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Chapter Two Angkorian Period : History, Social, Culture, Economic and Politics

An ancient Khmer Civilization that was developed between 7th – 13th centuries is one of the oldest civilization in Southeast Asian region. With the controlled areas covered from Tonlé Sap to the lower northeastern part of including the southern part of the present Lao PDR and River in southern , its power was widely expanded to the point to be called the ancient “Great Power” of this era. Khmer history can be divided into 3 period; Pre-Angkorian Period (7th – 9th centuries), Transition Period (10th century) and Angkorian Period (9th – 15th centuries). Angkorian Period, also known as Khmer Empire, is the time when ancient Khmer had been at its peak, especially during the reign of King Jayavarman VII (1181 – 1219) Khmer Empire, also known as Civilization, was a powerful Hindu- Empire in from the 9th to the 13th centuries. At times, the empire ruled over most of the mainland in Southeast Asia region; parts of the present- days , Southeastern Thailand and Southern Vietnam. This chapter will demonstrate about Khmer Empire during the time of Angkorian Period in terms of social, culture, economic and politic for the understanding of the constructing of the Royal Roads in terms of functions and meanings that will be demonstrated in the latter chapters.

2.1 Historical Background The oldest kingdom of the present-day could be dated back to the . At that time the kingdom that ruled over the land was called (ฟูนัน). The Funan Kingdom was formerly ruled by the queen named Liuye (ลิวยี่) before the man name Huntian, who was believed to be “the man from the southern country Jiao”, took her down. Huntian married the queen then ruled over the kingdom and later he passed the throne to his son.

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The kingdom of Funan has extended its power further away and ruled over some kingdoms. One of the kingdoms that was under the control of Funan was called or Zhenla (เจนละ). Later on Chenla became more powerful than Funan itself at the time around the , after King Mohendravarman (มเหนทรวรมัน จิตร เสน) and King Isanavarman I (อีศานวรมัน) conquered Funan. As mentioned above, the Khmer Civilization was developed between the 7th and 13th centuries and could also divided into three periods of time; Pre- Angkorian Period, Transition Period and Angkorian Period. The time of Pre-Angkorian Period started from the kingdom of Funan to the kingdom of Chenla, and passed on until Angkor became the center of Khmer Civilization. During the time of Chenla, after Funan was conquered, Chenla was divided into Water Chenla (เจนละน้ำ) and Land Chenla (เจนละบก) during the reign of . Water Chenla and Land Chenla united again during the reign of Jayavarman II (802-805). During his reign, under the influence of , the king called himself as a ‘จักรวาทิน’ or the King of the Universe. There were several ‘certres’ during his reign and among them were Mahendraparvata (มเหนทราบรรพต) on Mount Kulen and Lolei (หริหราลัย) at Rolous. Lolei was the last centre of Jayavarman II and was still the centre of several kings after him. Less than a hundred year later, King left Lolei and built a new centre at the Phnom Bakheng called Angkor or . The time Angkor became the centre of Khmer Civilazation was called Angkorian Period or Khmer Empire. The time of Khmer Empire was the golden age. There were both rise and fall, and there were some changes. This period of time was when the cultural power of Khmer Civilization reached its peak. There were numerous . The style of each architectures was vary due to the favor of each king. Hinduism was also flourish during this period until the reign of Jayavarman VII where the of School Buddhism became dominance. The time of Jayavarman VII was when 11

Khmer Empire encounter the change and also the time the empire was at the peak of glory after its downfall from the Cham Invasion and Angkor was burnt down. The reign of Jayavarman VII started after he conquered the Cham and ruled Khmer Empire as a new king. Jayavarman VII was a renowned king. He was known by many famous works of his and was also a changer. He was credited of the developing of Style of and the constructing of the beautiful (and other striking architectures.) He was the upholder of Buddhism and also the conqueror. However, these statement will be demonstrated later in the latter chapter. After the reign of Jayavarman VII, Khmer Empire has met it downfall once again in the 15th century.

