History of the Cham–Vietnamese wars facts for kids

The Cham-Vietnamese Wars were a long series of fights and disagreements between the Vietnamese people and the Champa kingdom. These conflicts lasted for many centuries, starting in the 900s and continuing even into the 1900s. The wars eventually led to Vietnam taking over all of Champa's land. Many people see these wars as a big part of Vietnam's "Nam tiến" (March to the South) movement, where they expanded their territory southward.

A Long History of Conflict

How the Wars Began

When the Vietnamese formed their own kingdom around the 900s, Champa was already a strong, independent kingdom to their south. Champa needed to protect its land from the Khmer Empire in the west. It also wanted to expand north into Vietnamese territory.

In 979, Champa tried to invade Đại Việt (the Vietnamese kingdom) to help China. But the Vietnamese, led by Lê Hoàn, defended their land strongly. Champa's attack failed. This moment started a long and intense rivalry between the Chams and the Vietnamese.

Over the next few centuries, the fighting grew worse. This was because of Vietnam's "Nam tiến" policy, meaning "march to the south." More Vietnamese settlers moved south, slowly gaining control over Cham areas. This led to many wars between the two groups. As Vietnam's expansion continued under the Lý dynasty, they took more Cham land. This made Đại Việt a powerful country in the region. After 1104, the two countries had a more peaceful relationship for almost 200 years.

Islam and the End of Champa

After two peaceful centuries, and even an alliance during the Mongol invasions of Vietnam, problems started again. More Vietnamese settlers kept moving south. Many in the Cham government did not trust the Vietnamese. This led to a very bloody conflict from 1367 to 1396. The Chams almost conquered Đại Việt, but the war ended in a tie.

After this war, the Trần dynasty in Vietnam became weak and was replaced by the Hồ dynasty. At this time, the Chams allied with China again. They helped the Ming dynasty of China conquer Vietnam in 1407. However, this turned out to be bad for Champa. The Vietnamese felt very angry towards the Chams after they drove out the Chinese in 1427.

Around the same time, traders from Arab countries and Malaysia brought Islam to the region. Islam began spreading in Southeast Asia in the 600s. But it was in the 1400s that Islam really started to grow in Champa. At that time, Hinduism was still the main religion there.

Many Chams started to become Muslim just as the Vietnamese kingdom became stronger and more aggressive. Vietnam invaded Champa in 1446. More Vietnamese attacks finally destroyed the Cham nation in 1471. This also led to Islam becoming the main religion for the Cham people.

The Chams faced harsh treatment and forced assimilation by the Vietnamese. But they kept fighting back. Chams rebelled against Vietnamese rule five or six times in the 1600s. Each revolt was put down violently by the Vietnamese Nguyễn lords. The last parts of Cham independence ended in the 1800s. The last Cham kingdoms were taken over by the Vietnamese. Two important Cham revolts in the early 1800s were the Ja Lidong rebellion and the Nduai Kabait rebellion. In these, local Degar tribes joined with Chams to fight against Vietnamese expansion.

In the 1830s, during the Siamese–Vietnamese wars, the Chams started a big rebellion. It was led by Katip Sumat, a Muslim leader. This was the first ever jihadist war against Vietnam. This rebellion, along with the Ja Thak Wa uprising in 1834, was stopped by the Nguyễn dynasty.

The Vietnamese Empire treated the Chams very harshly. Many Cham survivors fled to Cambodia, Thailand, and the Malay Peninsula. Some Chams became more radical in their Islamic beliefs. Cham Hindus were also accused and persecuted.

20th Century Conflicts

When the French took control of Vietnam, the open fighting between Chams and Vietnamese mostly stopped. But the two groups still did not trust each other. The French government made this mistrust worse. They favored the Islamization of the Chams to balance the larger Buddhist Vietnamese population. Political Islam became popular among Chams. They saw the growing Vietnamese nationalist movement as a threat. The Salafist movement later spread in Vietnam, starting during the Vietnam War. This was due to Mohammad Badri, a Cham who had studied in Saudi Arabia.

During the Vietnam War, both governments openly persecuted Chams, both Hindus and Muslims. This led Chams to join different groups fighting for independence. One such group was the United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races, or FULRO, started in 1964. Some Chams saw this as part of their jihad. Others said they were helped by Cambodian and French secret services.

After the Vietnam War ended, the Vietnamese government increased its harsh treatment of the Chams. They wanted to create a single Vietnamese nation. This period has been called a "second Cham genocide" by some. In Cambodia, between 90,000 and 500,000 Chams were killed by the Pol Pot Khmer Rouge government during the Cambodian genocide. The Khmer Rouge strongly disliked the Cham people. They saw Cham Muslims as "rootless rich people" compared to farming Khmers. After the Cambodian–Vietnamese War, the Cham rebellion spread. Both Vietnamese and Cham forces suffered many losses. By the 1980s, the Cham rebellion decreased and eventually ended.

Some Chams chose to leave their homes instead of joining the rebellion. They fled to Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Yemen, Qatar, Turkey, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Some later settled in the United States. The rebellion ultimately failed. Vietnam began economic reforms called Đổi mới and rejoined the world. By this time, the number of Chams remaining in Vietnam had greatly decreased. While tensions have lessened, Chams and Vietnamese still keep their distance.

List of Major Conflicts