Journey through the people, cities and ideas that shaped Cambodia, from prehistoric communities to the kingdom of today.
Follow early communities, Funan and Chenla, the Angkor Empire, post-Angkor kingdoms, the French protectorate, independence, war and revolution, the peace process and the restored monarchy.
Explore nine historical periods, the rulers and heads of government, and 60 chapters of territorial change.
Kings and queens, regents, colonial authorities, republican and state leaders, rival authorities and prime ministers. Contextual entries represent periods without a single documented ruler.
A Journey Through the Ages
Cambodia connects the histories of early Mekong societies, Funan and Chenla, Angkor and later Khmer kingdoms. Explore the French protectorate, independence, war and revolution, the peace process and contemporary Cambodia.
1,800,000 BCE – 549
From Homo-era traces and Laang Spean through Neolithic villages, Bronze and Iron Age cemeteries, to Funan, with its ports at Oc Eo and Angkor Borei. Indian religion, writing and statecraft arrived by sea and shaped the early kingdoms of the Mekong.
550 – 801
Chenla rose from the middle Mekong, absorbed Funan and built Isanapura at Sambor Prei Kuk, before splitting into Land and Water Chenla and falling under Javanese overlordship. Temples, Sanskrit and Old Khmer inscriptions and embassies to the Chinese court are the main records of these shifting principalities.
802 – 1431
From Jayavarman II's consecration in 802 the Khmer Empire grew into a regional power with Angkor Wat, the Bayon and a vast water network. Wars with Champa, Siam and Dai Viet and a shift to Theravada ended with the fall of Angkor in 1431.
1432 – 1862
The court moved to Phnom Penh, Longvek and Oudong while Siam and Vietnam competed for control. Cambodia lost the Mekong Delta and its western provinces, and survived a brief Vietnamese annexation in the 1830s before the French protectorate began.
1863 – 1953
A treaty of 1863 made Cambodia a French protectorate, and it became part of Indochina in 1887. The French regained Battambang and Siem Reap in 1907, lost them to Thailand in 1941, and Cambodia won independence on 9 November 1953.
1954 – 1975
Norodom Sihanouk led a neutral kingdom until the 1970 coup, after which the Khmer Republic fought a civil war against the Khmer Rouge amid US bombing. Phnom Penh fell to the Khmer Rouge on 17 April 1975, ending the republic and beginning a regime that emptied the cities.
1976 – 1992
Democratic Kampuchea emptied the cities and killed an estimated 1.5 to 2 million people before the Vietnamese invasion of 1979. The Vietnamese-backed People's Republic of Kampuchea fought a resistance coalition until the Paris Peace Agreements of 1991 opened the way to a United Nations administration.
1993 – 2012
UN-run elections in 1993 restored the monarchy under a coalition, which gave way to Hun Sen's dominance after 1997. The Khmer Rouge ended by 1999, a tribunal was set up, and the economy grew with garments and tourism.
2013 – present
A close 2013 election, the dissolution of the opposition in 2017 and the handover from Hun Sen to Hun Manet in 2023 marked this period of one-party dominance. Border fighting with Thailand in 2025 and the Funan Techo canal are recent themes: to refresh.
From Funan and Angkor to the Modern Kingdom, 69,000 BCE – Today
From the first people at Laang Spean to a kingdom of 17.8 million. See how the lands ruled from Funan, Angkor and Phnom Penh grew, shrank and were contested by Cham, Siamese, Vietnamese and French power.
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Early Mekong societies and the Angkor Empire developed networks of settlement, water management, worship and exchange. Monumental architecture and inscriptions preserve important parts of Khmer history.
Changing royal centres, Buddhist traditions and relationships with neighbouring states shaped post-Angkor Cambodia. Language, artistic traditions and institutions connect these histories with contemporary cultural life.
Colonial rule, independence, civil war and Khmer Rouge rule transformed the country. The peace process, the restored monarchy and efforts to preserve memory and seek accountability remain central to Cambodia’s modern history.
Events and ruler profiles retain references supplied with the dataset. Structural and display checks do not establish historical accuracy. The research report preserves uncertain chronologies, disputed dates and material requiring verification.
The supplied map retains its credits and caveats. Imperial influence, regional authority, colonial administration and modern borders describe different forms of control. Approximate outlines should not be read as surveyed historical frontiers.
Early population figures are uncertain reconstructions rather than census counts. Original source notes remain available. No public images were fetched; this site uses a gradient and the existing generic ruler placeholder.
History is connected. Explore the bigger picture.
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