Kingdom of Champa

Considered as the cultural and linguistic heir of the Sa-Huỳnh civilization, this Indianized kingdom occupied the central part of present-day Vietnam. Its existence was mentioned for the first time in the Chinese Annals, in 192 AD.

Unlike the centralized Khmer kingdom, the Cham kingdom was made up of more or less independent principalities, which were, in turn, dominant. These populations of Malaysian origin frequently practiced looting and coastal maritime piracy. Its turbulent history were marked by ceaseless struggles against its neighbors, first with China, then with the Việt, the Khmer and the Siamese.

But the end of the 10th century marked a turning point in its history. With the independence of Vietnam which finally freed itself from Chinese supervision, the Champa therefore had to endure the "March to the South" (Nam Tiến) of its neighbor, the Ðại-Việt, in constant demographic expansion.

Defeats in annexations, negotiations in cession of territories (arranged marriages), the Champa repeatedly moved its capital towards the south, to end up shrinking to almost irrelevant, until the emperor Minh Mạng completed the final disappearance of the Indianized kingdom in 1832.

Cham principalities 

Historically the old kingdom was divided into 5 principalities, from the North to the Sout :

■ Indrapura, in the vicinity of Huế (presently province of Thừa Thiên – Huế)

■ Amaravati,  in the vicinity of Đà-Nẳng (presently province of Quảng Nam)

■ Vijaya, in the vicinity of Qui-Nhơn (presently province of Bình-Định)

■ Kauthara, in the vicinity of Nha-Trang (presently province of Khánh-Hoà)

■ Panduranga, in the vicinity of Phan-Rang (presently provinces Ninh-Thuận et Bình-Thuận)

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