History of Southeast Asia

This is the first episode of 2017, and the first episode covering events in the modern era. Here we will meet the Portuguese, the first Europeans to sail across the oceans in large numbers, see how they found Southeast Asia, and learn what they did in the region. With the European arrival, the rules of the game will change! Do you think you would like to become a podcaster on Blubrry? Click here for the details on joining. (http://create.blubrry.com/resources/podcast-media-hosting/?code=HSEASIA) Enter my promo code, HSEASIA, to let them know I sent you, and you will get the first month's hosting for free! Support this podcast! (https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif)  

There is one more major player in Southeast Asia to introduce before the Europeans arrive, and that player is Islam. This episode will focus on how Islam came to this part of the world, with special emphasis on Malacca, the first important Southeast Asian state that converted to the new religion. (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/seasia/SE_Asia_Islam.jpg) And here is a map showing how Islam spread across Southeast Asia, starting with Aceh (also spelled Acheh or Atjeh), from 1240 to 1600. Do you think you would like to become a podcaster on Blubrry? Click here for the details on joining. (http://create.blubrry.com/resources/podcast-media-hosting/?code=HSEASIA) Enter my promo code, HSEASIA, to let them know I sent you, and you will get the first month's hosting for free! Support this podcast! (https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif)  

We're almost finished looking at Southeast Asia in the Middle Ages. This episode tells how Siam (modern Thailand) and Lan Xang (Laos) got started. And you will get to hear me mangle more names that were never meant to be pronounced by English speakers! (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/seasia/seamap12.jpg) Here is a map of the Southeast Asian mainland, around 1530. All of the nations mentioned in this episode are shown, with arrows indicating the main conflicts. Vieng Chan is another name for Vientiane. Source: Angkor-planet.com. (http://www.angkor-planet.com/en/histo-SEA.php) (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/seasia/3_kings_monument.jpg) Thai kings got along well in the thirteenth century, so today in Chiangmai, Thailand, you can see the statues of three kings together. From left to right, these statues represent Ngam Muang (the ruler of a minor muang or city-state), Mangrai of Lan Na, and Ramkhamhaeng of Sukhothai. In 1287 these kings formed a friendship pact. (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/seasia/Rama_the_Great_Stone.jpg) The Ramkhamhaeng stela. Click here for an English translation. (http://www.geocities.co.jp/Outdoors/6825/archive/ri.html) (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/seasia/Laos_urns.jpg) And here is one of the stone urns on the Plain of Jars. Do you think you would like to become a podcaster on Blubrry? Click here for the details on joining. (http://create.blubrry.com/resources/podcast-media-hosting/?code=HSEASIA) Enter my promo code, HSEASIA, to let them know I sent you, and you will get the first month's hosting for free! Support this podcast! (https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif)

This episode covers Burma (also called Myanmar) in the Middle Ages, with special emphasis on the Bagan Empire. Visit a city with more than 2,000 pagodas!  Learn what makes Theravada Buddhism different from the other Buddhist sects.  Meet a king who ruled for 95 years, and another king who ate 300 dishes of curry every day!  Hear me mispronounce their names! It's all here for your listening pleasure! (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/seasia/Bagan_pagodas.jpg) Here is part of the Bagan skyline, showing a few of its ruined pagodas. (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/seasia/Ananda-Temple2.jpg) And here is Bagan's most spectacular building, the Ananda Temple. (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/seasia/Pagan_period_religious_donations_--_cumulative.PNG) Finally, this graph shows how much land, workers and silver supported Burma's Buddhist clergy. Do you think you would like to become a podcaster on Blubrry? Click here for the details on joining. (http://create.blubrry.com/resources/podcast-media-hosting/?code=HSEASIA) Enter my promo code, HSEASIA, to let them know I sent you, and you will get the first month's hosting for free! Support this podcast! (https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif)  

This episode covers Vietnam from 939 to 1471. During this time two nations existed in the territory of present-day Vietnam (three if you count the Khmers ruling the Mekong delta). Those nations were the Vietnamese state, currently called Dai Viet, and the Indianized state of Champa. The Vietnamese and Chams fought on and off for most of this period, hence the episode name. Who won? Listen to find out! (Note:  A remastered edition of this episode was uploaded on February 1, 2017, to replace nearly three minutes of content that somehow had been cut out of the original.) (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/seasia/PoKlongGarai.jpg) The main artifacts left to us by the Chams are Hindu temples made of bricks. Of these, the one in best shape is Po Klong Garai, built around 1300 by Jaya Sinhavarman III, near Phan Rang in southern Vietnam. Here it is. (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/seasia/VietnamChampa1.gif) And here is a map of the area covered by this episode, around the year 1200. The Vietnamese kingdom is colored yellow, and Champa is colored green. Most of Champa’s cities are marked with two names: the original Sanskrit name in red, and the modern Vietnamese name in parentheses. To the left of both, in light blue, is the Khmer Empire, the nation featured in Episode 7. Do you think you would like to become a podcaster on Blubrry? Click here for the details on joining. (http://create.blubrry.com/resources/podcast-media-hosting/?code=HSEASIA) Enter my promo code, HSEASIA, to let them know I sent you, and you will get the first month's hosting for free! Support this podcast! (https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif)  

