Historical figure
Barom Reachea I
Barom Reachea I was a 16th-century king of Cambodia at Longvek who succeeded his father, King Ang Chan. The historian Nhim Sotheavin calls him Paramarājā III.[1][2] Nhim wrote that Cambodia prospered for more than 60 years before the Siamese sacked Longvek in 1594, and that it was politically the equal of Ayutthaya (Siam).[1]
Name
In his study of the fall of Longvek, published in the journal Udaya, Nhim Sotheavin calls this king Paramarājā III. He calls the father, Ang Chan, Paramarājā II, the name Ang Chan took when he was crowned at Longvek in 1529, and prints the form Borom Reachea beside it.[1]
Nhim's paper for Sophia University numbers the kings in its own way. It lists Bañā Yāt (Ponhea Yat) as Paramarājā I and gives Paramarājā II as Ang Chan's crowned name. It calls Ang Chan's son Paramarājā III. In another passage, the same paper also gives the name Paramarājā III to a later king, Srī Suriyobarm, who reigned from 1602 to 1619. It also notes that Saṭṭhā, whose father was the Paramarājā III who was Ang Chan's son, is called Paramarājā IV in other chronicles.[2]
Reign
Ang Chan had built Longvek as his capital, and his reign was a time of peace that lasted until he died in 1566.[1] His son then took the throne at Longvek.[1]
In 1569, by the date in the Vāṃṅ Juon chronicle, or 1570 in the Hluang Prasöt chronicle, the king sent an army against Ayutthaya by river and by land. The Hluang Prasöt chronicle records that Ayutthaya fell to the king of Pegu, in Burma, in the same year. The Khmer army took control once more of the western provinces of Chanborei (Chantabun in Thai), Royang, Sasieng and Pachim. Floods and the strain of the war drove the soldiers back to Cambodia all the same.[1]
Nhim dates the next events to 1572, following the Vāṃṅ Juon chronicle. In a note, he records that the P/48 (II) chronicle and the Garnier version place them in 1570. In 1572 the king set up his son Satthā at Longvek and made a new seat for himself at Kompong Krasang, which Nhim placed, probably, in Siem Reap province. He raised troops for a campaign to Nokor Reach Seima, from which they returned with many prisoners.[1]
Nhim writes that in the same year a Lao force of two ministers and 1,000 soldiers came to make Cambodia accept the overlordship of Laos. The Lao king called on the Khmer king to settle the matter by a combat using elephants. The contest was held south of Phnom Santuk, in Kampong Thom province, and the Khmer elephant won. The Lao king then prepared to invade Cambodia in 1573. Nhim wrote that the war lasted two years and ended in a heavy defeat for the Lao army.[1]
Death and succession
The king died in 1576 by the Garnier version of the chronicles, or in 1579 by the Vāṃṅ Juon chronicle.[1] His son Satthā then took the throne at Longvek.[1] Satthā, a grandson of Ang Chan, reigned until 1594, when the Siamese sacked Longvek.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Yosothor, Nhim Sotheavin, Considerations Regarding the Fall of Longvek, UDAYA, Journal of Khmer Studies No. 15 (2020)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Institute of Asian Culture, Sophia University, Nhim Sotheavin, Factors that Led to the Change of the Khmer Capitals from the 15th to 17th century (undated)