View source for Post-Angkor period

{{Short description|1431–1863 middle period of Cambodian history}}
{{Redirect|Dark ages of Cambodia|the genocide sometimes referred to as such|Cambodian genocide}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox former country
| native_name            = {{native name|km|ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា}}<br>{{transliteration|km|Preăh Réachéanachâkr Kâmpŭchéa}}
| conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Cambodia
| common_name            = Post-Angkor Cambodia
| era                    = Early modern era
| event_start            = [[Fall of Angkor|Siege of Angkor]]
| date_start             = 1431
| event_end              = [[French protectorate of Cambodia|French Cambodia]]
| date_end               = 11 August 1863
| life_span              = 1431–1863
| event1                 = [[Siamese–Cambodian War (1591–1594)|Siamese invasion]]
| date_event1            = 1591–1594
| event2                 = [[Cambodian–Spanish War|Spanish invasion]]
| date_event2            = 1593–1597
| event3                 = [[Fall of Longvek|Siege of Longvek]]
| date_event3            = 1594
| event4                 = [[Nam tiến|Vietnamese settlement]] of the [[Mekong Delta]]
| date_event4            = 17th century
| event5                 = [[Oudong]] era
| date_event5            = 1620
| event6                 = [[Cambodian–Dutch War|War against the Netherlands]]
| date_event6            = 1643–1644
| event7                 = [[Rattanakosin Kingdom (1782–1932)|Rattanakosin]] conquest of [[Battambang]] and [[Siem Reap]]
| date_event7            = 1795
| event8                 = [[Tây Thành province|Nguyễn rule]]
| date_event8            = 1834–1847
| flag_p1                = Flag of Cambodia (pre-1863).svg
| border_p1              = no
| p1                     = Khmer Empire
| flag_s1                = Flag of Cambodia (1863–1948).svg
| s1                     = French protectorate of Cambodia{{!}}French Cambodia
| flag_s2                = Flag of Thailand (1782).svg
| s2                     = Rattanakosin Kingdom (1782–1932){{!}}Siam
| flag_s3                = Heirloom seal of the Nguyễn Dynasty.svg
| s3                     = Nguyễn dynasty{{!}}Vietnam
| image_flag             = Flag of Cambodia (pre-1863).svg
| flag_type              = 
| image_map              = Southeast Asian history - Around 1540.png
| image_map_caption      = Cambodia and its neighbours, 1540
| capital                = {{ubli|[[Phnom Penh|Chaktomuk]] {{nowrap|(1431–1525)}}|[[Longvek]] {{nowrap|(1525–1594)}}|[[Srey Santhor district|Srey Sarchor]] (1594–1620)|[[Oudong]] {{nowrap|(1620–1863)}}}}
| common_languages       = {{ubli|[[Middle Khmer]] (until&nbsp;1777)|[[Khmer language|Modern Khmer]] (from&nbsp;1777)}}
| religion               = [[Theravada Buddhism]]
| currency               = [[Cambodian tical]]
| government_type        = [[Absolute monarchy]]
| leader1                = [[Ponhea Yat]]
| year_leader1           = 1431–1463 (first)
| leader2                = [[Ang Chan I]]
| year_leader2           = 1516–1566
| leader3                = [[Barom Reachea I]]
| year_leader3           = 1566–1576
| leader4                = [[Srei Soriyopear]]
| year_leader4           = 1602–1618
| leader5                = [[Chey Chettha II]]
| year_leader5           = 1618–1628
| leader6                = [[Ang Duong]]
| year_leader6           = 1848–1860
| leader7                = [[Norodom of Cambodia|Ang Voddey]]
| year_leader7           = 1860–1863 (last)
| title_leader           = [[Monarchy of Cambodia|Monarch]]
| stat_year1             = 1500
| stat_pop1              = 1,224,000
| stat_year2             = 1600
| stat_pop2              = 1,419,000
| stat_year3             = 1700
| stat_pop3              = 1,650,000
| stat_year4             = 1800
| stat_pop4              = 2,090,000
| today                  = {{ubl|[[Cambodia]]|[[Vietnam]]|[[Thailand]]}}
| demonym                = {{hlist|class=nowrap|[[Demographics of Cambodia|Cambodian]]|[[Khmer people|Khmer]]}}
}}
{{History of Cambodia}}
The '''post-Angkor period of Cambodia''' ({{langx|km|ប្រទេសកម្ពុជាក្រោយសម័យអង្គរ}}), also called the '''Middle period''',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.history.ac.uk/reviews/item/4562 |title=Murder and Mayhem in Seventeenth Century Cambodia - The so-called middle period of Cambodian history, stretching from... - Reviews in History |date=28 February 2009 |publisher=School of Advanced Study at the University of London |access-date=14 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150615182814/http://www.history.ac.uk/reviews/item/4562 |archive-date=15 June 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> refers to the historical era from the early 15th century to 1863, the beginning of the [[French protectorate of Cambodia]]. As reliable sources (for the 15th and 16th centuries, in particular) are very rare, a defensible and conclusive explanation that relates to concrete events that manifest the decline of the [[Khmer Empire]], recognised unanimously by the scientific community, has so far not been produced.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/jan/14/what-the-collapse-of-ancient-capitals-can-teach-us-about-the-cities-of-today |title= What the collapse of ancient capitals can teach us about the cities of today by Srinath Perur | newspaper= The Guardian |date= 14 January 2015 |access-date=27 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://michaelvickery.org/ |title=Cambodia and Its Neighbors in the 15th Century, Michael Vickery |date= 1 June 2004 | publisher= Michael Vickery’s Publications |access-date=8 June 2015}}</ref> However, most modern historians have approached a consensus in which several distinct and gradual changes of religious, dynastic, administrative and military nature, environmental problems and ecological imbalance<ref>{{cite news |url=http://legacy.utsandiego.com/news/world/20040613-0915-fallenangkor.html |title=Scientists dig and fly over Angkor in search of answers to golden city's fall by Miranda Leitsinger |newspaper=The San Diego Union-Tribune |date=13 June 2004 |access-date=19 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224114808/http://legacy.utsandiego.com/news/world/20040613-0915-fallenangkor.html |archive-date=24 December 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> coincided with shifts of power in Indochina and must all be taken into account to make an interpretation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://archaeology.about.com/od/medieval/qt/Collapse-Of-Angkor.htm |title= What Caused the End of the Khmer Empire By K. Kris Hirst | publisher=about.com |access-date=11 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/90520/Cambodia/52482/The-decline-of-Angkor |title= THE DECLINE OF ANGKOR | publisher= Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=11 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://studiesofasia.wikispaces.com/file/view/EDAS8003A+Assignment+1+Khmer+civilisation+at+Angkor.pdf |title= The emergence and ultimate decline of the Khmer Empire was paralleled with development and subsequent change in religious ideology, together with infrastructure that supported agriculture. | publisher= Studies Of Asia |access-date=11 June 2015}}</ref> In recent years scholars' focus has shifted increasingly towards human–environment interactions and the ecological consequences, including natural disasters, such as flooding and droughts.<ref name="KHMER GEO">{{cite web|url=http://khmer-geo.com/siemreap/event/laser-scans-flesh-out-the-saga-of-cambodias-1200-year-old-lost-city|title=Laser scans flesh out the saga of Cambodias 1200 year old lost city|publisher=Khmer Geo|access-date=11 June 2015|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150614182252/http://khmer-geo.com/siemreap/event/laser-scans-flesh-out-the-saga-of-cambodias-1200-year-old-lost-city|archive-date=14 June 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://phys.org/news/2012-01-explanation-sudden-demise-khmer-empire.html |title= Possible new explanation found for sudden demise of Khmer Empire |date=3 January 2012 | publisher= Phys org |access-date=11 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://studiesofasia.wikispaces.com/file/view/EDAS8003A+Assignment+1+Khmer+civilisation+at+Angkor.pdf |title=The emergence and ultimate decline of the Khmer Empire - ...the Empire experienced two lengthy droughts, during c.1340-1370 and also c.1400-1425...| publisher= Studies of Asia |access-date=19 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Climate as a contributing factor in the demise of Angkor, Cambodia |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=13 April 2010 |volume=107 |issue=15 |pages=6748–6752 | publisher= National Academy of Sciences |last1=Buckley |first1=Brendan M. |last2=Anchukaitis |first2=Kevin J. |last3=Penny |first3=Daniel |last4=Fletcher |first4=Roland |last5=Cook |first5=Edward R. |last6=Sano |first6=Masaki |last7=Nam |first7=Le Canh |last8=Wichienkeeo |first8=Aroonrut |last9=Minh |first9=Ton That |last10=Hong |first10=Truong Mai |doi=10.1073/pnas.0910827107 |pmid=20351244 |pmc=2872380 |bibcode=2010PNAS..107.6748B |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Stone [[epigraphy]] in [[Sdok Kok Thom#Inscription|temples]], which had been the primary source for Khmer history, is already a rarity throughout the 13th century, ends in the third decade of the fourteenth, and does not resume until the mid-16th century. Recording of the [[List of monarchs of Cambodia#Khmer Empire (802–1431)|Royal Chronology]] discontinues with King Jayavarman IX Parameshwara (or Jayavarma-Paramesvara), who reigned from 1327 to 1336. There exists not a single contemporary record of even a king’s name for over 200 years. Construction and maintenance of monumental temple architecture had come to a standstill after [[Jayavarman VII]]'s reign. According to author [[Michael Vickery (historian)|Michael Vickery]] there only exist external sources for Cambodia’s 15th century, the Chinese ''[[Ming Shilu]]'' ("Veritable Records") and the earliest Royal Chronicle of [[Ayutthaya Kingdom|Ayutthaya]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://michaelvickery.org/vickery1996mak.pdf |title= Mak Phœun: Histoire du Cambodge de la fin du XVIe au début du XVIIIe siècle | publisher= Michael Vickery |access-date=11 June 2015}}</ref> which must be interpreted with greatest caution.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://epress.nus.edu.sg/msl/source.html|title=The Ming Shi-lu as a Source for the Study of Southeast Asian History|publisher=Southeast Asia in the Ming Shi-lu|access-date=12 June 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150622235550/http://www.epress.nus.edu.sg/msl/source.html|archive-date=22 June 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref> 

