Đại Việt–Khmer War

The Đại Việt–Khmer War were a series of wars and conflicts fought between the Kingdom of Đại Việt and the combined forces of Champa and the Khmer Empire between 1123 and 1150.

Đại Việt–Khmer War
Part of Khmer–Cham wars
Map of Southeast Asia between the 1000–1100
Date 1123–1150 Location Central Vietnam, Gulf of Tonkin, Xiangkhoang Plateau Result Inconclusive Khmer invasion in 1128 repelled Đại Việt expedition in 1136 withdrew
Belligerents
Đại Việt (Lý dynasty)	Khmer Empire Champa (1132–1136)
Commanders and leaders
Lý Thần Tông Lý Anh Tông Đỗ Anh Vũ	Suryavarman II Jaya Indravarman III
Strength
30,000 (1136)	20,000 soldiers (1128) 700 ships (1129)

Background

At this time, Đại Việt was in a vulnerable position due to internal conflict and a series of wars with their neighbors. In 1127, the 12-years-old Crown Prince Lý Dương Hoán became the new ruler of Đại Việt. Suryavarman II demanded Đại Việt to pay tribute for the Khmer Empire, but the Vietnamese refused to pay tribute to the Khmers. Suryavarman II decided to expand his territory northward into Vietnamese territory.

The conflicts

Suryavarman II

The first attack was in 1128 when King Suryavarman II led 20,000 soldiers from Savannakhet to Nghệ An but were routed in battle. The following year Suryavarman continued skirmishes on land and sent 700 ships to bombard the coastal areas of Đại Việt. The warfare escalated in 1132 when Khmer Empire and Champa jointly invaded Đại Việt, briefly seizing Nghệ An. In 1136, Duke Đỗ Anh Vũ led an expedition with thirty thousand troops into Khmer territories, but his army later retreated after subdued highland tribes in Xiangkhoang. By 1136, King Jaya Indravarman III of Champa made peace with the Vietnamese, which led to the Khmer–Cham War. In 1138, Lý Thần Tông died aged 22 from a disease and was succeeded by his two years old son Lý Anh Tông. Suryavarman II led several more attacks on Đại Việt until his death in 1150.

Aftermath

After a failed attempt to seize seaports in southern Đại Việt, Suryavarman turned to invade Champa in 1145 and sacked Vijaya, ending the reign of Jaya Indravarman III and destroying the temples at Mỹ Sơn. Inscriptional evidence suggests that Suryavarman II died between 1145 AD and 1150 AD, possibly during a military campaign against Champa. He was succeeded by Dharanindravarman II, a cousin, son of the brother of the king's mother. A period of weak rule and feuding began.

The three provinces Dia Ly (Jriy), Bo Chinh (Traik), Malinh, which Champa had lost to the Dai Viet around 1069–1076, were probably returned to the Cham sphere of influence during 1131-1136, which was testified by both Chinese and Cham sources.

Sources

• Coèdes, George (1968). Vella, Walter F. (ed.). The Indianized States of Southeast Asia. trans.Susan Brown Cowing.   University of Hawaii Press, ISBN 978-0-8248-0368-1.
• Kiernan, Ben (2017), Việt Nam: A History from Earliest Times to the Present, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-516076-5.
• Kohn, George Childs (2013), Dictionary of Wars, Routledge, ISBN 978-1-135-95494-9.
• Maspero, Georges (2002). The Champa Kingdom. White Lotus Co. Ltd. ISBN 978-974-7534-99-3.
• Momorki, Shiro (2011), ""Mandala Campa" Seen from Chinese Sources", in Lockhart, Bruce; Trần, Kỳ Phương (eds.), The Cham of Vietnam: History, Society and Art, Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press, pp. 120–137