One of 1.5 million citizens tagged, documented, and executed by the Khmer Rouge for the crime of “being educated,” 1978
Date: 11th century
Cambodia (Angkor, Siem Reap Province)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Khmer Empire was one of the most powerful empires in Southeast Asia. The empire, which grew out of the former kingdom of Chenla, at times ruled over and/or vassalized parts of modern-day Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Burma, and Malaysia.Its greatest legacy is Angkor, the site of the capital city during the empire’s zenith. Angkor bears testimony to the Khmer empire’s immense power and wealth, as well as the variety of belief systems that it patronised over time. The empire’s official religions included Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism, until Theravada Buddhism prevailed, even among the lower classes, after its introduction from Sri Lanka in the 13th century.Modern researches by satellites have revealed Angkor to be the largest pre-industrial urban center in the world.
The history of Angkor as the central area of settlement of the historical kingdom of Kambujadesa is also the history of the Khmer from the 9th to the 13th centuries.
From Kambuja itself - and so also from the Angkor region - no written records have survived other than stone inscriptions. Therefore the current knowledge of the historical Khmer civilization is derived primarily from:
- archaeological excavation, reconstruction and investigation
- stone inscriptions (most important are foundation steles of temples), which report on the political and religious deeds of the kings
- reliefs in a series of temple walls with depictions of military marches, life in the palace, market scenes and also the everyday lives of the population
- reports and chronicles of Chinese diplomats, traders and travellers.
The beginning of the era of the Khmer Empire is conventionally dated to 802 AD. In this year, king Jayavarman II had himself declared chakravartin(“king of the world”, or “king of kings”) on Phnom Kulen.
Image 1 : c. 1300 CE, showing the Khmer Empire in red, Lavo Kingdom in light blue, Sukhothai Empire in orange, Champa in yellow, Dai Viet in blue and Kingdom of Lanna in purple.
Image 2 : The future king of the Khmer Empire, Jayavarman VII.
(Source: khmer-chey)
The Khmer Empire was one of the most powerful empires in Southeast Asia. The empire, which grew out of the former kingdom of Chenla, at times ruled over and/or vassalized parts of modern-day Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Burma, and Malaysia. Its greatest legacy is Angkor, in present-day Cambodia, which was the site of the capital city during the empire’s zenith. Angkor bears testimony to the Khmer empire’s immense power and wealth, as well as the variety of belief systems that it patronised over time. The empire’s official religions included Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism, until Theravada Buddhism prevailed, even among the lower classes, after its introduction from Sri Lanka in the 13th century. Modern researches by satellites have revealed Angkor to be the largest pre-industrial urban center in the world.
(via collectivehistory)
Kang Kek Iew, also known as Comrade Duch, is a war criminal and former leader in the Khmer Rouge communist movement, which ruled Democratic Kampuchea from 1975 to 1979. As the head of the government’s internal security branch, he oversaw the Tuol Sleng (S-21) prison camp where thousands were held for interrogation and torture. The first Khmer Rouge leader to be tried by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia for the crimes of the regime, he was convicted of crimes against humanity, murder, and torture for his role during the Khmer Rouge rule of Cambodia and sentenced to 30 years imprisonment. On February 2nd 2012, his sentence was extended to life imprisonment by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.
(via collectivehistory)
The Khmer Empire was one of the most powerful empires in Southeast Asia. The empire, which grew out of the former kingdom of Chenla, at times ruled over and/or vassalized parts of modern-day Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Burma, and Malaysia. Its greatest legacy is Angkor, in present-day Cambodia, which was the site of the capital city during the empire’s zenith. Angkor bears testimony to the Khmer empire’s immense power and wealth, as well as the variety of belief systems that it patronised over time. The empire’s official religions included Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism, until Theravada Buddhism prevailed, even among the lower classes, after its introduction from Sri Lanka in the 13th century. Modern researches by satellites have revealed Angkor to be the largest pre-industrial urban center in the world.
(via collectivehistory)
Lost Goddesses: Denial of Female Power in Cambodian History by Trudy Jacobsen
Women had a high status in pre-modern Southeast Asia; this is constantly stated, especially in relation to discussions on the status of women today in the region. Why, then, is it that the position of women there today is far from equitable? Few studies have examined how or when - let alone why - this change came about. This is the first study ever to address the place of women in Cambodian history. A narrative and visual tour de force, it revises accepted perspectives in the history and geopolitical organization of Cambodia since c. 230 C.E. In so doing, the book examines the relationship between women and power and analyses the extent of female political and economic participation as revealed in historical sources, including the ways in which women were represented in art and literature. By taking an analytical approach through the sequence of chronological periods, it is possible to determine when and why the status of women changed and what factors contributed to these changes. Significantly, although Cambodian women have been represented at different times as ‘powerless’ in western analyses, they have continued to exercise authority outside those areas of concern to western constructs of power. This study will be of interest to scholars working in history, anthropology, gender studies, politics, religion, Cambodian/Khmer studies, and Southeast Asian studies, as well as members of the general public.