The single incident which undoubtedly reflects reality, the central reference point for the entire 15th century, is a [[Ayutthaya Kingdom|Siamese]] intervention of some undisclosed nature at the capital [[Yasodharapura]] (Angkor Thom) around the year 1431. Historians relate the event to the shift of Cambodia's political centre southward to the river port region of [[Phnom Penh]] and later [[Longvek]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/cambodia/history-kingdom.htm |title= Kingdom of Cambodia - 1431-1863 | publisher= GlobalSecurity |access-date=12 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7i0jGxysUUcC&q=Siamese+intervention+cambodia+1431&pg=PA147 |title= Patriots and Tyrants: Ten Asian Leaders By Ross Marlay, Clark D. Nehe |isbn= 9780847684427 |access-date=12 June 2015|last1= Marlay |first1= Ross |last2= Neher |first2= Clark D. |year= 1999 |publisher= Rowman & Littlefield }}</ref>

Sources for the 16th century are more numerous, although still coming from outside of Cambodia. The kingdom's new capital was [[Longvek]], on the [[Mekong]], which prospered as an integral part of the 16th century [[Indian Ocean trade|Asian maritime trade network]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.siamese-heritage.org/jsspdf/2001/JSS_095_0c_Polenghi_MarinisDellaMisioni1663AnnotatedTranslat.pdf |title= Giovanni Filippo de Marini, Delle Missioni... Chapter VII - Mission of the Kingdom of Cambodia by Cesare Polenghi - It is considered one of the most renowned for trading opportunities: there is abundance... | publisher= The Siam Society |access-date=1 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YNMGBAAAQBAJ&q=Charting+the+Shape+of+Early+Modern+Southeast+Asia&pg=PT10 |title= Charting the Shape of Early Modern Southeast Asia By Anthony Reid |date= August 2000|isbn= 9781630414818 |access-date=14 June 2015|last1= Reid |first1= Anthony |publisher= Silkworm Books }}</ref> via which the first contact with [[Age of Discovery|European explorers and adventurers]] occurred.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.themua.org/collections/files/original/dbfc18c3e3c6e83a95c2df47dcd683b8.pdf |title= Maritime Trade in Southeast Asia during the Early Colonial Period | publisher= University of Oxford |access-date=12 June 2015}}</ref> The rivalry with the [[Ayutthaya Kingdom]] in the west resulted in several conflicts, including the Siamese conquest of [[Longvek]] in 1594. The [[Nam tiến|Vietnamese southward expansion]] reached Prei Nokor/[[Saigon]] at the [[Mekong Delta]] in the 17th century. This event initiates the slow process of Cambodia losing access to the seas and independent marine trade.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8S5PXyWMEeAC&q=16th+century+cambodia&pg=PT24 |title= MA Short History of South-East Asia edited by Peter Church |date= 3 February 2012|isbn= 9781118350447 |access-date=12 June 2015|last1= Church |first1= Peter |publisher= John Wiley & Sons }}</ref>

Siamese and Vietnamese dominance intensified during the 17th and 18th century, provoking frequent displacements of the seat of power as the Khmer monarch's authority decreased to the state of a vassal. Both powers alternately demanded subservience and tribute from the Cambodian court.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QKgraWbb7yoC&q=In+1717+a+Siamese+fleet&pg=PA566 |title= Southeast Asia: A Historical Encyclopedia, from Angkor Wat to East... Volume 1 |isbn= 9781576077702 |access-date=7 June 2015|last1= Ooi |first1= Keat Gin |year= 2004 |publisher= Bloomsbury Academic }}</ref> In the mid 19th century, with dynasties in Siam and Vietnam firmly established, Cambodia was placed under joint [[suzerainty]] between the two regional empires, thereby the Cambodian kingdom lost its national sovereignty. [[British Empire|British]] agent [[John Crawfurd]] states: "...the King of that ancient Kingdom is ready to throw himself under the protection of any European nation..."{{citation needed|date=April 2024}} To save Cambodia from being incorporated into Vietnam and Siam, King [[Ang Duong]] agreed to [[Cochinchina|colonial France's]] offers of [[French Protectorate of Cambodia|protection]], which took effect with King [[Norodom of Cambodia|Norodom Prohmbarirak]] signing and officially recognising the French protectorate on 11 August 1863.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.siamese-heritage.org/jsspdf/1991/JSS_081_2b_Sternstein_LondonCompanysEnvoysPlotSiam.pdf |title=London Company's Envoys Plot Siam |website=Siamese Heritage |access-date=7 May 2015}}</ref>

==Historical background and causes==
The [[Khmer Empire]] had steadily gained hegemonic power over most of [[Indochina|mainland]] [[Southeast Asia]] since its early days in the 8th and 9th centuries. Rivalries and wars with its western neighbour, the [[Pagan Kingdom]] of the [[Mon people]] of modern-day [[Burma]] were less numerous and decisive than those with [[Champa]] to the east. The Khmer and [[Cham people|Cham]] [[Hindu]] kingdoms remained for centuries preoccupied with each other's containment and it has been argued that one of the Khmer's military objectives was "...in the reigns of the Angkor kings Suryavarman II and Jayavarman VII." the conquest of the Cham ports, "...important in the international trade of the time".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://michaelvickery.org/vickery2003two-rev.pdf |title= Two Historical Records of the Kingdom of Vientiane - That was probably also the reason for the Cambodian conquests in Champa in the reigns of the Angkor kings Suryavarman II and Jayavarman VII. | publisher= Michael Vickery’s Publications |access-date=30 June 2015}}</ref> Even though the Khmer suffered a number of serious defeats, such as the Cham invasion of Angkor in 1177, the empire quickly recovered, capable to strike back, as it was the case in 1181 with the invasion of the Cham city-state of [[Vijaya (Champa)|Vijaya]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.phnompenhpost.com/angkor-wat-equated-quintessence-cambodian-culture-more-century |title= Angkor Wat: equated with the quintessence of Cambodian culture for more than a century - The Cham fleet sailed up the Mekong River...The reaction was very quick... |date= 14 June 2013 | newspaper= The Phnom Penh Post |access-date=21 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://michaelvickery.org/vickery2006bayon.pdf |title= Bayon: New Perspectives Reconsidered Michael Vickery | publisher= Michael Vickery’s Publications |access-date=26 June 2015}}</ref>

[[Mongol invasion of China|Mongol incursions]] into southern [[China]] and political and cultural pressure caused the southward [[Peopling of Thailand|migration]] of the [[Tai people]] and [[Thai people]] and their settling on the upper [[Chao Phraya River]] in the 12th century.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://faculty.washington.edu/plape/citiesaut11/readings/Fletcher-water%20management%20in%20angkor%20Antiquity%202008.pdf |title= A Short History of South East Asia Chapter 3. The Repercussions of the Mongol Conquest of China ...The result was a mass movement of Thai peoples southwards... | publisher= Stanford University |access-date=26 June 2015}}</ref> The [[Sukhothai Kingdom]] and later the [[Ayutthaya Kingdom]] were established and "...conquered the Khmers of the upper and central Menam [<nowiki/>[[Chao Phraya River]]] valley and greatly extended their territory..."<ref>{{Cite journal|jstor=2049480 |title=Siamese Attacks On Angkor Before 1430| publisher= Association for Asian Studies |last1=Briggs|first1=Lawrence Palmer|journal=The Far Eastern Quarterly|year=1948|volume=8|issue=1|pages=3–33|doi=10.2307/2049480|s2cid=165680758 }}</ref>

===Military setbacks===
Although a number of sources, such as the [[Cambodian Royal Chronicles]] and the Royal chronicles of [[Ayutthaya Kingdom|Ayutthaya]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.siam-society.org/pub_books/books.html |title=Siam Society Books - The Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya - A Synoptic Translation by Richard D. Cushman | publisher= Siam Society |access-date=20 June 2015}}</ref> contain recordings of military expeditions and raids with associated dates and the names of sovereigns and warlords, several influential scholars, such as [[David P. Chandler|David Chandler]] and [[Michael Vickery (historian)|Michael Vickery]] doubt the accuracy and reliability of these texts.<ref name="Google Books">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SHK3AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA892 |title=A Global Encyclopedia of Historical Writing, Volume 2 - Tiounn Chronicle |isbn=9781134819980 |access-date=19 May 2015|last1=Woolf |first1=D. R. |date=3 June 2014 |publisher=Routledge }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&prev=search&rurl=translate.google.com.kh&sl=ja&u=http://angkorvat.jp/doc/studyonCambodia.pdf&usg=ALkJrhjsmYxvoyWrqJpbRPm7cyDT76gECg|title=Cambodia's cultural heritage considerations in Area Studies by Aratoi Hisao|work=googleusercontent.com|access-date=12 March 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://angkorvat.jp/doc/tch/ang-tch1420.pdf |title=Essay on Cambodian History from the middle of the 14 th to the beginning of the 16 th Centuries According to the Cambodian Royal Chronicles by NHIM Sotheavin - So far, the reconstruction of history from the middle of the 14 th to the beginning of the 16 th centuries is locked in a sort of unsolved state, since local sources prove inadequate and references from foreign sources are of little use |publisher=Sophia Asia Center |access-date=1 July 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402202705/http://angkorvat.jp/doc/tch/ang-tch1420.pdf |archive-date=2 April 2015 |df=dmy }}</ref> Other authors, however, criticise this rigid "overall assessment".<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://moussons.revues.org/2469?lang=en |title= Culturalism and historiography of ancient Cambodia: about prioritizing sources of Khmer history - Ranking Historical Sources and the Culturalist Approach in the Historiography of Ancient Cambodia by Eric Bourdonneau - 29 Also this material is sparse...|journal= Moussons. Recherche en Sciences Humaines Sur l'Asie du Sud-Est|date= September 2004|issue= 7|pages= 39–70| publisher= Presses Universitaires de Provence |doi= 10.4000/moussons.2469|access-date=3 July 2015|last1= Bourdonneau|first1= Eric|doi-access= free}}</ref>