2.2 Social and Culture 2.2.1 Sacred Mountain: The mountain usually held a significant role in the culture of Khmer Civilization. Many of the Angkorian hilltop sites were eventually converted for the Theravada usage. In addition, some site had been a sacred place from an early point, such as Phnom Kulen and Kbal Spean. Phnom Kulen was the holiest mountain of the Angkorian Period which has also been appropriated by the Buddhist culture1. The local legend says that the Buddha has visited the mountain and left his footprint (พระบาท) while he was crossing a natural arch at the nearby Kbal Spean. Kbal Spean, according to Steve Friess, is;

Known for its carvings representing fertility and its waters which hold special significance to . Just 5 cm under the water's surface over 1000 small linga carvings are etched into the sandstone riverbed. The waters are regarded as holy, given that Jayavarman II chose to bathe in the river, and

1 Ian Harris, Cambodian Buddhism: History and Practice, (University of Hawaii Press, 2004), pg. 62. 12

had the river diverted so that the stone bed could be carved. Carvings include a stone representation of the Hindu god lying on his serpent Ananta, with his wife Lakshmi at his feet. A lotus flower protrudes from his navel bearing the god Brahma. The river then ends with a waterfall and a pool2.

Figure 1 Phnom Kulen, the Sacred Mountain, Retrived from http://www.visit- angkor.org/blog/2013/05/29/phnom-kulen-the-holy-mountain-nearby-angkor/ 2.2.2 Water Management

Figure 2 Kbal Spean, Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kbal_Spean

2 Steve Friess, in Phnom Kulen, [Online], retrieved 30 October 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phnom_Kulen. 13

The other important structure in the culture of Khmer Civilization is Water. One of the well-known water system in Khmer Empire is the Baray (บาราย) or the reservoirs, a common element usually found in the Khmer architectural site. The largest Barays are the and the located in Angkor. Some scholars believes that there are two meaning and function of Baray. One is the symbolizing the sea that surrounding and the other one is to held the water irrigation for cultivating. The Second reason seem to be the primary reason for constructing Baray. As Khmer Empire rely on wet-rice cultivation which require a good water system. So the Khmers dredged a channel and a baray to drain the water to the field. Each baray was capable of keeping about 40,000 – 70,000 cubic meters of water. According to , this kind of water system allowed the Khmers to do cultivation about 3 or 4 times a years. Water also had other significant role in Khmer Empire. Known by the name of ‘Pond’ (สระน้ำ). This is the type of ‘holy water’ surrounding the prasada which symbolizing the sea that surrounding the universe in the belief of Hinduism and Buddhism. The water will be delivered through the water pipe—in which some part of it was underground. The water pipe made of stone was called ‘โสมสูตร’. At the end of the pipe adorned the head of the mythical creature. The pipe was made for being the pass way of the holy water which was flowing from the sanctuary (ปราสาทประธาน) and poured down through the Linga (or through the sacred rite).3

3 ไมเคิล ฟรีแมน, สัญลักษณ์เขมร. (: อมรินทร์พริ้นติ้งแอนด์พับลิชชิ่ง จำกัด, 2003) 14

Figure 3 Baray of , retrieved from https://lookeastlookwest.blogspot.com/2012/02/angkor-wat.html

Figure 4 The Pipe or โสมสูตร from Phnom Rung, retrieved from http://www.archae.su.ac.th/art_in_thailand/?q=node/622