We're now up to the most spectacular civilization in ancient/medieval Southeast Asia. This episode covers Cambodia from 550 to 1431, the golden age of the Khmers, ancestors of today's Cambodians. Here are some maps and pictures to give you a better idea of what I am talking about: (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/seasia/seasia700.jpg) First, a map of mainland Southeast Asia, around 750 A.D. The violet-colored nation at the bottom is Srivijaya (see Episode 6). (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/seasia/Jayavarman2.jpg) And here is Jayavarman II in the Devaraja (god-king) ceremony. The priest is annointing a lingam, a phallus-shaped stone representing Shiva; that was the most important image in the temple. From the April 1960 issue of National Geographic. (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/seasia/PlempireK2.jpg) The Khmer Empire in the twelfth century. The striped area was ruled by the Burmese, but also claimed by the Khmers. From Angkorvat.net (http://www.angkorvat.net). (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/seasia/ANGKOR.JPG) One of Angkor's gateways, with four faces of Jayavarman VII looking in different directions. In Ankgor, the phrase "Big Brother is watching you" was carved in stone! Do you think you would like to become a podcaster on Blubrry? Click here for the details on joining. (http://create.blubrry.com/resources/podcast-media-hosting/?code=HSEASIA) Enter my promo code, HSEASIA, to let them know I sent you, and you will get the first month's hosting for free! Support this podcast! (https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif)  

This episode covers Indonesia from the year 600 to 1500, the years when historical records become available, but before most Indonesians converted to Islam (that will be a topic for a future episode). Five major kingdoms dominated the islands during this time: Srivijaya, Mataram, Kediri, Singosari, and Majapahit.  Also, we will take a detailed look at Borobudur, Indonesia's greatest monument. (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/seasia/borobudur.jpg) Here is a picture of Borobudur from the air, in case you want something to look at while following the description given in the episode. On September 20, 2016, this podcast was accepted on Acast, the big Swedish podcasting host. I am happy about this because they said no three months earlier, when I applied before recording the first episode. For those keeping track, there are now five places where you can listen: Blubrry, iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, and now Acast. Do you think you would like to become a podcaster on Blubrry? Click here for the details on joining. (http://create.blubrry.com/resources/podcast-media-hosting/?code=HSEASIA) Enter my promo code, HSEASIA, to let them know I sent you, and you will get the first month's hosting for free! Support this podcast! (https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif)  

For this episode, the main topic is how the nation of Burma, also called Myanmar, got started. We will see the Burmese and tribes related to them settle the north, and we will take a special look at Arakan, a province that often went its own way (see the map below). (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/seasia/Arakanmap.jpg) Also in this episode, we will see the Mons, a tribe we met previously, move the capital of their state in southern Burma, from Thaton to Bago. Finally, we will meet Nanzhao, Burma's northern neighbor from the eighth to the thirteenth century. And here is the website I recommended if you want to look at artifacts from the Pyu civilization: https://www.pyukingdom.com (https://www.pyukingdom.com) On September 7, 2016, this podcast was accepted on Google Play, probably the best download site on the World Wide Web. Now you have four places online where you can listen: Blubrry, iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play. Support this podcast! (https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif)  

This episode will focus on the east coast of the Southeast Asian mainland, going up to 938 A.D. This timeframe covers the beginning of two nations: Vietnam and Champa. Only one of them is around today; guess which one it is. On August 30, 2016, this podcast was added to the programs available on Stitcher. Now if you have the Stitcher app on a mobile device, you have another way to listen! http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/berosus/history-of-southeast-asia-podcast?refid=stpr (http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/berosus/history-of-southeast-asia-podcast?refid=stpr) Support this podcast! (https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif)  

The first Southeast Asian nations larger than a city-state appeared in or near the first century A.D. In other words, roughly two thousand years ago. This episode will look at Funan, the major state that arose in Cambodia, and medium-sized states like Dvaravati, Haripunjaya, Pan Pan, Langkasuka, and Tambralinga, which the Mons and Malays founded in present-day Thailand and northern Malaya. (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/seasia/Mandalas1360.png) This map from Wikipedia shows the centers of political power on the Southeast Asian mainland in 1360 A.D. The episode refers to this map while explaining the loose monarchies that characterized Southeast Asian states in ancient times, a system we sometimes call "mandalas." Support this podcast! (https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif)  

The Southeast Asians you are familiar with came originally from China, in at least five waves of migration: the Austronesians or Malays, the Mon-Khmers, the Vietnamese, the Tibeto-Burmans and the Thais. In this episode we will follow the Malay and Mon-Khmer migrations. Then when the Mons make contact with India, we will see Indian civilization introduced to nearly all of Southeast Asia, setting the stage for the rise of the first Southeast Asian states. (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/pacific/Migraciones_austronesias.png) This map from Wikimedia Commons shows the path taken by the Austronesians during their great migration. Recent research has changed some of the dates, but otherwise the map is reliable. Support this podcast! (https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif)  

Our narrative begins with Southeast Asia in prehistoric times. We will look at Java Man, Solo Man, Wadjak Man, Meganthropus, Gigantopithecus, Homo floresiensis, the Negritos, and the amazing Ban Chiang village in Thailand. This episode was originally uploaded on July 15, 2016. It was edited on August 21 to remove a sentence that was later found to be in error.   Support this podcast! (https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif)  

Meet the podcaster and get a geographical description of Southeast Asia, before jumping into the historical narrative that will make up the rest of this podcast series.