History of the Cham–Vietnamese wars
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The Cham-Vietnamese Wars were a series of wars and conflicts between various Vietnamese dynasties and of Champa that led to a total annexation of Champa by the Vietnamese. These wars are considered principal parts of the Vietnamese's supposed (March to the South) theory.


History


Beginning of the conflict

When the Viet found a kingdom at the start of the 10th century, Champa, a kingdom to the south of
Đại Việt Đại Việt (, ; literally Great Việt), often known as Annam ( vi, An Nam, Chữ Hán: 安南), was a monarchy in eastern Mainland Southeast Asia from the 10th century AD to the early 19th century, centered around the region of present-day H ...
, had become an established entity. As Champa had been independent, it found itself in need to defend its territory to contain the threat posed by the Khmer Empire in the west, and expand its territory to the north, hoping to conquer the Vietnamese nation. There, with the Vietnamese Kingdom in turmoil following the assassination of Đinh Tiên Hoàng, Champa made an unsuccessful attempt to invade
Đại Việt Đại Việt (, ; literally Great Việt), often known as Annam ( vi, An Nam, Chữ Hán: 安南), was a monarchy in eastern Mainland Southeast Asia from the 10th century AD to the early 19th century, centered around the region of present-day H ...
in 979 in support of China, but failed due to the strong defense of Vietnamese territory under the command of Lê Hoàn. This watershed moment would give birth to intense Cham–Vietnamese rivalry. Over the next centuries, conflicts between the two combatants intensified as a result of the Vietnamese Nam tiến policy, or "march to the south" by penetrating Champa. As more Vietnamese settlers moved southward they began to expand their sphere of influence over the Cham indirectly, giving rise to numerous wars between the Vietnamese and the Chams. As Vietnamese expansionist policy continued under the Lý dynasty, the Vietnamese managed to occupy more Cham territory, which ultimately resulted in the emergence of the Dai Viet as a regional power. After 1104, the two countries went on to establish more peaceful relations for nearly two centuries.


Islamization and demise of Champa

After two peaceful centuries, and even an alliance during the
Mongol invasions of Vietnam Four major military campaigns were launched by the Mongol Empire, and later the Yuan dynasty, against the kingdom of Đại Việt (modern-day northern Vietnam) ruled by the Trần dynasty and the kingdom of Champa (modern-day central Vietnam) ...
, tensions erupted once more due to the continued influx of Vietnamese settlers marching southward. Mistrust of the Vietnamese, which was prominent in the Cham court, led to a bloodier conflict from 1367 to 1396, in which the Cham nearly conquered Đại Việt, but which ended in stalemate. After the war, the
Trần dynasty The Trần dynasty, ( Vietnamese: Nhà Trần, chữ Nôm: 茹陳)also known as the House of Trần, was a Vietnamese dynasty that ruled over the Kingdom of Đại Việt from 1225 to 1400. The dynasty was founded when emperor Trần Thá ...
was weakened and toppled by the
Hồ dynasty The Hồ dynasty (Vietnamese: , chữ Nôm: 茹胡; Sino-Vietnamese: ''Hồ triều, chữ Hán:'' 胡 朝) was a short-lived Vietnamese dynasty consisting of the reigns of two monarchs, Hồ Quý Ly (胡季犛) in 1400–01 and his second ...
, at which point the Chams allied with China once more, helping the
Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...
to conquer Vietnam in 1407. This, however, proved to be detrimental for Champa, as the Vietnamese held strong resentment toward the Cham after expelling the Chinese in 1427. At the same time, Arab and Malay traders brought Islam to the region. While Islam had started to spread in the 7th century in Southeast Asia, it was not until the 15th century that witnessed the growing development of Islam in Champa territory, then still dominated by
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
. Conversion to Islam among Chams started at the same time the restored Vietnamese Kingdom re-emerged as stronger and more aggressive, invading Champa in 1446. Subsequent Vietnamese attacks that finally demolished the Cham nation in 1471, also led to the surge of Islam to eventually become the dominant religion of the Cham people. On the other hand, persecution against Chams became widespread and systematic assimilation became policy. The Chams, however, continued to rebel against the Vietnamese rulers, with the Chams revolting against Vietnamese rule five to six times in the 17th century, with each revolt being bloodily suppressed by the Vietnamese Nguyễn lords. The last remnants of Cham independence were wiped out in the 19th century, when the last Cham Kingdoms were absorbed by the Vietnamese. In the 1830s, while the Siamese–Vietnamese wars were underway, the Chams initiated a major rebellion led by Katip Sumat, a Sunni Muslim cleric, which marked the first ever jihadist war against Vietnam in history. This rebellion, along with the Ja Thak Wa uprising beginning in 1834, was suppressed by the Nguyễn dynasty. The Vietnamese Empire adopted repressive measures against the Chams, which some commentators have labeled genocide. Many Cham survivors fled to Cambodia,
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
and the Malay Peninsula, and Islamic radicalism achieved a foothold among the Cham people. The Cham Hindus, while less active, were also accused and persecuted. The Vietnamese assault on Cham communities was halted by the French conquest.


