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The Angkor period, which is perhaps the country's most famous historical era, began in 802 AD under the reign of King Jayavarman II. The Angkor dynasty held power over Siam, Laos, Vietnam, parts of Myanmar and the area we now know as Cambodia and was successful in retaining that power until the mid 14th century when a Siamese invasion saw the death of the king and the capturing of the empire. The following five centuries saw control of the region pass between the Siamese and the Angkorians on many occasions. By the 18th century, Cambodia was caught in the middle of the competing powers of Siam and Annam who instated various monarchs as and when control fell to them respectively. The arrival of the French in the 19th century brought some relative stability to the region, with Siam acknowledging the status of a French protectorate in 1863. French control collapsed however in 1940 and World War II brought the Japanese into the country who managed to regain some of the provinces that had been lost to Siam over the years. Anglo-Indian forces released the country in 1945 and reinstated the French as the predominant ruling power, this led to the country joining the French Union in 1949. The Vietnamese clashed with the Khmer Rouge on more than one occasion during their control and then eventually invaded in 1978, capturing Phnom Penh, ejecting the Khmer Rouge and installing a state called the People's Republic of Kampuchea. Following the end of the Khmer Rouge regime, Cambodia was for some time fraught with instability and troubles and peace was a long time coming. The 1980s and 90s saw a number of traumas befall the country with rebel groups continuing to cause various fracas. Now into the 21st century, a period of relative calm has been entered although some insurgent elements still continue to operate in remote areas of the country. | |
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