David Chandler states in ''A Global Encyclopedia of Historical Writing, Volume 2'': "Michael Vickery has argued that Cambodian chronicles, including this one, that treat events earlier than 1550 cannot be verified, and were often copied from Thai chronicles about Thailand..."<ref name="Google Books"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.meruheritage.com/Ayudhya.html |title=The historical Records of Ayudhya...Blamed on the invasion of Pagan in 1767, all Ayudhya's past records were assumed perished during its fall to the Burmese attack | publisher= Khmer heritage |date= 31 May 2015 |access-date=20 June 2015}}</ref>
Linguist Jean-Michel Filippi concludes: "The chronology of Cambodian history itself is more a chrono-ideology with a pivotal role offered to Angkor."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.phnompenhpost.com/angkor-wat-equated-quintessence-cambodian-culture-more-century |title=Angkor Wat: equated with the quintessence of Cambodian culture for more than a century - Behind the mythical towers: Cambodian history | newspaper= Phnom Penh Post |date= 14 June 2013 |access-date=20 June 2015}}</ref> Similarities apply to Thai chronological records, with the notable example of the ''[[Ram Khamhaeng|Ramkhamhaeng]] controversy''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-article-display-1.asp?xfile=data/opinion/2014/November/opinion_November52.xml&section=opinion |title=A king and a stone - Nineteenth century or twelfth? When the Thai script was first inscribed has much to do with how history is used politically by Rahul Goswami| newspaper= Khaleej Times |date= 29 November 2014 |access-date=20 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://kampotmuseum.wordpress.com/tag/the-ramkhamhaeng-controversy/ |title=Recreations epigraphic (2 2). Epigraphic western: the case of Ramkhamhaeng by Jean-Michel Filippi| publisher= Kampotmuseum |date= 28 June 2012 |access-date=20 June 2015}}</ref>

According to the Siamese Royal chronicles of [[Paramanuchitchinorot]], clashes occurred in 1350, around 1380, 1418 and 1431.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.siamese-heritage.org/jsspdf/1971/JSS_061_1c_Wyatt_AbridgedChronicleOfAyudhyaOfPrinceParamanuchitchinorot.pdf |title= The Abridged Royal Chronicle of Ayudhya - In 712 of the Era, Year of the Tiger... | publisher= The Siam Society |access-date=12 June 2015}}</ref><ref name="History of Ayutthaya">{{cite web |url=http://www.ayutthaya-history.com/Dynasties_Ramesuan.html |title=History of Ayutthaya - Dynasties - King Ramesuan | publisher= History of Ayutthaya |access-date=20 June 2015}}</ref>

{{quotation|"In 1350/51; probably April 1350 King [[Uthong|Ramadhipati]] had his son Ramesvara attack the capital of the King of the Kambujas (Angkor) and had Paramaraja (Pha-ngua) of Suphanburi advance to support him. The Kambuja capital was taken and many families were removed to the capital Ayudhya.

At that time, [around 1380] the ruler of Kambuja came to attack Chonburi, to carry away families from the provinces eastwards to Chanthaburi, amounting to about six or seven thousand persons who returned [with the Cambodian armies] to Kambuja. So the King attacked Kambuja and, having captured it, returned to the capitol.[sic]

Then [1418] he went to attack Angkor, the capital of Kambuja, and captured it."
}}

===Land or people debate===
Siamese sources record the habit of capturing sizeable numbers of inhabitants from the capital cities and centres of civilisation of the defeated parties in [[Lan Na|Chiang Mai]] and Angkor which can be assumed to have accelerated the cultural decline.<ref name="History of Ayutthaya"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.siamese-heritage.org/jsspdf/1971/JSS_061_1c_Wyatt_AbridgedChronicleOfAyudhyaOfPrinceParamanuchitchinorot.pdf |title= The Abridged Royal Chronicle of Ayudhya - Then he went to attack Chiangmai. A great many Lao families were brought away to the capitol.. | publisher= The Siam Society |access-date=12 June 2015}}</ref>
[[File:Portrait of People from Jianpuzhai (Cambodia) 1759 Xie Sui.png|thumb|left|150px|Cambodian people in 18th century in chinese painting [[Portraits of Periodical Offering]] by Xie Sui.]]
Author [[Michael Vickery (historian)|Michael Vickery]] debates the degree of importance of this subject in his publication "Two Historical Records of the Kingdom of Vientiane - Land or People?": "It is not at all certain that Angkor desired manpower in central Thailand, rather than simply control over the rich agricultural resources." and "...whether the political economy of early Southeast Asia resulted in rulers being more concerned with control of land or control of people..." and "...both sides of this discussion have offered ad hoc, case-by-case pronunciamentos, which are then repeated like mantra... Critical discussion of the question is long overdue..."{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}

;Contrary views:

Author Akin Rabibhadana, who quotes Ram Khamhaeng: "One particular characteristic of the historical Southeast Asian mainland states was the lack of manpower. The need for manpower is well illustrated by events following each war between Thailand and her neighbours. The victorious side always carried off a large number of people from the conquered territory. Whole villages were often moved into the territory of the conqueror, where they were assimilated and became the population of the conqueror."{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}

[[David K. Wyatt]]: "As much as anything else, the Tai [[Mueang|müang]] was an instrument for the efficient use of manpower in a region where land was plentiful in relation to labor and agricultural technology."{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}

Baker and Phongpaichit argues that, "War in the region [Southeast Asia] was... an enterprise to acquire wealth, people, and scarce urban resources."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Chris |last2=Phongpaichit |first2=Pasuk |title=A History of Ayutthaya |date=11 May 2017 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-19076-4 |page=259 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GHiuDgAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref>

Bronson states, "No farmers in any region outside southern and eastern Asia could produce as much food with as little labor from the same amount of land."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Chris |last2=Phongpaichit |first2=Pasuk |title=A History of Ayutthaya |date=11 May 2017 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-19076-4 |page=4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GHiuDgAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref>

And Aung-Thwin wrote: "Much of the warfare of early Southeast Asia witnessed the victor carrying off half the population of the vanquished foe and later resettling them on his own soil. Pagan was located in the dry belt of Burma, and depended mainly upon irrigated agriculture for its economic base. Land was plentiful but labor was extremely difficult to obtain."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://michaelvickery.org/vickery2003two-rev.pdf |title= Two Historical Records of the Kingdom of Vientiane (pp.2-5) | publisher= Michael Vickery’s Publications |access-date=29 June 2015}}</ref>

===Dynastic and religious factors===
The complete transition from the early Khmer kingdom to the firm establishment of the [[Mahidharapura]] dynasty (first king [[Jayavarman VI]], 1080 to 1107), which originated west of the [[Dângrêk Mountains]] at [[Phimai]] in the [[Mun river]] valley<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H1c1UIEVH9gC&pg=PA261 |title=Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations By Charles Higham Mahidharapura dynasty |date=14 May 2014|isbn=9781438109961 |access-date=18 June 2015|last1=Higham |first1=Charles |publisher=Infobase }}</ref> lasted several decades. Some historians argue, that these kings failed to acquire absolute central administrative control and had limited access to local resources. The dynasty discontinued "ritual policy" and genealogical traditions. Further momentum ensued as [[Mahayana]] [[Buddhism]] was eventually tolerated and several Buddhist kings emerged, including [[Suryavarman I]], [[Rajendravarman II]] and [[Jayavarman VII]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lon7gmj040MC&pg=PA12 |title=Southeast Asia in the 9th to 14th Centuries edited by David G. Marr, Anthony Crothers Milner |isbn=9789971988395 |access-date=18 June 2015|last1=Marr |first1=David G. |last2=Milner |first2=Anthony Crothers |year=1986 |publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies }}</ref> 

These rulers were not considered, and did not consider themselves, as divine, which lead to a shift in perception of royal authority, central power and a loss of dynastic prestige with respect to foreign rulers. Effectively the royal subjects were given permission to re-direct attention and support from the Hindu state of military dominance with its [[Consecration|consecrated]] leader, the ''"Varman"''—protector king, towards the inner-worldly alternative with the contradictory teachings of the Buddhist temple. [[Indravarman III]] (c. 1295-1308) adopted [[Theravada Buddhism]] as the state religion,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.achistoryunits.edu.au/verve/_resources/htaa_year8_Angkor_comparative_timelinE.pdf |title=Comparative timeline of Khmer Empire and Europe Theravada Buddhism became the state religion | publisher=Australian Government Department of Education |access-date=20 June 2015}}</ref> which implied an even more passive, introverted focus towards individual and personal responsibility to accumulate merit to achieve [[nirvana]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://studiesofasia.wikispaces.com/file/view/EDAS8003A+Assignment+1+Khmer+civilisation+at+Angkor.pdf |title= The emergence and ultimate decline of the Khmer Empire - Many scholars attribute the halt of the development of Angkor to the rise of Theravada... | publisher= Studies Of Asia |access-date=11 June 2015}}</ref>

