ExtraPack: Civ Histories (Khmer et al)

[Locutus]

Wernazuma asked me to wrote something about Khmer history for the Extra-Civs pack and I did (well, partly anyway, I admit much of it was copy-pasted from other sources since I didn't have much time). I didn't know where to post it (and it didn't fit in a PM), so I figured I'd just start a new thread about it, you may need a place to collect such histories anyway. It's a semi-draft: it can be used but I may decide to make some changes later. Feedback is welcome of course...

Later I'll see if I can find the time to write something similar for the Arabs and the Turks. I think Wernazuma needs something like this for the Koreans as well so if anyone feels like wading through those 800 posts...




The Khmer or Angkor Civilization came into existence during the period from 802 to 1431 A.D. and stretched as far as the modern Thailand-Burma Border in the west and Wat Phou (Laos) in the north during its peak. It was a successor to the Chenla civilization which ruled a similar but smaller area in the 6th to the 9th century and was in turn a successor to Funan (as the Chinese called it), a martime state in the Mekong Delta from the 2nd century AD onwards. Angkor at different times rivalled with several other major South East Asian civilizations, such as the Thai, the Mon, the Champa, the Annam (Vietnamese) and the Javans. The word "Angkor" is derived Sanskrit, an ancient Indian language, of "Nagara" which means "City". Angkor Wat literally means "City of Temple" and Angkor Thom "The Magnificent City". Much of what we know about the Khmer civilization, we have learned not from the Khmer themsevles, but from a Chinese ambassador named Zhou Daguan, who travelled to Angkor in 1296 and wrote elaborate reports about the everyday life of the ordinary Khmer.

Without a doubt, the ancient Khmers were great masters of stone carving. As we can see today the unarguable evidences of various Angkor temples lying on the vast plain of Siemreap, or even beyond its present-day border to the Preah Vihear at Dangrek Mountain, Phnomrung and Phimai in Thailand and Wat Phu in Laos. All these were created and carefully crafts by the ancient Khmers in successive centuries. The center of the Khmer Civilization is at the famous Angkor Wat area which is situated on the plain of present-day Siemreap province north of the Great Lake of Tonle Sap. Throughout the course of Khmer history, the kingship was frequently attained by violent means with bloodshed throne. There were successive capitals built by different kings in the region, not far from each others; these capitals are at area of Angkor Wat and Roluos with the different names such as Harihalara, Yasodharapura, Jayendanagari, Angkor Thom and a few unknown names.

The Khmer civilization was founded by Jayavarman II, a Chenla prince who was detained by the Javan court, which occupied much of what was to be the Khmer Empire in the early 9th century AD. After escaping from the Javans, he vigorously pursued a position of power and became the Khmer king in 790 A.D. For the next 12 years, he fought many battles in the Angkor region and tried to establish a perfect home for his own kingdom. In 802, Jayavarman II crowned himself for the second time, which marked as a starting point of the Khmer Civilization and the birth of the Angkor Empire. He proclaimed himself to be a universal monarch of Khmer in a ritual ceremony borrowed from Hinduism as a "god-king" or deva-raja. Being revered as a god-king, King Jayavarman II had psychologically asserted his divine kingship over the Khmer of his absolute authority and sovereignty. Moreover, it implied the declaration of Independence from Java Empire.

Jayavarman II did not select the location of his capital at random. He considered its strategic location in term of military. At that time, his potential enemies were in the south and in the east. Situated inland with thick rugged forests, his kingdom could be accessed only through river tributary of Tonle Sap lake. Being at the north of the lake, it meant that his force was at the river upstream which was an added advantage. This also had proved to be a right strategy for the existence of the Angkor Empire for over 600 years as it lost only one major naval battle against Champa in 1177.

After the establishment of Angkor kingdom, Jayavarman II actively waged wars throughout Cambodia and expanded his territory. He built a temple devoted to god Shiva at Phnom Kulen about 40 km northwest of Tonle Sap. King Jayavarman II reigned until 834 A.D.; "Jaya" literally means "victorious" and "varman" - "the protector". His successor, his son Jayavarman III, continued his father's policy of expansion and temple building. In 877 he was succeeded by Indravarman I, the first great builder of the Khmer kings. Indravarman I built at least two primitive Khmer temples, namely the Preah Ko temple, devoted for his royal ancestral spirits, and the Bakong, a mountain temple dedicated for the Hindu gods. These two temples with another later one Lolei are collectively known as the Roluos Group, and their architecture was more or less a pioneer to the later temples of the Angkor civilization. Indravarman I also built a large reservoir named Indratataka.

