Cambodian History Timeline

The following is very much a work in progress on the history of Cambodia and the Khmer. The dates are largely based on the works of Roe, Lowman, Coedes, Chandler, and Liam C. Kelley. We hope to update this and further explore the fascinating history of this corner of mainland Southeast Asia at a future date.

245-250: Arrival of first Chinese envoys in Funan

357: Funan reported in Chinese sources to have offered to send tame elephants to China

514: Death of King Jayavarman

517: Envoy to China from Rudravarman

519: Envoy from Funan to China in 519

530: Envoy from Rudravarman to China in 530

535: Envoy from Rudravarman to China in 535

539: Envoy sent to China from Rudravarman

612: First (known) inscription in Khmer at Angkor Borei

616/17: Chinese reports of Chenla, former vassal of Funan now dominant

638: 4 embassies from the northwest of Khmer territory came to China

667: Inscription near Ba Phnom: shows 4 generations of an official family serving 5 kings (Rudravarman, Bhavavarman, Citrasena-Mahendravarman, Isanavarman, and Jayavarman I)

671-695: Chinese monk I-ching/Yi-tsing traveled in Southeast Asia

706: Split between Water Zhenla and Land Zhenla said to have taken place

770: First inscription of Jayavarman II

802: Beginning of Angkor period with Jayavarman II

817: Cham inscription in Sanskrit mentions their victory against Cambodia

851: The merchant Sulayman said to have traveled to Southeast Asia, heard tale of "Java" (Maharaja of Zabaj) defeating a Khmer king

877: Reign of Indravarman of Cambodia attested 

889-c. 910: Reign of Yasovarman I

928-941: Reign of Jayavarman IV

944-968: Reign of Rajendravarman. Centralization of Khmer realm may have developed during his reign

950: Rajendravarman raids Champa, taking a gold statue from the temple at Po Nagar

1002-1050: Reign of Suryavarman I

1011: Loyalty oats to Suryavarman I inscribed on stone

1025: Inscription from reign of Suryavarman near Lopburi

1050-1066: Reign of Udāyadityavarman II, who built the Baphuon

c.1052: Sdok Kak Thom Inscription 

1056: Cham raid of Sambhupura

1066-1080: Reign of Harshavarman III

1113-1150: Reign of Suryavarman II, builder of Angkor Wat

1115: Arrival of a tribute mission from Lopburi to China

1120: Tribute mission from Zhenla to China

1166/7: Reign of usurper from Lopburi at Angkor, Tribhuvanādityavarman

1171: A mandarin from Fukien landed on the coast of Champa, and said to have shared military expertise to help Chams defeat Angkor 

1177: Fall of Angkor to Cham forces, led by Jaya Indravarman IV

1182: Reign of Jayavarman VII began

1190: Jayavarman VII's invasion of Vijaya

1243- 1295: reign of Jayavarman VIII

1282/3: Chinese records of a mission from Xian (Siam)

1296: Śrī Śrīndravarman became king of Cambodia

1296-7: Zhao Daguan visited Angkor 

1351: Foundation of Ayutthaya

1369: Angkor temporarily abandoned (Mabbett)

1431: Letter cited by Liam Kelley indicating Siamese overthrow of the ruler of Sanfoqi (Cambodia?)

c.1570-1594: Reign of Sattha, who was well-disposed to Europeans. Was interested in an alliance with the Spanish and Portuguese

1570s: Cambodian king may have temporarily transferred the court to Angkor

1583: Thai attack on Longvaek

c.1585-1586: Spanish priest Antonio de Magdalena visited Angkor

1587: Thai unsuccessfully besieged Longvaek

1594: Thai sacking of Cambodian capital, Longvaek 

1594-1597: Reign of s Ram Jerng Prei

1603-1618: Reign of Paramaraja IV 

1618-1627: Reign of Jai Jettha II

1623: Vietnamese ask for a customs post at Prei Nokor (Saigon)

1642-1659: Reign of Ramadhipati I, who converted to Islam and was overthrown in 1659.

1672-1673: Reign of Padumaraja II

1680s: by this time, the future Saigon was seized by the Vietnamese from the Khmer