Miriam T. Stark argues that competition and rivalries in royal succession, usurpers and "second grade" rulers characterised the kingdom since the 9th century. Periods of "...consolidation alternated with political fragmentation [as] only few rulers were able to wrest control from the provincial level".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.anthropology.hawaii.edu/people/faculty/Stark/pdfs/From_Funan_to_Angkor.pdf |title=From Funan to Angkor Collapse and Regeneration in Ancient Cambodia by Miriam T. Stark p. 162 |publisher=University of Hawaii |access-date=29 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923172421/http://www.anthropology.hawaii.edu/People/Faculty/Stark/pdfs/From_Funan_to_Angkor.pdf |archive-date=23 September 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Debate remains on the progress of the imperial society as the kingdom grew and occupied foreign lands. Authors present numerous theories about the relationship between Southeast Asian kings and the populace's loyalties, nature and degree of identity, the [[Mandala]] concept and the effects of changing state-religion. Scholar [[Ben Kiernan]] highlights a tendency to identify with a universal religion rather than to adhere to the concept of a people or nation, as he refers to author Victor Lieberman in: ''Blood and Soil: Modern Genocide 1500-2000'' "[local courts make]...no formal demand, that rulers be of the same ethnicity as their subjects"<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R5p7cRyK748C |title= Blood and Soil: Modern Genocide 1500-2000 |isbn= 9780522854770 |access-date=11 June 2015|last1= Kiernan |first1= Ben |year= 2008 |publisher= Melbourne Univ. }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/samples/cam033/2002071481.pdf |title= Strange Parallels: Volume 1, Integration on the Mainland: Southeast Asia in Global Context, c.800-1830 by Victor Lieberman | publisher= University of Michigan |access-date=11 June 2015}}</ref>

===Environmental problems and infrastructural breakdown===
Historians increasingly maintain the idea that decline was caused by progressing ecological imbalance of the delicate irrigation network and canal system of "...a profoundly ritualized, elaborate system of hydraulic engineering..."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://faculty.washington.edu/plape/citiesaut11/readings/Fletcher-water%20management%20in%20angkor%20Antiquity%202008.pdf |title= The water management network of Angkor, Cambodia Roland Fletcher Dan Penny, Damián Evans, Christophe Pottier, Mike Barbetti, Matti Kummu, Terry Lustig & Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap (APSARA) Department of Monuments and Archaeology Team | publisher= University of Washington |access-date=26 June 2015}}</ref> at Angkor's [[Yasodharapura]]. Recent studies indicate that the irrigation system was overworked and gradually started to silt up, amplified by large scale deforestation.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070905145001.htm |title=The architects of Cambodia's famed Angkor – the world's most extensive medieval "hydraulic city" – unwittingly engineered its environmental collapse | website= ScienceDaily |date=12 September 2007 |access-date=19 June 2015}}</ref> Permanent monument construction projects and maintenance of temples instead of canals and dykes put an enormous strain on the royal resources and drained thousands of slaves and common people from the public workforce and caused tax deficits.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.academia.edu/6042204 |title=The Collapse of the Khmer Empire by Thomas Van Damme | website=academia.edu |access-date=20 June 2015|last1=Damme |first1=Thomas Van |date=January 2011 }}</ref> 

Author Heng L. Thung addressed common sense in "Geohydrology and the decline of Angkor" as he sums things up: "...the preoccupation of the Khmers with the need to store water for the long dry season. Each household needed a pond to provide drinking and household water for both man and beast. The barays [reservoirs] of Angkor were simply the manifestation of the need of an urban population. Water was the fountain of life for Angkor; a disruption in its supply would be fatal."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.khamkoo.com/uploads/9/0/0/4/9004485/the_journal_of_the_siam_society_vol._lxxxii_part_1-2_1994.pdf |title=Geohydrology and the Decline of Angkor |first=Heng L. |last=Thung |publisher=Khamkoo |access-date=29 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629010703/http://www.khamkoo.com/uploads/9/0/0/4/9004485/the_journal_of_the_siam_society_vol._lxxxii_part_1-2_1994.pdf |archive-date=29 June 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Recent [[Lidar]] (Light detection and ranging) Geo-Scans of Angkor have produced new data, that have caused several "Eureka moments" and "have profoundly transformed our understanding of urbanism in the region of Angkor".<ref>{{cite journal |title= Uncovering archaeological landscapes at Angkor using lidar |date= 11 July 2013 |pmc=3732978 | pmid=23847206 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1306539110 |volume=110 |issue= 31 |journal=Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. |pages=12595–600 | last1 = Evans | first1 = DH | last2 = Fletcher | first2 = RJ | last3 = Pottier | first3 = C | last4 = Chevance | first4 = JB | last5 = Soutif | first5 = D | last6 = Tan | first6 = BS | last7 = Im | first7 = S | last8 = Ea | first8 = D | last9 = Tin | first9 = T | last10 = Kim | first10 = S | last11 = Cromarty | first11 = C | last12 = De Greef | first12 = S | last13 = Hanus | first13 = K | last14 = Bâty | first14 = P | last15 = Kuszinger | first15 = R | last16 = Shimoda | first16 = I | last17 = Boornazian | first17 = G|bibcode= 2013PNAS..11012595E |doi-access= free }}</ref> Results of [[Dendrochronology|dendrochronological]] studies imply prolonged periods of drought between the 14th and 15th centuries.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://archaeology.about.com/od/medieval/qt/Collapse-Of-Angkor.htm |title= The Collapse of Angkor – Evidence for a Long Term Drought – an extended drought between the 14th and 15th centuries at Angkor | publisher= About Education |access-date=3 July 2015}}</ref> As a result, recent re-interpretations of the epoch put greater emphasis on human–environment interactions and the ecological consequences.<ref name="KHMER GEO"/>

===Growth of international maritime trade===
Some historians have argued that an important reason for the Angkor court's move to the lower Mekong Delta was due to the growth of international maritime trade with the rest of the world. Angkor, being primarily inland and largely agricultural, became increasingly irrelevant to the global markets in comparison to the later maritime Cambodian capitals at Longvek, Oudong, and later Phnom Penh.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Vickery |first1=Michael |title=A Misstep Toward a New History of Cambodia: A Review Article |journal=Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft |date=2005 |volume=155 |issue=1 |page=247 |jstor=43381446 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43381446 |issn=0341-0137 |quote=The capital moved from Angkor to the Phnom Penh region, probably...in connection with the growth of international maritime trade.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Lieberman |first1=Victor |title=Strange Parallels: Volume 1, Integration on the Mainland: Southeast Asia in Global Context, c.800–1830 |date=26 May 2003 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-43762-2 |page=240 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-01JisWpJbEC |language=en |quote=...the subsequent effective transfer of the capital to the more commercially viable site of Phnom Penh marked the eclipse of pro-Angkor elements within the Khmer elite.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ebihara |first1=May |title=Societal Organization in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Cambodia |journal=Journal of Southeast Asian Studies |date=1984 |volume=15 |issue=2 |page=282 |doi=10.1017/S0022463400012522 |jstor=20070596 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20070596 |issn=0022-4634 |quote=The shift of the capital from Angkor...may reflect...Cambodia's transition to a "trading kingdom" with increasing involvement with the outside world.|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Chaktomuk era==
Following the abandonment of the capital [[Yasodharapura]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2007/09/23/books/yasodharapura-revived-in-literature/#.VY4QUBuqqkq |title= Yasodharapura, revived in literature ...Yasodharapura, the first capital of the Khmer empire, was razed by the Siamese... | publisher= The Japan Times |date= 23 September 2007 |access-date=27 June 2015}}</ref> and the Angkorian sites, the Angkor elites established a new capital around two-hundred kilometres to the south-east on the site which is modern day [[Phnom Penh]], at the confluence of the [[Mekong]] and the [[Tonlé Sap|Tonle Sap river]]. Thus, it controlled the river commerce of the Khmer heartland, upper Siam and the [[Laos|Laotian kingdoms]] with access, by way of the [[Mekong Delta]], to the international [[Indian Ocean trade|trade routes]] that linked the Chinese coast, the [[South China Sea]], and the [[Indian Ocean]]. Unlike its inland predecessor, this society was more open to the outside world and relied mainly on commerce as the source of wealth. The adoption of maritime trade with China during the [[Ming dynasty]] (1368–1644) provided lucrative opportunities for members of the Cambodian elite who controlled royal trading monopolies.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.canbypublications.com/phnompenh/pphistory.htm |title=A Brief History of Phnom Penh - Chaktomuk... | publisher= anby Publications |access-date=26 June 2015}}</ref>

Historians consent that as the capital ceased to exist, the temples at Angkor remained as central for the nation as they always had been. 
David P. Chandler: "The 1747 inscription is the last extensive one at Angkor Wat and reveals the importance of the temple in Cambodian religious life barely a century before it was "discovered" by the French."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.siamese-heritage.org/jsspdf/1971/JSS_059_2h_Chandler_EighteenthCenturyInscriptionFromAngkorWat.pdf |title= An Eighteenth Century Inscription From Angkor Wat by David P. Chandler | publisher= The Siam Society |access-date=29 June 2015}}</ref>

==Longvek era==
[[File:Portuguesee map of SouthEast Asia in the 17th century.jpg|thumb|right|Depiction of Cambodia on a Portuguese map (17th century)]]King Ang Chan I (1516–1566) moved the capital from Phnom Penh north to [[Longvek]] at the banks of the [[Tonle Sap river]]. Trade was an essential feature and "''...even though they appeared to have a secondary role in the [[Indian Ocean trade|Asian commercial sphere]] in the 16th century, the Cambodian ports did indeed thrive.''" Products traded there included [[Gemstone|precious stones]], [[metal]]s, [[silk]], [[cotton]], [[incense]], [[ivory]], [[lacquer]], [[livestock]] (including [[elephant]]s), and [[rhinoceros|rhinoceros horn]].