Child Soldiers and Mine Victims
Cambodia is a land of contrasts. Beside the loads of old temples and ancient ruins, there is a turbulent modern history. In the 70s and 80s civil war rocked the country. Pol Pot’s army, the Khmer resistance, and the Vietnamese, the Chinese, the Americans, the French, the Soviets. All of these people were involved somehow-some of them fought the war, some of them provided support, and some of them had their weapons used in the war, with or without their consent.
As the war went on, greater and greater numbers of adults died. Orphans were taken to shelters, where they were trained to work and to fight. Some children were taken away from their families for the same reason-even though they had someone to care for them, they were too useful as fighters. Not all of these children saw combat, but they were trained and prepared to fight.
One of these children was Aki Ra. He was an orphan, but he avoided the orphanages when a kind woman took him in. But, this didn’t last. The army came and took him away to train as a child soldier. He was forced to fight for Pol Pot and then later for the Vietnamese. After the war, he worked for the United Nations.
During the war, he helped lay innumerable landmines. When the fighting was over, he found that he was skilled at disarming these mines. He traveled around Cambodia, digging up and disarming the mines that the official minesweepers hadn’t gotten the chance to clear.
He was ordered to stop his uncertified demining operations. Eventually, he was able to receive certification, and now he can continue to clear the mines.
Aki Ra collected many of the landmines that he disarmed. He has a facility near Banteay Srei where visitors can come and see the many bombs and mines in his collection. He has large mines and small mines. Bombs of all kinds. Inside there are examples of the uniforms worn by the different sides of the war. Rooms hold pictures telling the story of the war and the people it has affected.
But, this is not all that the Landmine Museum represents. Aki Ra not only disarms the mines, but he also helps their victims. Behind the museum there is a facility for orphans, amputees, and the sick. These children come from all over Cambodia to live with Aki Ra and receive the support he has to offer. Posters tell their stories-some lost their parents to mines, others were lucky to lose only their legs. Some of the hardest for me were the ones where a child and their friends and siblings were playing when a friend found a mine. When the child woke up, his or her friends were dead and the child faced recovering from horrific injuries.
In the museum giftshop the children sell their handicrafts alongside more customary souvenirs. Some are simple pictures, some are more like friendship bracelets, and others are more complex woven items. With this money, the facility helps feed, clothe, and educate the children. Funds are available for the kids to go to vocational school or college. They can learn to live for themselves, despite their handicaps.
I left feeling grateful for the life that I have been given and the safety that I take for granted every day. A couple new bracelets in my pocket, I got back into my tuk tuk.
Korean word of the post: 지뢰 (ji-roe) landmine
Chinese word of the post: 地雷 (di4 lei2) landmine
Khmer word of the post: មីន (miin) landmine
(via Made (Maddie) Bulkes)
2580. Angkor Archaeological Park. Located in Northern Cambodia, the Angkor Archaeological Park contains a rich history of Cambodia’s past.
Cambodia’s history can be traced back to the Stone Age. The Khmer people formed powerful kingdoms between the ninth and twelfth centuries, constructing a vast capital city and temple complex at Angkor, but their empire then declined and for 600 years Cambodia had feuds with Thailand and Vietnam. A French protectorate from the mid-19th century, Cambodia fell under Japanese authority during World War II, finally gaining independence from France in 1954.
From 1955 to 1970 the Kingdom of Cambodia was ruled by Prince Norodom Sihanouk. Sihanouk had been king since 1941, but he abdicated in 1955 in order to further his aim to establish Cambodia as a constitutional monarchy. Sihanouk formed a political party, led it to victory and became Prime Minister. He was elected as Head of State in 1960. In 1963 left-wing opponents of Sihanouk (including Saloth Sar, who changed his name to Pol Pot) fled Phnom Penh, the capital, for the jungles and mountains of Cambodia and established the Communist Party of Kampuchea (the Khmer Rouge).
In 1969 United States bombings of Cambodia began, largely in secret, aimed at Vietnamese communist base camps on Cambodian territory.
- Brief History of Cambodia