SOUTHEAST

ASIA

1
 CAMBODI
A

2
 CAMBODIA

• Officially known as the

Kingdom of Cambodia
• Known previously as the Khmer
Empire
• Located in the southern
portion of the Indochinese
Peninsula in Southeast Asia
 INDOCHINESE
PENINSULA

Region of southern
Indochinese
peninsula covers the
areas of the Mekong
River delta and the
China Sea to the
South and the
Midwestern Mekong
region bordering the
Gulf of Thailand and
by mountains of
Central Laos in the
north
 RELIGION

Theravada Buddhism
• “Doctrines of the Elders” –
oldest surviving Buddhist
branch
• Existed in Cambodia since at
least 5th century BCE.
• State religion since 13th
century from the monks of Sri
Lanka during the reign of
Jayavarman VII
 RELIGION

Hinduism
• Oldest and first religion to be
followed in Cambodia. Main
religion of the Khmer empire
• Home of to one of the only
two temples in the world
dedicated to Brahma
• Angkor Wat is the biggest
Hindu temple in the world.
 HISTORY
Prehistory (4200 BCE – 1st century CE)
• Stable organized societies that spoke languages
to present day Khmer 1st century AD.
• Khmer people were some of the first people to
adopt religious and political ideas from India
Funanese Period (2nd – 6th century CE)
• Early Indo-China consisted of many small states
which ultimately took shape as Myanmar,
Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, of which
Cambodia is the oldest
• Funan was a major seaport – major role in
transmission of culture into Cambodia including
the introduction of Hinduism
 HISTORY
Chenla Period (7th – 8th century CE)
• One of the states that existed during the
Funanese period
• Gained independence and conquered Funan
• When the king governing this empire
(Jayavarman I) died, the kingdom was divided
into Land Chenla and Water Chenla
Khmer Period/Angkorian Era (9th – 13th century CE)
• King Suryavarman I brought the remnants of
Chenla together under his control and founded
the unified Angkor kingdom with the first city
Phnom Kulen
• The famous Angor Wat was built during this era by
King Suryavarman II as a devotion to Hindu god,
Vishnu
 HISTORY
Khmer Period/Angkorian Era
• Jayavarman VII was another king that existed
during this era
• Around 13th century, Theravada Buddhism was
introduced by monks from Sri Lanka which
eventually became a prominent religion in
Cambodia
 KHMER ARCHITECTURE

Angkor, Cambodia.
• Khmer Empire from the later
half of the 8th century CE to
the first half of the 15th century
CE
• The emphasis is necessarily on
religious structure.
 ANGKOR WAT

Angkor, Cambodia
• Jayavarman II - the founder of
the Khmer Empire
• Suryavarman II – king of the
Khmer Empire who built
Angkor Wat
• Constructed to honor the
Hindu god, Vishnu and to
serve as the king’s tomb after
he died.
• Use of corbelled arch.
• Gopura - an entrance
gateway to a Khmer Temple.
 THOMMANON

Angkor, Cambodia
• One of pair Hindu temples built
during the reign of
Suryavarman II at Angkor,
Cambodia.
• Small and elegant temple is
located east of the Gate of
Victory of Angkor Thom and
north of Chau Say Tevoda.
 ANGKOR THOM

Angkor, Cambodia
• The last and most enduring
capital city of the Khmer
empire.
• It was established in the late
twelfth century by King
Jayavarman VII.
 TA PHROM

Siem Reap Province, Cambodia

• Modern name of the temple
at Angkor
• Built in the Bayon style largely
in the late 12th and early 13th
centuries CE and originally
called Rajavihara
 PRASAT BAYON

Angkor, Cambodia
• Built 100 years after Angkor
Wat
• Built in the late 12th or early
13th century as the official
state temple of the Mahayana
Buddhist King Jayavarman VII
 Angkor, Cambodia
PRASAT BAYON • A well-known and richly decorated Khmer temple at Angkor in
Cambodia.
• Known for its enigmatic smiling faces of Avalokitshevara and its
extraordinary Bas-reliefs
• and nunneries were destroyed during the Chinese invasion and
the Cultural Revolution are being rebuilt.
 BAKONG

• The first stone temple in Grand

Style
• Built in Harihalaya near the
modern Siem Reap in
Cambodia.
• Served as the state temple of
King Indravarman I.
• Features a stepped pyramid
 THE TERRACE OF THE
ELEPHANTS
• Part of the walled city of
Angkor Thom, a ruined temple
complex in Cambodia.
• The terrace was used by
Angkor’s King Jayavarman VII
as a platform from which to
view his victorious returning
army.
 HISTORY
Dark Ages of Khmer Kingdom (14th – 19th century CE)
• After the death of Jayavarman VII, the empire
experienced great decline
• Khmer Kingdom lost control of the peripheries
• Involved in power struggle between
Annam/Champa (Vietnam) and Siam (Thailand)
French Colonial Period (19th – 20th century CE)
• 1863 – King Norodom signed treaty with French to
establish protectorate and eventually became a
colony of France
• World War II also occurred during this era and the
Japanese empire occupied Cambodia during
1941-1945
• 1953 – Cambodia gained independence from
the French
 Khmer Rouge (20th CE)
• Pol Pot – leader of Khmer Rouge; member of French Communist
Party; became leader of Cambodia in 1975
• Attempts at agriculture reform which led to famine, diseases
HISTORY and death.
• Killed many intellectuals, city dwellers, minority people.
Approximately 2.1 million people died (21% of Cambodia’s
population)
 HISTORY

Year Zero (Khmer Rouge) (20th

century CE)
• 1975 – Cambodia renamed as
Kampuchea
• 1977 – Cambodia-Vietnam
War
• 1979 – Vietnamese forces took
Phnom Penh. Pol Pot and
Khmer troops flee. The
People’s Republic of
Kampuchea was established
 HISTORY

Year Zero (Khmer Rouge) (20th

century CE)
• Cambodia taken over by Pol
Pot
• Drastic revolution: all moved to
countryside to become
agricultural workers. Money
became worthless. Basic
freedoms are curtailed, and
religion was banned
• Genocide
 Uneasy Peace (20th century CE)
• 1989 – Vietnamese troops withdrew, and the country was
renamed as the state of Cambodia
• 1993 – the monarchy was restored. The country was renamed
again as the Kingdom of Cambodia
HISTORY • 1998 – Pol Pot died
• 2005 – Khmer Rouge leaders are tried and given various
punishments
 HISTORY

Year Zero (Khmer Rouge) (20th

century CE)
• Cambodia taken over by Pol
Pot
• Drastic revolution: all moved to
countryside to become
agricultural workers. Money
became worthless. Basic
freedoms are curtailed, and
religion was banned
• Genocide
NEW KHMER ARCHITECTURE

• Pioneered by Cambodian architect Vann

Molyvann, who built some 100 structures in
the post-independence, pre-war period in
the country.
• Designed Phnom Penh's Independence
Monument unveiled in 1958.
You have to love your country
… Do not just do anything to
be popular or for your
personal ego … you have to
open your heart to make an
impact on society. If you are
not careful, you will create
something that at the end of
the day will destroy others or
the environment.