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

Đại Việt Đại Việt (, ; literally Great Việt), often known as Annam ( vi, An Nam, Chữ Hán: 安南), was a monarchy in eastern Mainland Southeast Asia from the 10th century AD to the early 19th century, centered around the region of present-day H ...

and the combined forces of

Champa Champa (Cham: ꨌꩌꨛꨩ; km, ចាម្ប៉ា; vi, Chiêm Thành or ) were a collection of independent Cham polities that extended across the coast of what is contemporary central and southern Vietnam from approximately the 2nd cen ...

and the Khmer Empire between 1123 and 1150.

Background

At this time, Đại Việt was in a vulnerable position due to internal conflict and a series of wars with their neighbors. In 1127, the 12-years-old Crown Prince Lý Dương Hoán became the new ruler of Đại Việt. Suryavarman II demanded Đại Việt to pay tribute for the Khmer Empire, but the Vietnamese refused to pay tribute to the Khmers. Suryavarman II decided to expand his territory northward into Vietnamese territory.

The conflicts

The first attack was in 1128 when King

Suryavarman II Suryavarman II ( km, សូរ្យវរ្ម័នទី២), posthumously named Paramavishnuloka, was a Khmer king from 1113 AD to 1145/1150 AD and the builder of Angkor Wat, the largest religious monument in the world which he dedicated t ...

led 20,000 soldiers from

Savannakhet Savannakhet (ສະຫວັນນະເຂດ), officially named Kaysone Phomvihane ( lo, ໄກສອນ ພົມວິຫານ; th, ไกสอน พมวิหาน) since 2005 and previously known as ''Khanthaboury'' (ຄັນທະ ...

to Nghệ An but were routed in battle. The following year Suryavarman continued skirmishes on land and sent 700 ships to bombard the coastal areas of Đại Việt. The warfare escalated in 1132 when Khmer Empire and Champa jointly invaded Đại Việt, briefly seizing Nghệ An. In 1136, Duke Đỗ Anh Vũ led an expedition with thirty thousand troops into Khmer territories, but his army later retreated after subdued highland tribes in Xiangkhoang. By 1136, King Jaya Indravarman III of

made peace with the Vietnamese, which led to the Khmer–Cham War. In 1138, Lý Thần Tông died aged 22 from a disease and was succeeded by his two years old son

Lý Anh Tông Emperor Lý Anh Tông (1136 – 14 August 1175) of Đại Việt (literally Great Viet), was the sixth ruler of the later Lý dynasty, from 1138 until his death in 1175. Since Lý Anh Tông, given name Lý Thiên Tộ ( 李天祚), was chose ...

. Suryavarman II led several more attacks on Đại Việt until his death in 1150.

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 . 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 higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

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