Cambodia – from the Khmer Empire of Angkor to a rebuilt kingdom
The lands along the Mekong were home to early states from the first centuries AD, including Funan and later Chenla, which absorbed strong Indian influences in religion, script and art. From the ninth century the Khmer Empire rose to become one of the great powers of Southeast Asia. Its capital at Angkor, with temples such as Angkor Wat and the Bayon, is one of the largest and most impressive archaeological sites in the world.
From the fifteenth century the centre of Khmer power shifted south towards Phnom Penh, and the weakened kingdom was squeezed for centuries between its more powerful neighbours, Siam and Vietnam. In 1863 Cambodia became a French protectorate and later part of French Indochina. It gained independence in 1953 under King Norodom Sihanouk.
The Vietnam War spilled across the border, bringing heavy American bombing and civil war. In 1975 the Khmer Rouge seized power and emptied the cities. Under Pol Pot's regime an estimated 1.5 to 2 million people died through executions, forced labour, starvation and disease. In 1979 Vietnamese forces overthrew the regime, but conflict continued for years. The Paris Peace Agreements of 1991 and UN-supervised elections in 1993 restored the monarchy, and a tribunal later tried senior Khmer Rouge leaders.
Today Cambodia is shaped by the legacy of Angkor, its Buddhist traditions, a young population and the long work of remembrance and reconstruction.
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