===First contact with the West===
Messengers of [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]] [[admiral]] [[Alfonso de Albuquerque]], conqueror of [[Malacca]] arrived in [[Mainland Southeast Asia|Indochina]] in 1511, the earliest documented official contact with European [[sailor]]s. By the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, Longvek maintained flourishing communities of [[Chinese people|Chinese]], [[Ethnic groups in Indonesia|Indonesians]], [[Malays (ethnic group)|Malays]], [[Japanese people|Japanese]], [[Arabs]], [[Spaniards]], [[English people|English]], [[Dutch people|Dutch]] and [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]] traders.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.history.ac.uk/reviews/review/870 |title= Murder and Mayhem in Seventeenth Century Cambodia |publisher= nstitute of Historical Research (IHR) |access-date=26 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.themua.org/collections/files/original/dbfc18c3e3c6e83a95c2df47dcd683b8.pdf |title= Maritime Trade in Southeast Asia during the Early Colonial Period ...transferring the lucrative China trade to Cambodia... |publisher=Oxford Centre for Maritime Archaeology University of Oxford |access-date=26 June 2015}}</ref>

[[Christian mission]]ary activities began in 1555 with Portuguese clergyman [[friar]] [[Gaspar da Cruz]],<ref name="Corfield2009">{{cite book|author=Justin Corfield|title=The History of Cambodia|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=JfXP1duIllUC&q=1599+spanish+cambodia+malay&pg=PA12|date=13 October 2009|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-35723-7|pages=12–}}</ref> the first to set foot in the Kingdom of Cambodia, who "''...wasn’t able to spread the word of God and he was seriously ill[sic].''" Subsequent attempts did not yield any results that could substantiate a [[Congregation (Church)|congregation]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.redalyc.org/pdf/361/36101105.pdf |title= The Jesuits in Cambodia: A Look Upon Cambodian Religiousness (2nd half of the 16th century to the 1st quarter of the 18th century)—he wasn't able to spread the word of God and he was seriously ill, he quickly left the region without doing much and not baptizing more than a heathen | publisher= Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México |access-date=1 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{citation |first1=Charles Ralph |last1=Boxer|first2= Galeote |last2=Pereira|first3= Gaspar da |last3=Cruz|first4= Martín de |last4=Rada |author-link=C. R. Boxer |publisher=Printed for the Hakluyt Society |year=1953 |title=South China in the sixteenth century: being the narratives of Galeote Pereira, Fr. Gaspar da Cruz, O.P. [and] Fr. Martín de Rada, O.E.S.A. (1550-1575) |series=Issue 106 of Works issued by the Hakluyt Society |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ImoTAAAAIAAJ |pages=lix,59–63}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/stream/philippineislan85bourgoog/philippineislan85bourgoog_djvu.txt |title= The Philippine islands, 1493-1803...the expedition of 1596 to Cambodia... | publisher= Archive Org |access-date=26 June 2015}}</ref>

===Military resurgence and fall===
[[File:AMH-7235-KB Bird's eye view of Eauweck.jpg|thumb|200px|A drawing by Dutch mapmaker [[Johannes Vingboons]], "Eauweck, hooftstadt van Cambodia - Longvek, capital of Cambodia"]]
{{main|Siamese–Cambodian War (1591–1594)|Cambodian–Spanish War}}Cambodia was a potent rival of the Ayutthaya Kingdom in the 16th century.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Briggs |first1=Lawrence Palmer |title=The Treaty of March 23, 1907 Between France and Siam and the Return of Battambang and Angkor to Cambodia |journal=The Far Eastern Quarterly |date=1946 |volume=5 |issue=4 |pages=441 |doi=10.2307/2049791 |jstor=2049791 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2049791 |issn=0363-6917 |quote=After the Khmer armies had been driven out of the Menam valley, they seem to have abandoned the upper and middle Mekong to the Laotians and to have withdrawn to the territory which was predominantly Khmer-with the Se Mun valley and Korat-Jolburi-Chantabun as a frontier. For two cen- turies, they fought Siam successfully for these frontiers. Once-in 1430-31 -the Siamese captured Angkor and seated a Siamese puppet on the throne. But the Cambodians reconquered their capital the next year; and, although they moved the capital to Phnom Penh, they did not abandon their old frontiers, but continued to fight for them during the sixteenth century, some- times in alliance with the Burmese, who twice sacked the Siamese capital.|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Following the Burmese subjugation of Ayutthaya in 1569, Cambodia launched numerous military expeditions into a weakened Siam between the 1560s and the 1580s.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Chris |last2=Phongpaichit |first2=Pasuk |title=A History of Ayutthaya |date=11 May 2017 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-19076-4 |page=114 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GHiuDgAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref> In 1570, Cambodian forces besieged Ayutthaya, but were repulsed by fierce resistance and the rainy season floods.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=John |title=State, Community, and Ethnicity in Early Modern Thailand, 1351-1767 |journal=University of Michigan Dissertation |date=2019 |url=https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/151629/jsfsmith_1.pdf?sequence=1 |pages=100}}</ref> In 1581, Cambodia sacked the Siamese city of [[Phetchaburi]] and emptied the city of its inhabitants.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Chris |last2=Phongpaichit |first2=Pasuk |title=A History of Ayutthaya |date=11 May 2017 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-19076-4 |page=114 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GHiuDgAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref> 

Meanwhile, in 1572 and 1573-75, the king of [[Lan Xang]] sent two invasions to subjugate Longvek. Both invasions ended in complete failure and the Lan Xang king was assumed to have died in the conflict.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sotheavin |first1=Nhim |title=Factors that Led to the Change of the Khmer Capitals from the 15th to 17th century |page=84-85 |url=https://dept.sophia.ac.jp/is/angkor/publication/pdf/bunka/bunka29_03.pdf}}</ref>

In retribution for multiple Longvek raids on Ayutthaya, in 1587, Cambodia was attacked by the Siamese Crown Prince [[Naresuan]], who failed to besiege the city of Longvek.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Chris |last2=Phongpaichit |first2=Pasuk |title=A History of Ayutthaya |date=11 May 2017 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-19076-4 |page=115 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GHiuDgAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref> In 1594, Longvek was successfully captured and sacked by Siamese forces and Cambodian royals were taken hostage and relocated to the court of Ayutthaya.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://michaelvickery.org/vickery1996mak.pdf |title= Mak Phœun: Histoire du Cambodge de la fin du XVIe au début du XVIIIe siècle - At the time of the invasion one group of the royal family, the reigning king and two or more princes, escaped and eventually found refuge in Laos, while another group, the king's brother and his sons, were taken as hostages to Ayutthaya. | publisher= Michael Vickery’s Publications |access-date=1 July 2015}}</ref>

The initially fortunate circumstances of some members of the Longvek royal family, managing to seek refuge at the Lao court of [[Vientiane]], ended tragically. The refugees never returned to demand their claims. Their sons, born and raised in Lan Xang, were alienated and while "moderately" manipulated, engaged in local court politics with the exiled Cambodians in Ayutthaya and had the ruling vassal King [[Preah Ram I|Ram I]], who was of lower birth, killed with the help of Spanish and Portuguese sailors.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://michaelvickery.org/vickery1996mak.pdf |title= Mak Phœun: Histoire du Cambodge de la fin du XVIe au début du XVIIIe siècle – It was in fact at the end of the reign of Suriyobarm that the first step was taken in the form of a marriage between the crown prince Jayajetthâ and a Vietnamese princess at a date between 1616 and 1618. | publisher= Michael Vickery’s Publications |access-date=1 July 2015}}</ref>

Shortly after they were killed and defeated in the [[Cambodian–Spanish War]], with foreign hands—[[Malays (ethnic group)|Malays]] and [[Chams]]—involved. This pattern of royal indignity is noticeable in its continuity during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, the [[Vietnam]]ese court in Hue joining in as yet another stage of royal drama.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://michaelvickery.org/vickery1996mak.pdf |title= Mak Phœun: Histoire du Cambodge de la fin du XVIe au début du XVIIIe siècle – It was in fact at the end of the reign of Suriyobarm that the first step was taken in the form of a marriage between the crown prince Jayajetthâ and a Vietnamese princess at a date between 1616 and 1618. | publisher= Michael Vickery’s Publications |access-date=1 July 2015}}</ref> Royal contender's quarrels often prevented any chance of restoring an effective King of competitive authority for decades.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://michaelvickery.org/vickery2011cautionary.pdf |title= 1620 A Cautionary Tale - Cambodia had quickly recovered from an Ayutthayan invasion of Lovek in 1593-94 |publisher=Michael Vickery’s Publications |access-date=26 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cambosastra.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Preah-Khan-Reach.pdf |title= Preah Khan Reach - The Genealogy of Khmer Kings – The Rise of King Ang Chan – The Defeat of Sdach Kân |publisher=Cambosastra |access-date=26 June 2015}}</ref>

==Srey Santhor era==
Kings Preah Ram I and [[Preah Ram II]] moved the capital several times and established their royal capitals at [[Srey Santhor District|Tuol Basan (Srey Santhor)]] around 40 kilometres north-east of Phnom Penh, later [[Pursat]], [[Lavear Em]] and finally Oudong.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.locomo.org/phnompenh/phnom%20penh%20history.htm |title= History Period 1372-1432 60 Years Abandonment of Chaktomuk City |website=locomo.org |access-date=26 June 2015}}</ref> In 1596 Spanish and Portuguese conquistadores from [[Manila]] raided and razed Srei Santhor.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yale.edu/cgp/KiernanComparativ2004.doc |title= Ben Kiernan Recovering History and Justice in Cambodia Within two years, Spanish and Portuguese conquistadores... | publisher= Yale University |access-date=26 June 2015}}</ref>

