Cambodia Location: Southeast Asia; bordered by Thailand, Laos, and the Gulf of Thailand. Mostly low, flat plains, with some small mountains in the north and southwest. About three-fourths tropical forest; roughly one-fifth arable land. Bulk of remaining land is composed of sandy and infertile soil. Climate: Located a short distance north of the equator, Cambodia has a tropical climate. The weather is dominated by winds called monsoons. The country has a dry season from November to April and a rainy season from May to October. Nearly 80% of the yearly rainfall comes at this time. Mountain Ranges: Cambodia is surrounded by mountains. The Dang Raek Mountains skirt the border with Thailand in the north and northwest. Near Laos and Vietnam are short mountain ranges and in the southwest are the Cardamom (Kravanh) Mountains and the Elephant (Domray) Mountains. The mountainous areas are largely rainforests. Brief  History Funan: 1st Century - 613 A.D. Not until the first century, a civilization emerge as a forerunner of the Angkor. The actual name is not known, in the Chinese Chronicles of 2nd century, it was called as Funan. Funan had once been a strong maritime state, actively involving in sea trades. Being an extensive trader, Funan should have been a powerful naval state with people of learned mind. Funan had adopted many cultural aspects from India whose civilization had been highly developed several hundreds of years earlier. This was the result of their close contacts with the Indian traders who were also seafaring at that time. The weakening of the Funan Empire was unclear, and it was overthrown by one of its vassal state of Chenla in early 7th century. Chenla 550 A.D. - 8th Century Its history first appear in the Chinese Chronicles as a Funan's vassal state. Within the next 60 years, Chenla succeeded to conquer its predecessor and absorbed its people as well as inherited the Indian cultures. Later Chenla was divided into northern and southern states, "Chenla of the Land" and "Chenla of the Sea", During the 8th century, another naval state emerged into a strong "Java Empire" across the sea. Java vigorously expanded its territory and sailed to invade and finally conquered the weak Chenla states. Angkor 802 - 1431 Jayavarman II, when as a prince, was held as a Chenla hostage to the Java court. Getting a chance to return to his motherland, he vigorously pursued for powers and became the king in 790 A.D. For the next 12 years, he carried out many battles around the regions and decided to establish his capital in Hariharala. In 802, Jayavarman II crowned himself for the second time, which marked the starting point of the Khmer Civilization and Angkor Empire. Jayavarman II actively waged wars throughout Cambodia. The center of the Khmer Civilization is at the Angkor Wat area which is situated on the plain of present-day Siemreap province.. Throughout the course of Khmer history, the kingship was attained by violent means with bloodshed. The road network built by Jayavarman VII aided the transports of products and trades throughout the empire and also facilitated the Khmer troops to quell its neighbors. It had became a double-edged sword when Angkor became weak as the invaders could easily marched in through this road network, instead of previously sailing up from the Mekong River. This is what happened when Ayuthaya, a Thi kingdom became stronger and sacked the empire in 1431 The glory of the Angkor Civilization was terminated since that time. Thinking of moving to Cambodia? There are 3 properties up for auction!