After Indravarman I many Khmer kings followed, each actively waging war with the Khmer's many enemies and each building great temples, water reservoirs, road networks and other monuments, all in the middle of the Asian jungle. One of the greatest of these Khmer rulers was without a doubt Suryavarman II (1113 - 1150). Aside from being very successfull in war, he was the great builder of the most impressive temple of Khmer: the Angkor Wat, which is often called the 8th World Wonder with its magnificent architecture. Angkor Wat is a mountain temple dedicated to god Vishnu with five towers linked by galleries to signify the heavenly residence of Hindu gods. It is 65 meters high and the outer rectangular enclosure mesuring 1.5 km by 1.3 km which is surrounded by moat of 200 meters wide. In addition to its remarkable size, Angkor Wat also houses thousands of sculptures and stone carvings which amplify the delicacy of Khmer artworks. It took 37 years to complete the construction of this temple with over 50,000 workforce.

In 1177, a Champa King, who was a bitter enemy of the Khmer, attacked the Angkor by sailing his troops up along the Mekong River. A fierce naval battle was fought on the Great Lake of Tonle Sap and resulted in the painful defeat of the Khmer, who subsequently lost their capital and the core of their empire to the Champa. Jayavarman VII however, was determined to fight against the intruders and was able to re-capture the Angkor's capital (Yasodharapura at the time), where he ascended the throne in 1181. The war with the Champa kingdom did not terminate immediately but continued for another twenty years. In 1203, Jayavarman VII had a final victory and conquered the Champa kingdom. Jayavarman VII was the last greatest king of the Angkor. Not only liberalizing and unifying the country, he was also a profound builder with the marvelous achievement in building the new capital of Angkor Thom, lying on the plain of Siemreap north of Angkor Wat. At the center of Angkor Thom is the Bayon Temple, famous for its distinct 50 towers, each bearing the large faces of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshavara (a lord Buddha) on the four sides. These faces are thought to be copied from the actual face of Jayavarman VII, and whose smiles are so gentle that it is often referred to as "the Khmer smile". Also, Jayavarman VII constructed an extensive road network throughout his empire and thus linked all the major towns to Angkor. This efficient road system facilitated the transportation of agricultural products and goods. Along these roads, this great and benevolent king had also built 121 resting houses to accommodate the travelers and the officials, and 102 hospitals to accommodate the sick.

The reign of Jayavarman VII was marked as the peak period of the Angkor Empire as well as of the Khmer Civilization, which began to decline gradually after the death of this great king in 1219 A.D. During the reign of Jayavarman VIII, the Mongol troops of Kublai Khan attacked the border of Angkor Empire from the east in the year 1283. Jayavarman VIII was wise enough not to wage any war with the invincible Mongols at that time. He decided to pay tributes instead and thus his empire survived, for the time being. In the 14th and early 15th century, the Khmers were no longer able to maintain their vast and extensive irrigation systems efficiently. Various dikes and canals silted up. The rice harvest dropped drastically since the Khmers could not prevent floods in Monsoon, and did not have enough water storage in the dry season. As productivity dropped, the empire was weakened. Probably, the kings lacked absolute power to mobilize sufficient laborers to maintain their irrigation system. In 1431, a Thai army attacked the heart of the Angkor region and sacked the capital, marking the end of the Angkor Empire.

[Q Classic]

i'll do the korean thing.

[Hagbart]

I just read the story, and I think it is nicely done. I can't tell you if it is all correct, because I know nothing about the khmer.

[Hagbart]

BTW: where did you get the informations about the khmer from?

[Lord Merciless]

I wonder why they couldn't maintain their irrigation system, especially if they had built it in the first place. And why did such a wet tropical place a la Cambodia need irrigation systems?

[Wernazuma III]

Thanks Locutus for posting the description. I'll post the Civilopedia entries gathered by now here.

