Ancient Indian Colonization in South-East Asia c9.91

c9.91

The Kambuja Empire was the only powerful Hindu empire that flourished in Indo-China. The Hindu kingdom of Champā lying to its east never extended its power beyond its border, and its history therefore possesses only a local interest. It never grew to be a very powerful state, though it not unoften hurled defiance even at the imperial powers of China and Kambuja. We have referred above to the sack of its capital city by China and prolonged occupation of the whole kingdom by Kambuja. On the other hand, it defied successfully the mighty power of Kublai Khan, the dreaded Mongol emperor of China, by a heroic resistance for a period of three years. But the most inveterate enemies of Champā were their northern neighbours, the Annamites, who had thrown off the Chinese yoke and founded an independent kingdom in the tenth century A.D. Hostilities broke out towards the end of the century and continued at irregular intervals. Kings of Champā, always ready to provoke but seldom able to resist the Annamite invasions, suffered terrible losses. Before the close of the eleventh century A.D., two districts in the north passed into the hands of the enemy. Early in the 14th century, king Jaya-Siṁhavarman was foolish enough to cede two districts merely for the sake of marrying a princess of Annam. Though weakened by the cessions and internal rebellions, Champā fought bravely and even occasionally scored some success, but ultimately fell a victim to repeated incursions of Annam during the fifteenth century A.D.