The Đại Việt–Khmer War were a series of wars and conflicts fought between the Kingdom of

Đại Việt Đại Việt (, ; literally Great Việt), was a Vietnamese monarchy in eastern Mainland Southeast Asia from the 10th century AD to the early 19th century, centered around the region of present-day Hanoi. Its early name, Đại Cồ Việt,(ch ...

and the combined forces of

Champa Champa (Cham language, Cham: ꨌꩌꨛꨩ, چمڤا; ; 占城 or 占婆) was a collection of independent Chams, Cham Polity, polities that extended across the coast of what is present-day Central Vietnam, central and southern Vietnam from ...

and the

Khmer Empire The Khmer Empire was an empire in Southeast Asia, centered on Hydraulic empire, hydraulic cities in what is now northern Cambodia. Known as Kambuja (; ) by its inhabitants, it grew out of the former civilization of Chenla and lasted from 802 t ...

between 1123 and 1150.

Background

In 1127, King Ly Nhan Tong died. 12-year-old Ly Than Tong ascended the throne. Taking advantage of this opportunity, King Suryavarman II immediately sent troops to invade Dai Viet.

The conflicts

The first attack was in 1128 when King

Suryavarman II Suryavarman II (, UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ), posthumously named Paramavishnuloka, was the ruler of the Khmer Empire from 1113 until his death in 1150. He is most famously known as the builder of Angkor Wat, the largest Hindu temple in the world, which ...

led 20,000 soldiers from

Savannakhet Savannakhet (, ; ), officially named Kaysone Phomvihane (); since 2005 and previously known as ''Khanthaboury'' (; ), is a city in western Laos. It is the capital of Savannakhet Province. With a population of 125,760 (2018), it is the second-l ...

to Nghệ An but were routed in battle. The following year Suryavarman continued skirmishes on land and sent 700 ships to attack Nghệ An.Đại Việt sent general Dương Ngộ in Nghe An and Nguyễn Hà Viêm who was stationed in Thanh Hóa to fight back, the Khmer army was defeated a second time. After 4 years of preparation, in 1132, the combined forces of the Khmer Empire and Champa attacked Đại Việt by sea. From Nghệ An, the war spread to Thanh Hóa, Đại Việt sent lieutenant Dương Anh Nhĩ and the royal army to fight back, the Khmer and Champa army were defeated. In 1137, Khmer attacked Đại Việt for the 4th time, requesting Champa to send troops to coordinate but was refused. King Lý Thần Tông sent Lieutenant Lý Công Bình to fight back, and won. In 1150, the Khmer army attacked Đại Việt for the 5th time but was defeated. King Suryavarman II died in battle in Hà Tĩnh, ending the Đại Việt-Khmer war.

Aftermath

After a failed attempt to seize seaports in southern Đại Việt, Suryavarman turned to invade Champa in 1145 and sacked Vijaya, ending the reign of Jaya Indravarman III and destroying the temples at

Mỹ Sơn Mỹ Sơn () is a cluster of abandoned and partially ruined Shaiva Hindu temples in central Vietnam, constructed between the 4th and the 13th century by the Kings of Champa, an Indianized kingdom of the Cham people. The temples are dedicated to ...

. Inscriptional evidence suggests that Suryavarman II died between 1145 AD and 1150 AD, possibly during a military campaign against Champa. He was succeeded by Dharanindravarman II, a cousin, son of the brother of the king's mother. A period of weak rule and feuding began. The three provinces Dia Ly (Jriy), Bo Chinh (Traik), Malinh, which Champa had lost to the Dai Viet around 1069–1076, were probably returned to the Cham sphere of influence during 1131-1136, which was testified by both Chinese and Cham sources.

References

Sources

*Coèdes, George (1968). Vella, Walter F. (ed.). ''The Indianized States of Southeast Asia''. trans.Susan Brown Cowing.

University of Hawaii Press A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

, . * * *Maspero, Georges (2002). The Champa Kingdom. White Lotus Co. Ltd. . * 12th century in Cambodia 12th century in Vietnam 12th-century conflicts Military history of Cambodia Wars involving Cambodia Military history of Vietnam Wars involving Đại Việt {{Mil-hist-stub