==Lvea Aem era==
In 1618, King [[Chey Chettha II]] stopped sending tribute to Ayutthaya and reasserted Cambodian independence.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Chris |last2=Phongpaichit |first2=Pasuk |title=A History of Ayutthaya |date=11 May 2017 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-19076-4 |page=116 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GHiuDgAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref> A Siamese expedition in 1621-22 to reconquer Cambodia failed in dramatic fashion.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Chris |last2=Phongpaichit |first2=Pasuk |title=A History of Ayutthaya |date=11 May 2017 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-19076-4 |page=116 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GHiuDgAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref>

==Oudong era==
[[Image:Udong 0001.jpg|thumb|Phnom [[Oudong]], the former capital of Cambodia.]]
By the 17th and 18th centuries, Siam and Vietnam increasingly fought over control of the fertile Mekong basin, enhancing pressure on an unstable Cambodia.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rungswasdisab |first1=Puangthong |title=War and Trade: Siamese Interventions in Cambodia, 1767-1851 |date=1995 |publisher=University of Wollongong |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jACDNAAACAAJ |language=en |pages=42, 50 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/buddha-chinese-deception |title= The Buddha of Chinese deception Oudong Mountain by Bou Saroeun |newspaper=Phnom Penh Post |date= 22 June 2001 |access-date=26 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.khmerstudies.org/download-files/events/conferences/Phnom%20Bakheng%20Workshop/Claude%20Jacques%20-%2023-40.pdf?lbisphpreq=1 |title=The History of the Phnom Bakheng Monument |publisher=Khmer Studies |access-date=26 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626103427/http://www.khmerstudies.org/download-files/events/conferences/Phnom%20Bakheng%20Workshop/Claude%20Jacques%20-%2023-40.pdf?lbisphpreq=1 |archive-date=26 June 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The 17th century was also the beginning of direct relations between post-Angkor Cambodia and Vietnam, that is the war between [[Nguyễn lords]] who ruled central and southern Vietnam and [[Trịnh lords]] in the north.<ref name="Owen2005">{{cite book|author=Norman G. Owen|title=The Emergence Of Modern Southeast Asia: A New History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=py5Xh0-pw18C&pg=PA117|year=2005|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|isbn=978-0-8248-2890-5|pages=117–}}</ref>

[[Henri Mouhot]]: "Travels in the Central Parts of Indo-China" 1864
{{quotation|"Udong, the present capital of Cambodia, is situated north-east of Komput, and is four miles and a half from that arm of the Mekon which forms the great lake...Every moment I met mandarins, either borne in litters or on foot, followed by a crowd of slaves carrying various articles; some, yellow or scarlet parasols, more or less large according to the rank of the person; others, boxes with betel. I also encountered horsemen, mounted on pretty, spirited little animals, richly caparisoned and covered with bells, ambling along, while a troop of attendants, covered with dust and sweltering with heat, ran after them. Light carts, drawn by a couple of small oxen, trotting along rapidly and noisily, were here and there to be seen. Occasionally a large elephant passed majestically by. On this side were numerous processions to the pagoda, marching to the sound of music; there, again, was a band of ecclesiastics in single file, seeking alms, draped in their yellow cloaks, and with the holy vessels on their backs....The entire population numbers about 12,000 souls."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/46559/46559-h/46559-h.htm |title= The Project Gutenberg EBook of Travels in the Central Parts of Indo-China (Siam), Cambodia, and Laos (Vol. 1 of 2), by Henri Mouhot | publisher= The Project Gutenberg |access-date=July 3, 2015}}</ref>}}

However, Cambodia remained economically significant in the early part of the Oudong period. In the 17th century, the Japanese considered Cambodia to be a more important maritime power than Siam.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Vickery |first1=Michael |title='1620', A Cautionary Tale |url=http://michaelvickery.org/vickery2011cautionary.pdf |page=5}}</ref>

===Loss of the Mekong Delta===
[[File:Map of western Indonesia, 1683.jpg|thumb|left|1683 Map showing Cambodia]]
[[Image:Carte_du_royaume_de_Siam_et_des_pays_circonvoisins_1686.jpg|thumb|The Kingdom of Cambodia in 1686]]By the late 15th century, the Vietnamese—descendants of the [[East Asian cultural sphere|Sinic civilisation sphere]]—had conquered some of the territories of the principalities of [[Champa]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R5p7cRyK748C |title= Blood and Soil: Modern Genocide 1500–2000 By Ben Kiernan p. 102 The Vietnamese destruction of Champa 1390–1509|isbn= 9780522854770|access-date=27 June 2015|last1= Kiernan|first1= Ben|year= 2008|publisher= Melbourne Univ.}}</ref> Some of the surviving [[Cham (Asia)|Chams]] began their [[diaspora]] in 1471, many re-settling in [[Khmer people|Khmer]] territory.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chamtoday.com/index.php/history-l-ch-s/169-the-cham-descendants-of-ancient-rulers-of-south-china-sea-watch-maritime-dispute-from-sidelines |title=The Cham: Descendants of Ancient Rulers of South China Sea Watch Maritime Dispute From Sidelines Written by Adam Bray |publisher=IOC-Champa |access-date=26 June 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626101606/http://www.chamtoday.com/index.php/history-l-ch-s/169-the-cham-descendants-of-ancient-rulers-of-south-china-sea-watch-maritime-dispute-from-sidelines |archive-date=26 June 2015 |df=dmy }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tVhvh6ibLJcC&pg=PA318 |title= The Cambridge History of China: Volume 8, The Ming Part 2 Parts 1368-1644 By Denis C. Twitchett, Frederick W. Mote |isbn= 9780521243339 |access-date=26 June 2015|last1= Mote |first1= Frederick W. |year= 1998 |publisher= Cambridge University Press }}</ref> However, the Cambodian Chronicle does not mention the Cham arrival in Cambodia until the 17th century.<ref>Vachon, M., & Naren, K. (2006, April 29). A history of Champa. The Cambodia Daily. Retrieved September 10, 2020, from https://english.cambodiadaily.com/news/a-history-of-champa-87292/ </ref> The last remaining principality of Champa, Panduranga, survived until 1832. <ref>Weber, N. (2012). The destruction and assimilation of Campā (1832-35) as seen from Cam sources. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 43(1), 158-180. Retrieved June 3, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/41490300
</ref>

====Traditional view====
[[File:Map of western Indonesia, 1719.jpg|thumb|left|1719 Map showing Cambodia]]
In 1620 the Vietnamese on their [[Nam tiến|southwards expansion (Nam tiến)]] had reached the [[Mekong Delta]], a hitherto Khmer domain. Also in 1620 the [[Chey Chettha II|Khmer king Chey Chettha II (1618–28)]] married a daughter of lord [[Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên]], one of the [[Nguyễn lords]], who held sway over southern Vietnam for most of the [[Lê dynasty]] era from 1428 to 1788. Three years later, king Chey Chettha allowed Vietnam to establish a custom-post at [[Prey Nokor]], modern day [[Ho Chi Minh City]]. Vietnam after gaining independence from the Chinese now instituted its own version of the frontier policies of the Chinese empire and by the end of the 17th century, the region was under full Vietnamese administrative control. Cambodia's access to international sea trade was now hampered by Vietnamese taxes and permissions.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/89821/bria?sequence=1 |title= Reconceptualizing Southern Vietnamese History from the 15th to 18th Centuries Competition along the Coasts from Guangdong to Cambodia by Brian A. Zottoli | publisher= University of Michigan |access-date=26 June 2015}}</ref>

====Contrary views====

The story of a Cambodian king falling in love with a Vietnamese princess, who requested and obtained [[Khmer Krom|Kampuchea Krom]], the [[Mekong Delta]] for Vietnam is [[folklore]], dismissed by scholars and not even mentioned in the [[Cambodian Royal Chronicles|Royal Chronicles]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://michaelvickery.org/vickery1996mak.pdf |title= Mak Phœun: Histoire du Cambodge de la fin du XVIe au début du XVIIIe siècle - According to Cambodian oral tradition, the marriage was because a weak Cambodian king fell in love... | publisher= Michael Vickery’s Publications |access-date=30 June 2015}}</ref><ref name="Aung-ThwinHall2011">{{cite book|author1=Michael Arthur Aung-Thwin|author2=Kenneth R. Hall|title=New Perspectives on the History and Historiography of Southeast Asia: Continuing Explorations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvWrAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA158|date=13 May 2011|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-81964-3|pages=158–}}</ref>

In the process of re-interpretation of the royal records and their rather doubtful contents, Michael Vickery again postulates that future publications take these contradicting facts into account: "First, the very concept of a steady Vietnamese "Push to the South" (nam tiến) requires rethinking. It was not steady, and its stages show that there was no continuing policy of southward expansion. Each move was ad hoc, in response to particular challenges..."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://michaelvickery.org/vickery1996mak.pdf |title= Mak Phœun: Histoire du Cambodge de la fin du XVIe au début du XVIIIe siècle In: Bulletin de l'Ecole française d'Extrême-Orient. Tome 83, 1996. pp. 405-415. | publisher= Michael Vickery’s Publications |access-date=30 June 2015}}</ref>

Vickery additionally argues that Cambodia was never "cut off from maritime access to the outside world" in the 17th century, as argued by [[David P. Chandler|David Chandler]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Vickery |first1=Michael |title='1620', A Cautionary Tale |url=http://michaelvickery.org/vickery2011cautionary.pdf |page=5}}</ref>

=== Mid 17th century–19th century ===
In 1642 Cambodian prince [[Ramathipadi I|Ponhea Chan]] became king after overthrowing and assassinating king Outey. Malay Muslim merchants in Cambodia helped him in his takeover, and he subsequently converted to Islam from Buddhism, changed his name to [[Ibrahim (name)|Ibrahim]], married a Malay woman and reigned as Ramathipadi I. His reign marked the historical [[apogee]] of [[Islam|Muslim]] rule in mainland [[Southeast Asia]].

