Vyādhapura

▪ ancient city, Cambodia

      (Sanskrit: “City of the Hunters”), capital city of the ancient Hindu kingdom of Funan, which flourished from the 1st to the 6th century AD in an area that comprises modern Cambodia and Vietnam. Vyādhapura, and Funan as a whole, was a major centre for the diffusion of Indian civilization and culture throughout the Southeast Asian mainland.

      Its site is 120 miles (190 km) from the mouth of the Mekong River, near a landform called Ba Hill in southern Cambodia. By the 3rd century, Vyādhapura had developed into a city surrounded by brick walls for defensive purposes, with houses and palaces constructed of brick and plaster. It was connected to the Gulf of Thailand and inland cities by canals utilizing the natural channels and the delta. The canals were large enough to accommodate seagoing vessels. Irrigation systems provided water for the agriculture needed to sustain an expanding population.

      The city of Vyādhapura remained a major cultural centre of Indochina until the collapse of Funan; long afterward, the memory of its greatness continued to be a source of pride to the rulers of the later Khmer empire, who attempted to trace their descent from the rulers of Funan.

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