However, we have to take into account that there's limited space for the descriptions in the Civilopedia and no description should be longer than that of the Greeks:

#RACE_Greeks
^The Greeks are $LINK. They start the game with
$LINK and $LINK
and build $LINK instead of $LINK.
^
^The period following the catastrophic collapse of the Mycenaean civilization in Greece (about 1200 BC) was marked
by a series of migrations by barbarian peoples from the north, leading to a number of city-states - prominent among
these, Sparta and Athens - and a phase of Greek colonization along the shores of the Mediterranean.
For two centuries, Greek history was a provincial tale of neighbors squabbling over scarce resources.
But it was also the dawn of philosophy and science. There seems to be no good reason why the Hellenes,
clustered in isolated city-states in a relatively poor and backward land, should have struck out into intellectual
regions that were only dimly perceived, if at all, by the splendid civilizations of the Yangtze, the Tigris and
Euphrates, and the Nile valleys but they did.
^ The Persian Wars (492-449 BC) were sparked by a revolt of Greek colonies in Asia Minor and brought the Greeks
onto the stage of world history. Athens and Eretria sent a small fleet in support of the revolt, which the Persian
emperors took as a pretext for launching two invasions of the Greek mainland. In 490 BC a Persian army under
Darius I (522-486 BC) landed unopposed on the plain of Marathon; following an appeal to the Spartans, the Athenian-led
Greeks won a decisive victory. A second invasion ten years later, blunted by the valiant stand by the Spartans and
Thespians at Thermopylae (481 BC), ended with the crushing defeat of the Persian fleet at Salamis. Sporadic fighting
between Greek alliances and Persia continued for another 30 years, before the Peace of Callas (449 BC) finally ended
the hostilities. The surprising Greek triumph ensured the survival of Greek culture and political structures.
^ Growing tensions among the victors led to the Peloponnesian Wars (431-404 BC), fought between Athens and Sparta.
The Athenian league was, in fact, an empire that included most of the island and coastal states around the shores of
the Aegean Sea, while Sparta was leader of an alliance of independent cities that included most of the major land
powers of the peninsula. The end finally came in 404 BC when, starved by an impenetrable blockade, Athens capitulated.
Athens' devastation and decline was perhaps the worst casualty in a war that crippled Greek unity.
#DESC_RACE_Greeks
^
^
^ By this time, a new power was growing in the north of Greece. In 353 BC, Philip I was in undisputed control of a
much-enlarged Macedonia. Phalanx tactics were known from ancient Sumer and Egypt, but Philip perfected the tactical
use of spear-wielding {Hoplites} in dense, massive blocks of eight, or even 16-20 ranks, sacrificing flexibility
and mobility in order to achieve maximum protection and power. Unless {Alexander} (336-323 BC) was himself
responsible for his father's assassination in 336 BC, he cannot have foreseen the moment of his succession.
But he was certainly prepared. Educated by Aristotle and left in charge of Macedonia during Philip's attack on
Byzantium, Alexander defeated the Maedi; two years later he commanded the left wing at the battle of Chaeronea,
in which Philip defeated the allied Greek states. By the time of his death at the age of 33, Alexander had moved
the great centers of civilization westward and initiated a new age, spread Hellenism in a vast colonizing wave
throughout the Middle East and created, if not politically at least economically and culturally, a single civilization
stretching from Gibraltar to the Punjab, open to trade and intellectual intercourse.
^ But the Greek empire could hardly survive Alexander's death. During a 40-year (323-280 BC) interregnum,
the provinces became independent kingdoms, with various of Alexander's generals rising to rule through bloodshed
and assassination, yet unable to ally against the coming of a new military power. By 350 BC, Rome was encroaching
on the westernmost Greek settlements, beginning a 200-year conquest of the Hellenic world that Alexander had created.
With the defeat of Cleopatra and Mark Anthony, Octavian's forces occupied Egypt and the last kingdom of Alexander's
successors fell to Rome. For two millennia, Greece was part of the Roman, then Byzantine and finally the Ottoman
empires. Following an uprising supported by Britain, Russia and France, Greece's existence as an independent nation
gained formal recognition in 1832.

[Wernazuma III]

Mongols

This is basically what Locutus wrote, only a bit shortened:

