1st to 6th century - funan period
The first civilization of Cambodia was called Funan.
The government accepted Hinduism, which was later converted to Buddhism. |  | 9th to 13th century - angkor empire A magnificent and advanced civilization, the Angkor empire extended from the border of modern day Myanmar (Burma), east to the South China Sea and North to Laos.
At a time when London had only 50,000 people, this civilization flourished with over 1,000,000 and built some of the most revered structures in the history of mankind.
The Angkor people also built sophisticated irrigation systems, which allowed rice cultivation 3 times per year. Angkor became a wealthy civilization. |  |
15th to 18th century - the kingdom of cambodia
At the conclusion of the Angkor period, the capital of Cambodia moved to Oudong and later to Phnom Penh.
The fall of Angkor marked the collapse of the Cambodian empire, resulting in invasion and ransacking from both Vietnam and Thailand from the 15th to 17th centuries. Cambodia lost large amounts of land and natural resources during this period. |  | 19th century - french colonialism
In 1863, Cambodia entered into a 90 year period of French colonialism. |  | modern cambodia
Cambodia gained it's independence in 1953 and was ruled by King Norodom Sihanouk.
In 1970, the Vietnam war spilled into Cambodia and King Sihanouk was overthrown by General Lon Nol. The new government lasted for 5 years, before being defeated by the Khmer Rouge in 1975.
|  | The Cambodians endured the brutal Khmer Rouge until the Vietnamese invaded in 1979. This preceded the Paris Peace Accords of 1991, which administered elections in 1993.
In 1997 Cambodia saw factional fighting in Phnom Penh. A cease fire was quickly agreed and the Cambodians administered a new election in 1998.
The current Prime Minister - Hun Sen wields much authority over Cambodia, through the political party known as the CPP - Cambodian Peoples Party.
Cambodians are having new elections in 2008.
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