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2.2.3 Religion and Beliefs Before the time of Jayavarman VII, Hinduism was the dominant religion of Khmer Empire before it was changed to Mahayana School Buddhism. Jayavarman VII was a faithful and honorable Buddhist. Due to his strong belief, the king had paid merit and built numerous numbers of religious places throughout the kingdoms. Out of generosity and mercy, he also built 102 hospitals and 121 rest house along all roads in the kingdom for those who took pilgrimage in the kingdom too. Actually, Mahayana School Buddhism was brought to the Khmer Empire ever since around the 7th century4. There were some images and statues found which was believed to be accepted and worshipped by the people too. However, it was during the reign of Jayavarman VII that the religion became the dominance one with the powerful and significant role in the empire. The scholars found that there was the combination between the belief in Mahayana School Buddhism and the gods in Hinduism—with Buddhism as the core5. The collaboration of the belief between Mahayana School Buddhism and Hinduism also appeared in the architectural sites. For example, the inscriptions of and show that there were the creation of the images of Shiva and Vishnu and constructed within the viharas (วิหาร) and the cloisters (ระเบียงคด). According to Vanvipa Suneta, Coedès believed that the collaboration of the belief in Mahayana School Buddhism was also conform to his governing policy; Angkor Thom as the sign of universe in Buddhist belief with Mount Meru as the centre.6 The constructing of important religious place at the center of the city was also similar to the belief of Hinduism in term of constructing the old Angkor. And according to this

4 Vanvipa Suneta, Concept of Rattanatriya: a study of Khmer during 13th century a.d. in Central Thailand. (Thesis, Master of Arts Program, Department of Art History, Silpakorn University, 2003). pg.7 5 Ibid, วรรณวิภา สุเนตต์ตา, pg.8 6 Ibid, วรรณวิภา สุเนตต์ตา, pg.9 16

statement, it could also means that there was a centre for worshipping gods and in the empire. During the reign of Jayavarman VII, the influence of the belief in Mahayana School Buddhism that was rising at the time has led to the significant changes in the history of Khmer Empire. As King Jayavarman VII has collaborated the Buddhist belief called Ratnatriya (คติรัตนตรัยมหายาน) with his policy of ruling the empire and also built the image of Jaya Buddha Mahanart (ชัยพุทธมหานาถ) as the symbolization of his power. 2.2.3.1 Ratnatriya of Mahayana School Buddhism (คติรัตนตรัย มหายาน) Ratnatriya means three jewels. In Mahayana School Buddhism, this referred to the Buddha, the Dharma (the teachings) and the Sangha. In addition, the Preah Khan Inscription also implies about the three stages of Buddha (Trikaya—ตรีกายา) that are Dharmakaya (ธรรมกาย), Sambhogakaya (สัมโภคกาย) and Nirmanakaya (นิรมานกาย). The concept of Ratnatriya also appeared in the architectural style of Jayavarman VII’s era, in the style of Mahayana School Buddhism. The concept of this belief portrayed the Buddha as the truth, the Lokeshavara as the compassion and Prajanaparmita as the wisdom, these three images always appear in many forms of arts. For example, the Buddha always appear in the form of Buddha Nacprk—the Buddha sheltered by a Naga (พระพุทธรูปนาคปรก), with the image of Lokeshvara on the right and the image of Prajanaparmita on the left. In Khmer culture during Jayavarman VII’s era, the Ratnatriya was also the reflection of the power of the kingship. As Jayavarman portrayed himself as the Buddha or the , while he glorified his father as the Lokeshvara and his mother as Prajanaparmita.

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In addition, in the prasadas the king built in honor of his parents, Ta Prohm for his mother and Preah Khan for his father, the images of Lokeshvara and Prajanaparmita also appeared and formed a complementary pair with each other. According to the statement above, it could be saying that during the reign of Jayavarman VII the adoration of the Ratnatriya (the Buddha, the Lokeshvara and Prajanaparamita) might has the same meaning and intention as the adoration of the Trikaya. 2.2.3.2 Jaya Buddha Mahanart (ชัยพุทธมหานาถ) ‘Jaya Buddha Mahanart’ is the Buddha image in form of Buddha Nacprk made during the reign of Jayavarman VII in the style of Bayon. According to Preah Khan Inscription, Jaya Buddha Mahanart was given out to other 23 kingdoms or cities by the order of Jayavarman VII himself. Chaem Kaewklai has translated and explain about Jaya Buddha Mahanart in the following statement;