[[File:Indochina_map_(1770s).jpg|190px|thumb|A 1770s map of Cambodia]]
Ramathipadi defeated the [[Dutch East India Company]] in naval engagements of the [[Cambodian–Dutch War]] during 1643 and 1644.<ref>
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=R5p7cRyK748C&pg=PA157 p. 157.]
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=l8TVTCJSJKcC&pg=PA253 Kiernan 2002], p. 253.
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=mINZclfikIsC&pg=PA447 Cormack 2001], p. 447.
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=N3ZuAAAAMAAJ&q=1643+massacred Reid 1999], p. 36.
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=PRxBAAAAMAAJ&q=1643+massacred Chakrabartty 1988], p. 497.
</ref> Pierre de Rogemortes, the ambassador of the Company was killed alongside a third of his 432 men and it was not until two centuries later that Europeans played any important and influential role in Cambodian affairs.<ref>
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=VOtzHnVLZo4C&pg=PA27 Fielding 2008], p. 27.
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=R5p7cRyK748C&pg=PA158 Kiernan 2008],
* [https://archive.org/details/bloodan_kie_2007_00_0326/page/158 p. 158.]
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=l8TVTCJSJKcC&pg=PA254 Kiernan 2002], p. 254.
</ref> In the 1670s the Dutch left all the trading posts they had maintained in Cambodia after the massacre in 1643.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=SRfg1yx_4F0C&pg=PA45 Osborne 2008], p. 45.</ref> The first Vietnamese military intervention took place in 1658-59, in which rebel Cambodian princes, Ibrahim Ramathipadi's own brothers, had requested military support to depose the Muslim ruler and restore Buddhism.

[[Siam]], which might otherwise have been courted as an ally against Vietnamese incursions in the 18th century, was itself involved in prolonged conflicts with Burma and in 1767 the Siamese capital of [[Ayutthaya Kingdom|Ayutthaya]] was completely destroyed. However, Siam recovered and soon reasserted its dominion over Cambodia. The youthful Khmer king [[Ang Eng]] (1779–96) was installed as monarch at Oudong while Siam annexed Cambodia's [[Battambang]] and [[Siem Reap]] provinces. The local rulers became vassals under direct Siamese rule.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2446&context=theses |title= War and trade: Siamese interventions in Cambodia 1767-1851 by Puangthong Rungswasdisab | publisher= University of Wollongong |access-date=27 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FMJ8KP8i3v0C&q=invaded+Siam+again+in+1785&pg=PA1653 |title= The Greenwood Encyclopedia of International Relations: S-Z by Cathal J. Nolan |isbn= 9780313323836 |access-date=November 21, 2015|last1= Nolan |first1= Cathal J. |year= 2002 |publisher= Greenwood Pub. }}</ref>

A renewed struggle between Siam and Vietnam for control of Cambodia and the Mekong basin in the early 19th century resulted in Vietnamese dominance over a Cambodian vassal king. Justin Corfield writes in "French Indochina": "[1807] the Vietnamese expanded their lands by establishing a protectorate over Cambodia. However king […] [[Ang Duong]] was keen on Cambodia becoming independent of [...] Thailand [...] and Vietnam [...] and sought help from the [[British Empire|British]] in [[Singapore]]. When that failed, he enlisted the help of the French."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.grsmu.by/files/file/university/cafedry/gymanitarnuh-nayk/files/fiu/gpw/encyclopedia.pdf |title= Volume IV - Age of Revolution and Empire 1750 to 1900 - French Indochina by Justin Corfield | publisher= Grodno State Medical University |access-date=30 June 2015}}</ref>

Attempts to force Cambodians to adopt Vietnamese customs caused several rebellions against Vietnamese rule. The most notable took place from 1840 to 1841, spreading through much of the country.

Siam and Vietnam had fundamentally different attitudes concerning their relationship with Cambodia. The Siamese shared a common religion, mythology, literature, and culture with the Khmer, having adopted many religious and cultural practices.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/stream/siamesestatecere030661mbp/siamesestatecere030661mbp_djvu.txt |title= Full text of "Siamese State Ceremonies" Chapter XV – The Oath of Allegiance 197...as compared with the early Khmer Oath... | publisher= Internet Archive |access-date=27 June 2015}}</ref> The Thai [[Chakri dynasty|Chakri]] kings followed the [[Chakravatin]] system of an ideal universal ruler, ethically and benevolently ruling over all his subjects.
The Vietnamese enacted a civilising mission, as they viewed the Khmer people as culturally inferior and regarded the Khmer lands as legitimate site for colonisation by settlers from Vietnam.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.khmerkrom.org/history |title=March to the South (Nam Tiến) |publisher=Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation |access-date=26 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626125758/http://www.khmerkrom.org/history |archive-date=26 June 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The territory of the [[Mekong Delta]] became a [[territorial dispute]] between Cambodians and Vietnamese. Cambodia gradually lost control of the Mekong Delta. By the 1860s French colonist had taken over the Mekong Delta and establish the colony of [[French Cochinchina]].

====Nguyen rule====
{{main|Vietnamese invasions of Cambodia}}
As the Vietnamese empire consolidated itself over the eastern mainland under [[Gia Long]] and [[Minh Mang]], Cambodia fell to the Vietnamese invasion in 1811. The invasion was initiated by the ruling king, King [[Ang Chan II]]'s (r. 1806–35) request to Gia Long to suppress his own brothers, [[Ang Snguon (prince)|Ang Snguon]] and [[Ang Em]], who were in [[Cambodian rebellion (1811–1812)|rebellion]] against him. The two brothers fled to Thailand, while Ang Chan became a Vietnamese vassal.<ref>{{cite book|last=Chandler|first=David|author-link=David P. Chandler|year=2018|orig-year =1986|title=A History of Cambodia|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-429-97514-1|pages=140–144}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| title=The History of Cambodia | last1= Corfield | first1= Justin J.|publisher=ABC-CLIO | year= 2009|isbn=978-0-31335-723-7|page=18}}</ref>

In 1820 Gia Long died and his fourth son Minh Mang inherited the throne. Both Minh Mang and his father were strong adherents of Confucianism, but Minh Mang was a sadistic isolationist and strong ruler. He removed the Viceroy of Cambodia and Saigon in 1832, triggered the pro-Catholic [[Lê Văn Khôi revolt]] against him in 1833. The Thai army, intended to support the rebellion, launched an offensive campaign against the Vietnamese on occupying Cambodia. This led Ang Chan to flee to Saigon, as [[Rama III]] promised to restore the Kingdom of Cambodia and punish the insolence of the Kingdom of Vietnam. In 1834, the rebellion in Southern Vietnam was suppressed, and Minh Mang ordered troops to launch the second invasion of Cambodia. This drove most of the Thai forces to the west and reinstalled Ang Chan as the puppet king in Phnom Penh, later succeeded by his daughter, Queen [[Ang Mey]] (r. 1835–41).<ref>{{cite book|last=Chandler|first=David|author-link=David P. Chandler|year=2018|orig-year =1986|title=A History of Cambodia|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-429-97514-1|pages=146–149}}</ref> Later that year, the [[Tây Thành Province]] was established, the Vietnamese occupied Cambodia result in direct Vietnamese control. For the next six years, the Vietnamese emperor had tried to force the Cambodians to adopt Vietnamese culture by cultural assimilation, a progress that historian [[David P. Chandler]] called ''The Vietnamization of Cambodia.''<ref>{{cite book|last=Chandler|first=David|author-link=David P. Chandler|year=2018|orig-year =1986|title=A History of Cambodia|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-429-97514-1|pages=150–156}}</ref>

The death of Minh Mang in early 1841 halted the Vietnamization of Cambodia.<ref>{{cite book|last=Chandler|first=David|author-link=David P. Chandler|year=2018|orig-year =1986|title=A History of Cambodia|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-429-97514-1|pages=157–160}}</ref> With 35,000 Thai troops, they took advantage of the dire situation in Vietnam, rushed into the Tây Thành Province, and were able to fend off Vietnamese counteroffensives in late 1845. The new Vietnamese emperor, [[Thieu Tri]], readied to make peace with Siam, and in June 1847 a peace treaty was signed. The Kingdom of Cambodia under [[Ang Duong]] regained its independence after 36 years of brutal Vietnamese occupations and Siamese interventions.<ref>{{cite book| title=The History of Cambodia | last1= Corfield | first1= Justin J.|publisher=ABC-CLIO | year= 2009|isbn=978-0-31335-723-7|page=19}}</ref>

==Consequences and conclusions==
{{Main|French Protectorate of Cambodia}}
[[File:King Norodom.jpg|150px|thumb|King [[Norodom of Cambodia]]]]