20th century

While French imperialism largely ended the overt conflicts between Chams and Vietnamese, the two communities remained hostile to each other. The French government aggravated the mistrust between the two communities by favoring the
Islamization Islamization, Islamicization, or Islamification ( ar, أسلمة, translit=aslamāh), refers to the process through which a society shifts towards the religion of Islam and becomes largely Muslim. Societal Islamization has historically occur ...
of the Chams to counter the more populous Buddhist Vietnamese people. Political Islam gained popularity in response to the growing Vietnamese nationalist movement, which was seen as threatening to the Chams. The Salafist movement began to spread in Vietnam later, beginning during the Vietnam War, due to the efforts of Mohammad Badri, a Cham who had studied in
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
. Both governments openly persecuted Chams, both Hindus and Muslims alike, during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
that followed. This led to Cham participation in various separatist struggles against both regimes, including the
United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races The United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races (FULRO; french: Front unifié de lutte des races opprimées, vi, Mặt trận Thống nhất Đấu tranh của các Sắc tộc bị Áp bức) was an organization whose objective was auton ...
, or FULRO, founded in 1964. Some Chams consider this as part of its jihad struggle; other observers have claimed that they were aided by the Cambodian and
Service de Documentation Extérieure et de Contre-Espionnage Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a p ...
s. In response, the Vietnamese government intensified its repression of the Cham following the end of the Vietnam War to achieve the goal of creating a homogeneous Vietnamese nation, inciting what has been called the second Cham genocide. After the
Cambodian–Vietnamese War The Cambodian–Vietnamese War ( km, សង្គ្រាមកម្ពុជា-វៀតណាម, vi, Chiến tranh Campuchia–Việt Nam), known in Vietnam as the Counter-offensive on the Southwestern border ( vi, Chiến dịch Phản ...
, the Cham insurgency spread with heavy casualties for both Vietnamese and Cham forces. By the 1980s, the Cham insurgency declined and eventually ended. Some Chams chose to emigrate rather than join in the insurgency, fleeing to Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Yemen, Qatar, Turkey, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates; some later settled in the United States. The insurgency would end up in complete failure, as Vietnam enacted
Đổi mới (, ; ) is the name given to the economic reforms initiated in Vietnam in 1986 with the goal of creating a " socialist-oriented market economy". The term itself is a general term with wide use in the Vietnamese language meaning "innovate" or ...
and rejoined the world. By this point, the remaining Cham population in Vietnam had been significantly reduced. While tensions between them have abated, the Chams and Vietnamese maintain their distance.


List of conflicts


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:History of the Cham-Vietnamese wars Foreign relations of Vietnam Geopolitical rivalry History of Vietnam Cham-Vietnamese War Cham-Vietnamese War Wars involving Champa Wars involving the Đại Việt Kingdom