บทที่ ๑๑๔ – ๑๒๐ จารึกกล่าวว่า พระเจ้าชัยวรมันที่ ๗ ทรงสร้างพระ รัตนตรัย ส่งไปประดิษฐานที่วิหารใน 23 ตำบล เช่น ศรีชยราชธานี ศรีชยันตครี ศรีชัสิงหวดี ศรีชยวีรวดี ลโว้ทยปุระ สุวรรณปุระ ศัมพูกปัฏฏนะ ชยราชบุรี ศรีชย สิงหบุรี ศรีชยวัชรบุรี ศรีชยสตัมภบุรี ศรีชยราชคีรี ศรีชยวีรบุรี ศรีชยวัชรตี ศรีชย กีรติบุรี ศรีชยเกษมบุรี ศรีวิชยาทิบุรี ศรีชยสิงหคราม มัธยมครามกะ ศรีชยบุรี วีหา โรตตรกะ ปูราวาส7

In addition, the name mentioned above was believed to be the name of the dependency of Khmer Empire during the reign of Jayavarman VII. And the face of the Jaya Buddha Mahanart seem to represent the face of King Jayavarman VII himself.

7 ชะเอม แก้วคล้าย, จารึกพระเจ้าชัยวรมันที่ ๗, (กรุงเทพฯ: กรมศิลปากร, 2528), pg. 7. 18

Figure 3 The Image of Jaya Buddha Mahanart, retrieved from http://oknation.nationtv.tv/blog/voranai/2012/07/18/entry-1

2.3 Economic Khmer Empire Economic and The Khmer Empire was a traditional agricultural community which relying heavily on rice farming and its prosperity was determined by the successful control of water resource. Moreover, Angkor’s economic also base on specific type of agriculture, just like other neighborhood countries—Thailand and Burma, which was called “Wer-Rice Cultivation” or “การเพาะปลูกข้าวนาดำ”, in which there was a study in 1970s saying that;

Angkor-era agriculture was based instead on bunded-field transplanted wet-rice cultivation that allowed the planting of approximately fifty million fields. In the Angkor region floodwaters would slowly rise from the Great Lake, the Tonle Sap, to its tributaries, but would rapidly recede after the rainy season. A network of dams and bunds diverted and retained the receding floodwaters of the Great Lake after the rainy season. The Khmer lacked the 19

technology to build large-scale dams that could have allowed an integrated region-wide hydraulic system; instead they depend on a network of small, simple earthworks on minor streams to retard and spread flood water into clay- based ponds, which stored the water for later use. Archaeological evidence demonstrates that Angkor itself was not a major centre of this water- management network but rather the hill Phnom Kulen, which was located upriver from Yasovarman’s lake some fifty kilometres northwest of Angkor. Phnom Kulen was near the headwaters of the Siemreap (river), which flowed from the area through Angkor to the Tonle Sap. A network of small earth dams regulated the flow of water downstream from Phnom Kulen to Angkor.8

The difficulties from the lack of the dam system and the pattern of cultivation which require the water distribution system made it clear and reasonable that, apart from the other striking function of Phnom Kulen (other than the religious mean), the other structure like Baray also has a significant role in the agriculture of Khmer Empire other than being the religious and cosmological way of emphasizing the king as the re-creator of Mount Meru and its surrounding oceans. At the place with high level of flood, the wet-rice cultivation was capable of provide enough food for a great number of people—even in the small area of field. The main supply of people living in such area are rice, fish and coconut. These supplies were also provide for some providers other that farmers too, such as those who work for authorities and the traders. That means there was economic activities (such as trading) going together with cultivation. In Khmer Empire, those who had to take care of trading were women, as the Chinese diplomat named Zhou Daguan has written in his journal during his staying in Khmer Empire during the reign of Jayavarman VIII;