===European colonialism and Anglo-French rivalries===

Admiral [[Léonard Charner]] proclaimed the formal annexation of three provinces of Cochinchina into the [[Second French Empire|French Empire]] on 31 July 1861,<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9RorGHF0fGIC&pg=PA48 |title=The Last Emperors of Vietnam: From Tu Duc to Bao Dai |last=Chapuis |first=Oscar |publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]] |page=48 |date=1 January 2000 |access-date=3 April 2015|isbn=9780313311703 }}</ref> the beginning of the colonial era of France in South-East Asia. France's interference in Indochina was thus a fact and the colonial community pressing to establish a commercial network in the region based on the Mekong river, ideally linking up with the gigantic market of southern China.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Bio32Tuat-t1-body-d6.html |title=The French Voyages and the Philosophical Background |last=Dunmore |first=John |journal=Tuatara |volume=32 |publisher=[[Victoria University of Wellington Library]] |date=April 1993 |access-date=3 April 2015}}</ref><ref name="end-of-empires">{{cite journal |url=http://end-of-empires-south-east-asia.wikispaces.com/file/view/THE+MEKONG+EXPLORATION+COMMISSION.pdf |title=The Mekong Exploration Commission, 1866 – 68: Anglo-French Rivalry in South East Asia |last=Keay |first=John |journal=[[Asian Affairs]] |volume=XXXVI| issue = III |publisher=Routledge |date=November 2005 |access-date=3 April 2015}}</ref> 

[[Dutch people|Dutch]] author H.Th. Bussemaker has argued that these French colonial undertakings and acquisitions in the region were mere reactions to or counter-measures against British geo-strategy and economic hegemony. "For the British, it was obvious that the French were trying to undercut British expansionism in India and China by interposing themselves in Indochina. The reason for this frantic expansionism was the hope that the Mekong river would prove to be navigable to the Chinese frontier, which then would open the immense Chinese market for French industrial goods."<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://dare.uva.nl/document/2/11106 |title=Paradise in Peril. Western colonial power and Japanese expansion in South-East Asia, 1905-1941 |last=Bussemaker |first=H.Th. |publisher=[[University of Amsterdam]] |year=2001 |access-date=3 April 2015}}</ref> To save the kingdom's national identity and integrity, King [[Ang Duong]] initiated secret negotiations in a letter to Napoleon III seeking to obtain some agreement of protection with France.

In June 1884, the French governor of [[Cochinchina]], [[Charles Antoine François Thomson|Charles Thomson]] went to [[Phnom Penh]], Norodom's capital, and demanded approval of a treaty with Paris that promised far-reaching changes such as the abolition of slavery, the institution of private land ownership, and the establishment of French résidents in provincial cities. The king reluctantly signed the agreement. The Philaster Treaty of 1874 confirmed French sovereignty over the whole of Cochin China and on 16 November 1887 the [[French Indochina|Indo-Chinese Union]] was established.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.academia.edu/9680216| title=The Raison d'être of French Protectorate of Cambodia | date= December 14, 2014 | author=Sovannarith Keo | access-date= July 2, 2020}}</ref>

===Continued debate over Post-Angkor historiography===
[[File:Roi du Cambodge 1864 allocution Desmoulins 05299.jpg|thumb|right|Coronation of Norodom, 3 June 1864.]]

[[Archaeology]] of Cambodia is considered to be still in its infancy. The introduction of new methods of [[geochronology]] such as LIDAR-Scanning and Luminescence dating has revealed new sets and kinds of data and studies on climate—and environmental imbalances have become more numerous in recent years. Reflection of results obviously requires time, as in an article of the US [[National Academy of Sciences]] of the year 2010, the author complains: "Historians and archaeologists have, with a few notable exceptions only rarely considered the role played by environment and climate in the history of Angkor".<ref>{{cite journal |title= Climate as a contributing factor in the demise of Angkor, Cambodia – Historians and archaeologists have, with a few notable exceptions (1, 2), only... |journal= Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date= 13 April 2010 |volume= 107 |issue= 15 |pages= 6748–6752 | publisher= National Academy of Sciences |doi= 10.1073/pnas.0910827107 |last1= Buckley |first1= Brendan M. |last2= Anchukaitis |first2= Kevin J. |last3= Penny |first3= Daniel |last4= Fletcher |first4= Roland |last5= Cook |first5= Edward R. |last6= Sano |first6= Masaki |last7= Nam |first7= Le Canh |last8= Wichienkeeo |first8= Aroonrut |last9= Minh |first9= Ton That |last10= Hong |first10= Truong Mai |doi-access= free |pmid= 20351244 |pmc= 2872380 }}</ref>

Widely debated remain [[historiography]], [[culturalism]] and other aspects of the historical sources as wide contradictions suggest.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://moussons.revues.org/2469?lang=en |title= Culturalism and historiography of ancient Cambodia: about prioritizing sources of Khmer history - Ranking Historical Sources and the Culturalist Approach in the Historiography of Ancient Cambodia by Eric Bourdonneau |journal= Moussons. Recherche en Sciences Humaines Sur l'Asie du Sud-Est |date= September 2004 |issue= 7 |pages= 39–70 | publisher= Presses Universitaires de Provence |doi= 10.4000/moussons.2469 |access-date=3 July 2015 |last1= Bourdonneau |first1= Eric }}</ref> Probably the greatest challenge is to synchronise all research with the conclusions of the neighbouring countries. Delicate issues exist that are rooted in this historical period (border disputes, cultural heritage), which are politically relevant and far from solved. Definitive conclusions with all contributing factors in a reasonable context are clearly future events.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.academia.edu/12109729 |title= Archaeology in Cambodia: An appraisal for future research by William A. Southworth, Archaeological consultant for the Center for Khmer Studies - Rather than being finalized and complete, the study of the archaeology of Cambodia... | publisher= Center for Khmer Studies |access-date=1 July 2015}}</ref>

Miriam T. Stark in: "From Funan to Angkor Collapse and Regeneration in Ancient Cambodia"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.anthropology.hawaii.edu/people/faculty/Stark/pdfs/From_Funan_to_Angkor.pdf |title=From Funan to Angkor Collapse and Regeneration in Ancient Cambodia by Miriam T. Stark p. 166 |publisher=University of Hawaii |access-date=29 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923172421/http://www.anthropology.hawaii.edu/People/Faculty/Stark/pdfs/From_Funan_to_Angkor.pdf |archive-date=23 September 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

{{quotation|"...explaining why particular continuities and discontinuities characterize ancient Cambodia remains impossible without a more finely textured understanding of the archaeological record... Future work, that combines systematic archaeological research and critical documentary analysis can and should illuminate aspects of resilience and change..."}}

==See also==
{{portal|Cambodia}}
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* [[Buddhism in Cambodia]]
* [[Cambodian Royal Chronicles]]
* [[History of Cambodia]]
* [[Khmer Empire]]
* [[French Protectorate of Cambodia]]
* [[List of monarchs of Cambodia]]
* [[Cambodian monarchs' family tree|Monarchs' family tree
]]
* [[Devaraja]]
* [[Mainland Southeast Asia]]
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|title= Vietnam, Kampuchea, Laos, Bound in Comradeship: A Panoramic Study of Indochina from Ancient to Modern Times, Volume 2 |first=H. R. |last=Chakrabartty|year=1988|publisher=Patriot Publishers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PRxBAAAAMAAJ|isbn=8170500486|access-date=16 February 2014}}
* {{cite book|title=Killing Fields, Living Fields: An Unfinished Portrait of the Cambodian Church - The Church That Would Not Die |first= Don|last=Cormack|others=Contributor Peter Lewis|edition=reprint|year=2001|publisher=Kregel Publications|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mINZclfikIsC |isbn=0825460026|access-date=16 February 2014}}
* {{cite book|title=Before the Killing Fields: Witness to Cambodia and the Vietnam War |first= Leslie |last=Fielding|edition=illustrated|year=2008|publisher=I.B.Tauris|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VOtzHnVLZo4C |isbn=978-1845114930|access-date=16 February 2014}}
* {{cite book|title=Blood and Soil: A World History of Genocide and Extermination from Sparta to Darfur |first= Ben|last=Kiernan|year=2008|publisher=Melbourne Univ. Publishing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R5p7cRyK748C |isbn=978-0522854770|access-date=16 February 2014}}
* {{cite book|title=The Pol Pot Regime: Race, Power, and Genocide in Cambodia Under the Khmer Rouge, 1975-79 |first= Ben|last=Kiernan|edition=illustrated|year=2002|publisher=Yale University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l8TVTCJSJKcC |isbn=0300096496|access-date=16 February 2014}}
* {{cite book|title=Phnom Penh: A Cultural History: A Cultural History |first= Milton |last=Osborne|year=2008|publisher=Oxford University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SRfg1yx_4F0C |isbn=978-0199711734|access-date=16 February 2014}}
* {{cite book|title=Charting the shape of early modern Southeast Asia |first= Anthony |last=Reid|year=1999|publisher=Silkworm Books|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N3ZuAAAAMAAJ |isbn=9747551063|access-date=16 February 2014}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links|voy=Cambodia}}
* [http://www.reihe-gelbe-erde.de/rge/bilder/005.pdf The Ram Khamhaeng Inscription - The fake that did not come true]
* [https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/jan/14/what-the-collapse-of-ancient-capitals-can-teach-us-about-the-cities-of-today What the collapse of ancient capitals can teach us about the cities of today]
* [http://www.cseas.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en/ Center for Southeast Asian Studies Japan]
* [http://www.khmerstudies.org/ Center for Khmer Studies]
* {{IA|philippineislan85bourgoog|The Philippine islands, 1493-1803}}
* [http://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/history/south-east-asian-history/strange-parallels-southeast-asia-global-context-c8001830-volume-1 Strange Parallels - Southeast Asia in a Global Context by Victor Lieberman]
* [http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/4351/ Maritime boundary delimitation in the gulf of Thailand - information on multiple unsolved regional border disputes,dating back to the dark ages]
{{Cambodia topics}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Post-Angkor Period}}
[[Category:Khmer Empire by event]]
[[Category:History of Cambodia by period]]
[[Category:2nd millennium in Cambodia]]
[[Category:19th century in Cambodia]]
[[Category:18th century in Cambodia]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1863]]
[[Category:Dark ages]]