Vietnam's
early Cham dynasty was one of the longest lasting empires
in history
A
proud country called the Champa Kingdom existed from the middle to the
southern coast of what is present day Vietnam. Although it was in West
Asia the Kingdom was greatly influenced by Indian culture.
During those ancient times, before recorded history, a Kingdom called
Sa Huynh greatly influenced the Champa Kingdom's creation. This has been
found from the investigation of local ruins from the last period of that
era.
| The first written mention of the Champa Kingdom is in 192 AD by the Chinese in their historical texts. In the middle of the 4th century the Champa Kingdom built a Hindu temple at My Son, in the foothills of a mountain range 60 kilometers southeast of Danang. In 1889 this temple was excavated and Sanskrit writing and ancient artifacts with an Indian influence belonging to the Champa Kingdom were discovered. |
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Currently these artifacts have been transplanted and are on display in My Son, Tra Kieu, Dong Duong and the only existing Cham Museum in Danang.
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During its todays North Vietnam early history, the Champa Kingdom started a Northward expansion and took over parts of . The Viet backed by the Chinese soon recaptured these areas and that expelled the Cham Peoples from Vietnam as well. There are three countries in this area that were influenced by Chinese and Indian culture. Cambodia and Laos symbolize countries that were influenced by Indian culture. |
| Vietnam symbolizes a country, whose culture was influenced by Chinese culture, but what few people known is that the Champa Kingdom existed from the 2nd to the 17th century and that it had an Indian influence on Vietnamese culture as well. The Champa Kingdom had the seeds of Indian culture passed on to it from the Sa Huynh culture, and it has now been a factor in the development of present day Vietnam. |
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The Champa people had deep faith and reverence for their leaders and gods. In a 500-kilometer long stretch of the World Heritage Road there were 250 temple towers built.
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Even through natural disasters and wars their ruins have been preserved and give witness to the great past of the area.The historical sites of the Champa Kingdom match the splendor of other famous Asian sites such as Cambodia's Angkor-Wat, Indonesia's Borobudur, Burma's Bagan, and Thailand's Wat Sothon.
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article and photos were contributed by |
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Please click on the cover below for a chronological Champa history overview