1747: Rebellion led by a daughter of Ang Im

1772: Phnom Penh destroyed by Thai/Siamese army

1775-1779: Reign of Ang Non III

1820: Revolt against Vietnamese led by a monk, Kai

1836: Revolt of Kom Svay against Vietnam

1860-1904: Reign of Norodom

1936: Appearance of a Khmer language newspaper called Angkor Wat

A History of Cambodia

Due to our growing interest in Angkor, we felt it was necessary to read a "national" history to understand the larger trajectory of the Khmer people before, during, and after Angkor. David Chandler's A History of Cambodia is still the standard reference in English, so we began there. And Chandler, to his credit, does an excellent job synthesizing various sources on prehistoric, ancient, Angkorean, post-Angkor, colonial, and post-colonial Cambodia. It's a daunting task, particularly since much of the source material has severe limitations or it has not survived at all. Chandler endeavored to do  justice to this bewildering task of covering more than 2000 years of history well. In terms of Angkor and its decline, he is cautious and seems to agree with Vickery's interpretation of the problematic royal chronicles that cover the 15th and 16th centuries. Nonetheless, Angkor was still visited and used by monks and the Cambodian royal family. To what extent there really are so many parallels between different periods in Cambodian history is another question we cannot resolve. Chandler, for his part, sees them frequently in terms of Cambodia's destiny as a weaker power in the sphere of influence of Siam and Vietnam in the 1600s-1800s, as well as periods under colonial French Indochina or the Vietnam War that engulfed the region. After reading this history, which is largely critical of the state of affairs in Cambodia's political class (repression, arbitrary rule, incompetence, genocide/crimes against humanity, especially in the DK years under Pol Pot), one wonders to what extent the characterization of relations between the Cambodian state and its population was like this before the capital shifted south to Phnom Penh. Was Angkor really a centralized state which supported intensive agriculture, irrigation projects, and infrastructure while Cambodia afterwards was more commercial-oriented and the state unwilling or unable to fund similar projects of the Angkor period?

Southeast Asian History

We have been thinking about Southeast Asia and how the history of Asia would look from a perspective centered on that region. In order to supplement the scraps we can recall from D.G.E. Hall, we decided to read a newer survey of the region's history, this one focusing on maritime trade. Kenneth Hall's A History of Early Southeast Asia: Maritime Trade and Social Development, 100-1500 is a good start. Unlike the earlier Hall, this work reflects the advances in archaeology in the region. That, and the generations of postcolonial scholarship on the area leads to different emphases and historical preoccupations. D.G.E. Hall was a pioneer for many reasons, but it is interesting to see how the younger generation of scholars have sought to define the region and its hugely important role in exchange networks, maritime trade, and world history.

For Hall, the history of Southeast Asia is one defined by networked relations of downstream polities connected to upriver and hinterland populations providing the desired export goods. In addition to this type of early polity, one can also find mainland and Javanese states which engaged in agricultural innovation and irrigation projects like canals and hydraulic networks. Indian and Chinese influences, particularly the concept of the mandala and Hindu, Buddhist, and Confucian religious and political models, were adopted through local agency and adapted to suit local needs. Instead of viewing early Southeast Asian civilizations like Funan as products of Indian merchants or migrants, local elites took the initiative to adapt ideas and concepts from other lands into their own political systems. According to this study, most Southeast Asian states were not highly centralized, and they placed more emphasis on manpower or access to labor than land. Hindu and Buddhist (and later Islamic) notions of sovereignty, ritual authority, and temple networks linked to the royal court allowed for rulers to assert their legitimacy through religious ideology that was built on local traditions. 

Some states, like Pagan, in Burma, relied heavily on the temples in their kingdom but learned how to limit monks from becoming too powerful through accumulation of land and allied artisans. Ingeniously, Pagan sent wealthy monks for reordination in Sri Lanka, thereby stripping them of their authority. In other parts of Southeast Asia, like Champa, which never developed into a centralized polity, or even Srivijaya, a state ruled its hinterland through provincial aristocrats, chiefs or "big men" who had to be incorporated into the state through ritual and redistribution of treasured imports. Over time, some Southeast Asian states also made inroads in terms of incorporating artisans and other non-royal locals in the administration of the state, as in Majahapit. The process appears to have been uneven, as Cebu in the Philippines was still ruled by chiefs with limited authority or in Banda, where a group of merchant origin handled trade between the more communal hinterland society and the outside world. 

In spite of the differences in scale and degree of centralization, Southeast Asian states were undoubtedly centers of commerce. As the source of some of the most prized goods in both China, India and areas to the west, it was additionally a focus of interest for its role in the movement of goods between western lands and East Asia. In this respect, Southeast Asia by 1500 was, as noted by Hall, shaped by forces of capitalism and global exchange long before European colonialism or imperialism. Southeast Asians were also pioneers in this process, too, as Malay sailors navigated across the Indian Ocean and to Chinese ports. Their vast sailing and maritime exchange networks helped lay the foundations for this Afro-Eurasian (and even into Australia and New Guinea, if one considers Sulawesi traders, for instance) network of cultural, economic, and religious exchange. We are starting to wonder if it perhaps useful to consider Bengal and southern China as part of Southeast Asia to reorient our understanding of the region's role in Asian history. Now we need some decent books covering the specifics of Pagan-era Burma, Ayutthaya, Srivijaya and Angkor.