8 Nicholas Tarling, The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia: Volume One, Part One, from Early Times to c.1500, (Cambridge, England, 2000), pg.230-231. 20

The local people who know how to trade are all women. So when a Chinese goes to this country, the first thing he do is take in a woman, partly with a view to profiting from her trading abilities. There is a market every day from around six in the morning until midday. There are no stalls, only a kind if tumbleweed mat laid out on the ground, each mat in its usual place. I gather there is also a rental fee to be paid to officials Small market transactions are paid for with rice ot other grain and Chinese goods. The ones next up in size are paid for with cloth. Large transactions are done with gold and silver9

Statement above proves that Angkor has been trading with China for some period of time. In addition, Zhou Daguan himself has also stated about China’s trading with Khmer Empire (Cambodia) which was mentioned by Chandler;

According to Zhou, the products exported by Cambodia in the thirteenth century were those that had been exported since the time of Funan: they were to from the bulk of Cambodian exports until the twentieth century. These were such high—value, low bulk items as rhinoceros horns, ivory, beeswax, lacquer, pepper, and cardamom. Imported products included paper and metal goods, porcelain, silk and wicker.10

Furthermore, their economic also based on the organization between the royal and the temples. However, the efficiency of this kind of system was depended on the management habit of each kings as Tarling has demonstrated in his book;

9 Zhou Daguan. (2007). A Record of Cambodia: The Land and Its People (Harris, P., Trans.). Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books. 10 Chandler, D., A , (Colorado, USA, Westview Press: 2007), pg. 73-74. 21

Evidence permits only a few observations about the economic, social, and political organization of the Angkorean polity. It is curtain that the economy was based upon wet-rice agriculture that temples were prominent custodians of land and peasants, and the royal authority was expressed through a relatively well-developed hierarchy that included priests and religious sanctions. The degree of centralized control enjoyed by the kings over temples, rice field, and available labour can only be conjectured, but it was sufficient to realize large building and excavation projects and, periodically, to sustain long- distance military expeditions. Judging from the vicissitudes of Angkorean history, it appears that, whatever the mechanism of hierarchical control available to the kings, orderly conditions and glorious deeds were more the result of their personal abilities than of an institutionalized command system11

The organization between the royal and the temples usually called the temple-based political economy. As many Khmer inscriptions and archaeological evidences were found either inside or outside the present-time Cambodia border, the religious sophistication of Khmer society in the Angkorian Period was reflected in these evidences. Since the time Hinduism was the dominant religion of Khmer Empire until the religious transaction and the time beyond, the principal concern of the leaders of the Ancient Khmer society was the establishment and endowment of the local temples, for which they accrued religious merit and economic return. There were the inscriptions recorded about these activities which was demonstrated in The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia in the following statement;

11 Ibid., Nicholas Tarling, pg.160. 22

Regional leaders held official titles; the power of the landed elites was recognized by those claiming the authority to rule over the by the bestowal of titles on these pre-existing leaders, giving them ‘new’ authority as district officers in the state administration. In such a way the landholders, the regional economic, social, and political leadership, were integrated into an emerging state system. The actions taken by landed elites involved the worship of local and ‘state’ divinities to ‘acquire merit’ and to ‘exhibit devotion’. Inscriptions celebrated the presentation of gifts made to the temple by local leaders as part of their worship, and the wealth of those making the gifts was stressed and donations were carefully calculated. The landed elites who were responsible for this epigraphy emphasized the giving of gifts to temples as the foremost means to ensure the prosperity of society12.

