Battle Of Tonlé Sap

The Battle of Tonlé Sap (, , ) was a conflict between Champa and the Khmer Empire in 1177.

History

The 12th century was a time of conflict and brutal power struggles. Under Suryavarman II (reigned 1113–1150), the Khmer Empire united internally, and the largest temple of Angkor, Angkor Wat, dedicated to the god Vishnu, was built over a period of 37 years. In the east, Suryavarman's campaigns against Champa and An Nam were unsuccessful, though he did sack Vijaya in 1145 and deposed Jaya Indravarman III. The Khmers occupied Vijaya until 1149, when they were driven out by Jaya Harivarman I. Suryavarman II sent a mission to the Chola dynasty of south India and presented a precious stone to the Chola emperor Kulothunga Chola I in 1114.

Another period followed in which kings reigned briefly and were violently overthrown by their successors. Finally in 1177, the capital of Angkor was raided and looted in a naval battle on the Tonlé Sap lake by a Cham fleet under Po Klong Garai, king of Panduranga, during which the king of Angkor, Tribhuvanadityavarman, was killed.

Po Klong Garai established a new king of Champa, with the title of Jaya Indravarman IV.Maspero, Gaston, 2002, The Champa Kingdom, Bangkok: White Lotus Co., Ltd., In 1190, the Khmer king Jayavarman VII, son and successor of Dharanindravarman II, sought vengeance against Champa. The capital was taken by Vidyanandana, and Indravarman was brought back to Angkor as a prisoner.

Aftermath

This event marked the peak of the mandala regime in what is now the South Central Coast of modern Vietnam. Soon after, it was disrupted by the expansionist ambitions of the Thăng Long dynasties, followed by the Mongol invasion of Champa. For the Khmer Empire, heavy losses in the central area forced them to abandon the lower Mekong region, leaving it deserted for several centuries until the Nguyễn lords came to reclaim it. The influence of the Khmer Empire then decreased markedly, causing Cham kings to seek marriage with the Javanese royal families for the sake of protection, and at the same time, the Khmer court also began to receive a large number of Muslim settlers, which helped strengthen the very remote lower Mekong region.Taouti 1985: 197–198 All of this led to rapid changes in the southern part of the Indochinese peninsula, as Islam became increasingly influential among the aristocracy.

Legacy

The annual Katé festival, held in Ninh Thuận and Lâm Đồng provinces of Vietnam, celebrates the day Po Klong Garai led his army across the Midland Highlands to reach Khmer lands.

See also

* Khmer–Cham wars
* Siege of Angkor
* Siege of Longvek

Notes

References

Further reading

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* Briggs, Lawrence Robert (1951, reprinted 1999). ''The Ancient Khmer Empire''. White Lotus.
* Falser, Michael (2020). ''Angkor Wat – A Transcultural History of Heritage. Volume 1: Angkor in France. From Plaster Casts to Exhibition Pavilions. Volume 2: Angkor in Cambodia. From Jungle Find to Global Icon''. Berlin-Boston DeGruyter
* Forbes, Andrew; Henley, David (2011). ''Angkor, Eighth Wonder of the World''. Chiang Mai: Cognoscenti Books.
* Freeman, Michael and Jacques, Claude (1999). ''Ancient Angkor''. River Books. .
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* Higham, Charles (2003). ''Early Cultures of Mainland Southeast Asia''. Art Media Resources.
* Hing Thoraxy. Achievement of "APSARA": Problems and Resolutions in the Management of the Angkor Area
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* Petrotchenko, Michel (2011). ''Focusing on the Angkor Temples: The Guidebook'', 383 pages, Amarin Printing and Publishing, 2nd edition,
* Ray, Nick (2002). ''Lonely Planet guide to Cambodia'' (4th edition).
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* George Coedes. ''The Making of South East Asia'', 2nd ed. University of California Press, 1983.
* Trần Ngọc Thêm. ''Cơ sở văn hóa Việt Nam'' (The Foundation of Vietnamese Culture), 504 pages. Publishing by Nhà xuất bản Đại học Tổng hợp TPHCM. Saigon, Vietnam, 1995.
* Trần Quốc Vượng, Tô Ngọc Thanh, Nguyễn Chí Bền, Lâm Mỹ Dung, Trần Thúy Anh.
Cơ sở văn hóa Việt Nam
' (The Basis of Vietnamese Culture), 292 pages. Re-publishing by Nhà xuất bản Giáo Dục Việt Nam & Quảng Nam Printing Co-Ltd. Hanoi, Vietnam, 2006.
* Samuel Baron, Christoforo Borri, Olga Dror, Keith W. Taylor (2018). ''Views of Seventeenth-Century Vietnam : Christoforo Borri on Cochinchina and Samuel Baron on Tonkin''. Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-1-501-72090-1.

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