The Cham people once inhabited and ruled over a large stretch of what is now the central Vietnamese coast. Written by specialists in history, archaeology, anthropology, art history, and linguistics, these essays reassess the ways that the Cham have been studied.

The history of Vietnam is one of spectacular confrontations, both cultural and ideological between the world of the Chinese - a world adopted by the ethnic Viet living in the Red river basin - and the Indian world - facets of which are seen in the Cham, whose numerous small kingdoms were strung out all along the coast from north of Hue to south of Phan Rang. This book will firstly present the history of Vietnam from the 6th to 15th centuries, highlighting the clashes between the two major civilisations which are the foundation of modern Vietnam. The second part will deal with the archaeology of the sites which are a testament to this history. Maps, plans and numerous photographs will help us to experience the history of ancient Vietnam both in its early beginnings and its subsequent evolution. Traces the history of Vietnam from its early beginnings to the emergence of the Cham civilisation and beyond Explores numerous archaeological sites and monuments In-depth research by a world renowned scholar Includes maps and plans of important archaeological and historical sites 300 colour photographs

The kings of ancient Champa, a civilization located in the central region of today's Vietnam, started building sacred temples in a circular valley more than 1500 years ago. The monuments, now known by the Vietnamese name M? So'n, were discovered by nineteenth-century colonial soldiers and first studied by the French architect Henri Parmentier. Bombed during the Vietnam War, the ruins of the brick towers, decorated with exquisite carvings and sculptures, were designated as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site in 1999. An Italian team has worked at the site for the last ten years, doing archaeological research and restoration work in cooperation with Vietnamese specialists. This book is the first published volume based on their efforts. The opening section consists of historical, anthropological and architectural studies of the civilization of Champa. The remainder of the book presents an unusually intimate and extensively illustrated portrait of the archaeologists' research and restoration work at M? So'n. While this book is important for specialists and students of the history and archaeology of Champa and Southeast Asia, it also tells a fascinating story that will appeal to general readers and visitors to this exceptional archaeological site.

This study of nineteenth-century Vietnam focuses on interactions between the Vietnamese king, Minh Mang, and the heterogeneous southern region of the country, which he sought to bring more firmly under state control through a series of polices intended to "Vietnamize" the populace and unite north and south.

Essays that demonstrate ways to "read" the pasts of Vietnam through detailed analyses of its art, chronicles, legends, documents, and monuments. The book's many voices undermine the idea of a single Vietnamese past. All the essays, while varied, are connected by their common concerns with language and text.

This catalogue assembles sumptuous photographs of the world's leading collection of Cham sculpture, along with the most recent insights of Vietnamese and international scholars. The Champa culture thrived in magnificent temples, sculpture, dance and music along the central and southern coast of today's Vietnam from the 5th to the 15th centuries. A focused exploration here uncovers this brilliant yet almost lost culture to newcomers as well as experts. To mark its centenary, the Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture has been expanded and refurbished to appropriately house the world's leading collection of Cham art. The museum staff, supported by the Southeast Asia art programme of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SoaS), London University, funded by the Alphawood Foundation, worked in concert with researchers from around the world to present these masterpieces.

David Childress, popular author and star of the History Channel’s show Ancient Aliens, brings us the incredible story of the Cham: Egyptian-Hindu-Buddhist seafarers who ruled a realm that was as big as the Pacific Ocean. The mysterious Cham, or Champa, peoples of Southeast Asia formed a megalith-building, seagoing empire that extended into Indonesia, Fiji, Tonga, Micronesia, and beyond—a transoceanic power that reached Mexico, the American Southwest and South America. The Champa maintained many ports in what is today Vietnam, Cambodia, and Indonesia (particularly on the islands of Sulawesi, Sumatra and Java), and their ships plied the Indian Ocean and the Pacific, bringing Chinese, African and Indian traders to far off lands, including Olmec ports on the Pacific Coast of Central America. Statues in Vietnam of the Champa show men and women distinctly African in appearance and the Champa royalty were known to consist of nearly every racial group. They had iron tools and built megalithic cities of finely-cut basalt and granite, such as the city of My Son in central Vietnam. Its construction is identical to that at Tiwanaku in South America. Topics include: Who Were the Champa?; Cham and Khem: The Egyptian Influence on Cham; The Search for Metals; Trans-Pacific Voyaging; The Basalt City of Nan Madol; Elephants and Buddhists in North America; The Cham and the Olmecs; The Cham in Colombia; The Cham and Lake Titicaca; Easter Island and the Cham; tons more.

Morris examines the, "first and only extended war between two communist regimes."