The variety of the donations for the service of the property reflected the diversity in economy of the local temples, for example; domesticated animals, goats, buffaloes, cattle, coconut plants, fruit trees, areca nuts, betel leaves, clothing, a threshing floor and numerous individual objects. Theses variedness had indicated both the economic specialization within Ancient Khmer Empire and the developing institutional capacity to utilize and administer these productions. This led to the role of the temples as the local storages center. Products and goods stored in the temples became the source of social and economic power of the empire, and also became the reinforcement of the prestige of the temples’ primary benefactors—the landlord elites. And during the Angkorian Period, the actions of theses elites were under the kings’ notice and permission. During the reign of Jayavarman VII, the temples were in need of both workers and goods. As the king required that the temples need to be under the care

12 Ibid., Nicholas Tarling, pg.231-232. 23

of the officials and the tributes need to be offered (the numbers of tributes were difference for each temples). So there were large number of people assigned to work at the temple known as “ข้าวัด”, for example Ta Prohm Temple housed about 100,000 officials and servants13. Such numbers of people require as much food and supplies. In order to fulfill the needs of people, the assignment of a labor force (according to the inscription, they were all men, women and even children—these people could be both from war captives and area peripheral) and hydraulic networks for cultivation were required. From the statement above, if the temples were capable of producing such large number of products, storing goods (both general and specialize ones) and tributes, it means that these temple had the capability to be the center of both economic accumulation and the king’s patronage religion.

2.4 Politics 2.4.1 Angkor and Kingdom The relationship between Cham and Khmer mostly was never been in good term. And there were various rulers of the two countries that fought each other, yet those battles and engagements were more like raids with local consequences than extension-intend. To demonstrate briefly, before the time of the reign of Jayavarman VII, the Cham has always been in battle with Angkor. When Angkor started to rise, the Khmer Army has possessed some part of the Kingdom of Cham for several of times, and also claimed their power over the site. However the Cham always fought back and for sometimes they could even rob foods and other things from Angkor.

The situation between Angkor and Cham has gone worse during the period near before the time of Jayavarman VII. During the reign of King Dharanindravarman II, Jayavarman VII’s father, there were some turbulence within the

13 Ta Prohm Inscription 24

royal court of Angkor as those contenders other than the son of the king himself struggled for supremacy. Finally, around the year of 1170s, the Cham took advantage of Angkor’s difficulty, and that was the time Jayavarman VII stepped in as describe in The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia;

In the 1170s, a trend of Cham raids, perhaps facilitated by Angkor’s internal difficulties, culminated in 1177 when a Cham water-borne expedition sacked Angkor. In the wake of this event, with the Khmer lands at the mercy of the , Jayavarman VII stepped forward to lead resistance to the invaders. In the 1180s, he completed the expulsion of the Chams and established his authority at Angkor. In the 1190s he began to send expeditions into Champa, with the eventual result that Champa was ruled as a province of Angkor for nearly twenty years in the early thirteenth century. At the same time, Jayavarman VII sent armies to the north and west; there is evidence of his authority as far north as the modern site of Vientiane14

Though not as intense as China and Dai Viet, the relationship between Khmer and Cham was mostly has never been on a good terms even during the reign of Jayavarman VII who at that time has been in close link with Champa as he spent several years there 15 and, to Rovedo and Clark’s belief, might even became acculturated in Cham life and politics before he ruled Angkor.16 Moreover, there were many of the bas-relief on the Bayon, depicting battles against the Chams, contain vivid scenes of cruelty. Some of Jayavarman’s inscriptions also praise the king vengefulness and his skill at political infighting vis-à-vis the Chams17.

14 Ibid., Nicholas Tarling, pg.162. 15 Ibid., David Chandler, pg. 57 16 Vittorio Rovedo, Joyce Clark, Bayon: New Perspectives, (Bangkok: River Book Press, 2007), pg. 60. 17 Ibid, Chandler, pg. 59. 25

