The Presence of Romans in Angkor-Borei [Ancient Cambodia]

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Monday, 7 May 2012

The Presence of Romans in Angkor-Borei [Ancient Cambodia]


Anthena head bronze and Roman coin from Angkor-Borei, Museum of Ethnology, Toul Kork
By Dr. Michel Tranet
PHNOM PENH (Cambodia Herald) - It is well known that Khmer culture has long had cultural relations with India and China but what may come as a surprise is that Khmer people also had early contact with the Greeks and Romans. Due to a lack of archeological data, researchers have not been aware of this issue but new evidence has been uncovered at Angkor Borei (originally named Vyadhapura) as well as in Krabi province, Suphanburi (South Thailand), O-Keo ( South Vietnam) formally An-Giang province that the Khmer kingdom had commercial relations with the Greeks and Romans.
The small photo above is a pendant showing a female soldier wearing a Greek metal helmet. The identity of the woman is unknown but the pendant is believed to date back to the period of 300-200 AD. This is just one artifact among many discovered in May 2011.

These artifacts help to support the claim that regions such as the Mekong delta and provinces along the Gulf of Thailand were trading with the Greeks/Romans from 100 to 300 AD.


The Greco-Roman Empire also made relations with Vyadhapura /Angkor-Borei City through the O-keo international seaport. During this period of prosperity, the Roman influence extended from China and India to Sukhothai and Srithep (Yasothorn province). This shows that Nokor Phnom/Funan in part had actually had cultural relations with the Greco-Roman empire as a whole.
It is time to reconsider some points of view concerning globalization of Nokor Phnom/Funan during the first century AD. Moreover, although the exact details of relations between the Greco-Romans and Nokor Phnom/Funan is unknown, we can confirm that the primary goal was for international trade between the two empires. (M. Tranet)