growth.

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