History has not been kind on the Mongols. Many, historians and laymen alike, have always viewed them as primitive and terrible
barbarians who did nothing but destroy, kill, pillage and commit all kinds of atrocities. All too often are their great accomplishments
overlooked. Their military was in every way superior to any opponent they ever encountered: their armor, weapons, their seige
equipment, their tactics and strategies, their endurance, everything. And as shortlived as it may have been, the Mongols conquered
the largest empire that ever existed and did this within a human lifetime.
^ Greatest of all was without a doubt their founding father Temuchin, better known under his title Genghis Khan. He was without a
doubt one of the greatest, if not the greatest, conqueror and statesman in human history. He took a bunch of rivaling nomadic tribes,
conquered them, managed to unite them all under the term 'Mongol' and with them conquered much of the Eurasian continent. Genghis
didn't just rush into one battle after another like a brute and violent barbarian. On the contrary, he carefully planned each battle and
each campaign, he was a great strategist. Additionally, Genghis found the pursuit of knowledge very important and made sure the
Mongols took advantage of every kind of new technology they encountered during their conquests.
^ Important decisions were to be made not by the Great Khan alone but by the khuriltay, a general assembly of the Mongolian
aristorcracy plus other important people in the empire. Genghis even made rules about hygiene, drinking, the environment, combat and
hospitality. His basic philosophy was that all men (and women) are equal and that people should always help each other, regardless of
who or where they are.
^ In 1207, Genghis invaded Northern China and Korea. In 1221 he had conquered the whole of the Khwarezmian empire and in the
subsequent years the Mongols performed their first raids into present-day Russia. In 1227 the great Khan fell of his horse on a Chinese
battlefield and died.
^ Ogedei, Genghis’ successor, conquered China and once this was accomplished, Batu (Genghis's grandson)set out for Russia. He ^ conquered the Russian cities one by one and conquered eastern Europe as well until his father died in 1242.
^ Batu formed the Golden Horde khanate in Russia, in Persia the Il-Khan khanate was also formed, Central Asia became the Chaghatai
khanate. China was conquered and ruled by Kublai Khan (a grandson of Genghis), founder of the Yuan dynasty. From this time forward,
trade caravans could travel freely throughout the Mongol empire (Pax Mongolica).
^ More armies were launched in many directions (Japan, Java, Egypt, Vietnam, etc) but all failed for different reasons (storms, treachery,
etc). The various khanates increasingly grew apart, Mongols everywhere increasingly adapted to the people they had conquered and
thus alienated from each other. In 1260 Kublai moved the capital from Karakorum to the newly founded city of Dadu (aka Beijing), thus
alienating the other Mongols even further. Over time the various khanates grew weaker and weaker and were eventually conquered by
local enemies, only the Golden Horde managed to hold out until 1502 (the others all ceased to exist before 1370). However, this is not the
end of the Mongols. For one thing, the conquerors of the Il-Khan (the Timurids) were Mongols themselves and continued to rule this area
until the early 16th century. The Moghul (or Mughal) dynasty that conquered the Indian subcontinent from 1520 onwards were Mongols as
well. They established a great empire there which brought forth great leaders such as Akbar the Great and Shah Jehan (under whom the
Taj Mahal was built). In the first half of the 18th century the power of the Moghul was greatly reduced by the Marathas and in 1858 they
completely vanished from the Indian stage when the British officially took over control of India.

[History Guy]

Well, if you can find and shorten my Phoenician bit, you can use that for a description.

[Wernazuma III]

Actually, I've written one myself, but I'll crosscheck it with yours.

[History Guy]

OK. Need any other descriptions? I could whip something up, I'm sure.

[Wernazuma III]

Decribing the Arabs would be much help :b

[History Guy]

OK. I'll try a hand at that. Finished a Scottish description for Sweeny at CivFanatics today, so I'll start work on the Arabs after some research, OK?

[Locutus]

Originally posted by Hagbart
BTW: where did you get the informations about the khmer from?

Oh, there are tons of book, websites, articles, documentaries, etc about the Khmer (especially Angkor Wat), and I've read plenty of them. But in this case, this was a very important source, I used that as basis for my own piece and only made where I saw fit.

Originally posted by Lord Merciless
I wonder why they couldn't maintain their irrigation system, especially if they had built it in the first place.

Because you only have to build it once, but maintaining it requires constant investment. Maintenance of such an eloborate system as that of the Khmer (especially in the middle of the jungle, where if you don't do enough for a few years the jungle will soon take over) is expensive; it requires a lot of time, skill and resources. Due to constant warfare and especially by loosing wars these things all become scarce.

And why did such a wet tropical place a la Cambodia need irrigation systems?

Because if you want to grow large amounts of food in a systematic and efficient manner, you must have a systematic and well-functioning irrigation system as well. This is true regardless of climate, but especially in SE Asia where most of the annual rain falls in a period of a few months. Never seen a picture of the rice fields in Thailand or Cambodia? That's not the natural way those plants grow, you know

Wernazuma,
Why on earth does it have to be so short, that's silly? Oh well. I'm using these for my own mod as well so my summaries will remain of the same length as they have always been, it shouldn't be too hard to shorten.

You wrote your own version for the Phoenicians? I guess that brings the total to 3, IIRC back when were started doing these stories History Guy and I both already wrote our own version (his was better though)...

Hmmm, I had already made a start with the Arabs, but I haven't progressed very far yet so I'll leave that for History Guy and focus on the Turks next.