2.4.2 Angkor and Neighbor Kingdoms 2.4.2.1 Angkor and Phimai City During the reign of Jayavarman VII (or even before his time), Angkor and Phimai has been in close relationship as Dharanindravarman II, Jayavarman VII’s father, was the cousin of Jayavarman VI who ruled over the area of Phimai and was credited for establishing the dynasty of Mahidharapura. According to the study, Phimai is a big city and the biggest Khmer temple within the border of the modern-day Thailand. With the fact that this temple was built under the belief of Mahayana School Buddhism, it is possible that this site is the major city and the center of Khmer Civilization in the lower northeast part. There were numbers of statues and images of Jayavarman VII found in the temple of Phimai. As the king has sponsored on the additions to structures in Phimai, especially the image of the man with the tied up hair— which was belief to be the king himself. The fact that Jayavarman VII was the descendant of the king of Phimai made it possible that the Angkor – Phimai Route Royal Road might be the most important route in his reign. The inscription of Jayavarman VII found in Phimai was also one of the biggest ones. Second in size only to the one found in Angkor. 2.4.2.2 Angkor and During his life as a king, Jayavarman VII had extended his influence, or at the most, his empire on the southwest, the west and the east. In 1995 the king had subjugated some of the states in Malay Peninsula which had formerly been his allies. The states mentioned above included Ts’an-pan, Chen-li-fu and Tambralinga. Briggs has mentioned about the states noted above in his study (in his study, Briggs refer Srivijaya as the Malay Peninsula);

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Ts’an-pan, it will be recalled, was probably in the region of and almost certainly was absorbed into Chenla by Isanavarman I. Chen-li-fu has been satisfactorily identified as Chantabun. Ling-wai-tai-ta, written in 1178, lists Tambralinga (Teng-liu-mei), as a dependency of Cambodia. An inscription, in Khmer, dated 1183, at the base of a bronze Buddha found at Jaya, records an order to the governor of Grahi by a king of Malay name and title, which shows Khmer influence at Grahi, even at this late period, though Grahi had probably bot been a dependency of Cambodia since before 773, at least.18

2.4.2.3 Angkor and During the reign of Jayavarman VII Pou-kam (I.e., Pegan, the capital of Burma) seem to be the dependency of Khmer Empire, as noted by many Chinese authors. Some scholars seem to think that Pou-kan meant Pegu, a Mon city of the border confederacy of Ramanyadesa (to which Louvo and Haripunjai also belonged) and which had been annexed by Pagan only about a century and a half earlier. As the inscription says that there were Burmese slaves in the Khmer Empire and there were the Mon mercenaries that served Jayavarman VII in the war with Champa, it is possible that Burma could be the dependency of Khmer Empire (or only ally). A Cambodian inscription of this reign was written of the memoirs about the king’s conquest of the land in the west, which Coedès believes that must be the king of Burma. In which Briggs also has stated in his work in the following passage;

At first glance, a conquest of Pagan seems unreasonable, as Burma was at that time a comparatively powerful kingdom, ruled by an able

18 Briggs, L.P. The Ancient Khmer Empire, (Philadelphia: The American Philosophical Society, 1951), pg. 216 27

king—Narapatisithu (1172-1210) —and the Burmese Chronicle makes no mention with any war with Cambodia at this period. In fact, the Burmese Chronicle, according to Scott, claims Narapatisithu held all the country from the border of China to the mouth of the Tenasserim river. While Chinese documents may have confused Pegu and Pagan, the listing of the latter as a dependency of Cambodia may have some basis in fact. It is not at all probable that the Cambodians captured the city of Pagan, far from their border; but the incessant border warfare and threats of warfare may have led the Burmese king to pay tribute to Cambodia, just as Ma Tuan-lin says Cambodia paid tribute to Champa under the weak predecessors of Jayavarman VII.19

Even though the extention of Jayavarman VII to Srivijaya and Burma is not yet wholly proven, it still gives impression about him as the king who control the more extensive empire than any other Khmer kings in the history of Cambodia.

2.4.2.4 Angkor and other Neighbor Ancient Cities and Kingdoms Even though not much, there were evidences proving that Jayavarman VII has extent his power to the kingdoms located at the central part of the modern-day Thailand, such as; At Lavapura (ลวะปุระ), a Bayon-style Prang Sam Yot (ปรางค์สาม ยอด) was found. It was made from laterite. The corridor was connect three temples altogether. The temples located from north to south while turning to the east. At the middle temple, a Buddha sheltered by the Naga in the belief of Mahayana School Buddhism was found. The image of Lokeshvara was found

19 Ibid., Briggs, L.P., pg. 216-217. 28

in the south temple and found in the north one. Inscription also said that this city used to be under Khmer Empire in Jayavarman VII’s Era; At Subhanpura (สุพ ร ร ณปุร ะ ), the image of Jaya Buddha Mahanart was found; At Srichaiya Singhapura (เมืองสิงห์), the image of Jaya Buddha Mahanart was found at Mueng Sing (ปราสาทเมืองสิงห์). It was made of laterite, and numbers of Mahayana School Buddhism’s sculpture was also found; At ศรีชัยวัชรปุรี (เมืองเพชรบุรี), Wat Kampang Lang was construct in the Jayavarman VII’s Bayon style20; According to the inscriptions, it is possible that the kingdoms or cities mentioned above were once the dependencies of Khmer Empire during Jayavarman VII’s reign. Since these were of the 23 kingdoms or cities the king has given out Jaya- Buddha Mahanart.In which could be assume that it is the symbol that his power has extended there. 2.4.3 Angkor and China According to the studies, the Chinese always called Angkor by the name of Chenla, which mean Khmer has been known by them for some period of times. However, the relationship between Angkor and China were neither all time enemy nor ally. It is undeniable that China used to support Cham on attacking Angkor by offering their ships to attack Angkor by the water. However it is also true that, when it comes to China and Angkor, sometimes they were on good term but sometimes they weren’t. For example, one time, after Dai Viet won independence from China in the Song Dynasty in 939 yet in 1075, China negotiated the Chams and the Khmer to join the attack on the Dai Viet but both countries refused. For sometimes after that, the Chinese fail their attack on the Dai Viet. The other time is a bit difference.

20 From ศิลปากร (p. 55), by สุภัทรดิศ ดิศกุล, ม.จ., (1966). 29

Not for long after Angkor and Chams declined China on the attack on Dai Viet, during the reign of Suryavarman II (1113 – around 1145 and 1150), the relationship between Angkor and China has been briefly told in the book of The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia that Suryavarman II successfully conducted diplomatic relations with the Southern Sung court of China, posing as a vassel and promoting trade21. Briggs has also briefly mentioned about the relationship between Angkor during the reign of Jayavarman VII and China during the Sung dynasty in the statement below;

The history of the Sung Dynasty records an embassy sent to the Chinese court in 1201 by a king who had then been reigning twenty years: ‘…He sent an embassy to present a letter to the Emperor and to carry in tribute some products of the country and two trained elephants. (The Emperor) ordered that he be recompensed exceptionally well. Then, on account of the aloofness due to the maritime way, he did not renew tribute’ Until recently, owing to a misinterpretation of this passage, it was believed that a new king came to the throne in 1201 and reigned twenty years thereafter, and, consequently, that Jayavarman VII died in 1201. This error was discovered several years ago by Coedès and Gaspardone and an inscription, recently brought to light, shows that he was living in 1204. It is now believed that he reigned until nearly 1220, when he would have been nearly one hundred years of age22.

Other than Champa, the old enemy of Angkor, it is likely that there were not much evidences of the political relationship between Angkor and other kingdoms, but it is not also like there were none too.

21 Ibid., pg.161. 22 Ibid., Briggs, L.P., pg. 223. 30

It is possible to assume that the relationship between Khmer Empire and most of the other kingdoms were vary in reason. Some are the relationship that based under the status of being the dependency of Khmer Empire, and some could be of the case that they have been acknowledged of the power of Khmer Empire, as the empire seem to extracting the tribute from the kingdoms and cities mentioned above by the beginning of the thirteenth century.