History According to legend, during the first century AD, Kaundinya, an Indian Brahmin priest following a dream came to Cambodia's Great Lake to find his fortune. He met and married a local princess, Soma, daughter of the Naga king, and founded the first kingdom called the Phnom, introducing Hindu customs, legal traditions and the Sanskrit language. Modern historians refer to it as Funan, the first Khmer kingdom and the oldest Indianized state in the Southeast Asian region, which became a dominant power in the region for more than 600 years. Jayavarman II, a Khmer king, united all the Khmer people under his leadership in approximately 800 AD. Establishing his capital in the northwestern part of Cambodia, north of the Tonle Sap Lake, Jayavarman II was crowned as King of Kampuchea and adopted the Hindu religion. With a succession of capitals located in and around the Siem Reap province the Khmer kings exhibited an enormous talent for marshalling the genius of their people. Although Cambodia had a rich and powerful past under the Hindu state of Funan and the Kingdom of Angkor, by the mid-19th century the country was on the verge of dissolution. After repeated requests for French assistance a protectorate was established in 1863. By 1884, Cambodia was a virtual colony. France continued to control the country even after the start of World War II through its Vichy government. Full independence came on 9 November 1953, but the situation remained unsettled until a 1954 conference was held in Geneva to settle the French-Indochina war. The Cambodian delegation agreed to the neutrality of the three Indochina states but insisted on a provision in the cease-fire agreement that left the Cambodian government free to call for outside military assistance should the Viet Minh or others threaten its territory. Although Cambodia had a rich and powerful past under the Hindu state of Funan and the Kingdom of Angkor, by the mid-19th century the country was on the verge of dissolution. After repeated requests for French assistance a protectorate was established in 1863. By 1884, Cambodia was a virtual colony. In February 1969 a new chapter in Cambodian history was opened as the Vietnam War spilled into Cambodia. On 30 April 1970 American and South Vietnamese Government troops invaded Southeast Cambodia. As Vietnamese troops retreated deeper into Cambodia the Khmer Rouge grew in strength. As the Khmer Rouge grew, they became increasingly independent of their Vietnamese allies. While the Vietnamese and the Americans signed the Paris Peace agreement in 1973, the Khmer Rouge continued to make gains on the battlefields of Cambodia. Soon the territory held by the weak Republic was reduced to little more than a handful of enclaves around the major cities. . On the same day that Lon Nol fled the country the Khmer Rouge marched into Phnom Penh. Pol Pot's goal was to transform Cambodia in a completely self-sufficient agrarian communist state. The revolution justified everything; human life was expendable. Until 1979 the Khmer Rouge terrorised the country and more than a million people were killed during their reign. The Khmer Rouge has therefore been accused of genocide - holding an unchallenged record in percentage of the population killed by a revolutionary movement. . On Christmas Day 1978, an invasion force of 90,000 Vietnamese and 18,000 dissident Cambodians poured across the border into Cambodia. A much better-equipped, brilliantly led invasion force confronted the defence of Pol Pot's regime. Within a few days the Vietnamese had captured Phnom Penh. The battered remnants of the Khmer Rouge retreated into the mountains and jungles along the Thai border. . A different kind of war began: the Khmer Rouge stepped up guerrilla attacks against the Vietnamese. As the months passed the Vietnamese consolidated their hold on Cambodia and soon a new Cambodian government was formed under Vietnamese supervision. In June 1988 the Vietnamese announced plans to begin a gradual troop withdrawal. . In early 1990 the negotiating process continued. A formal cease-fire was finally adopted in May 1991. On 23 October 1991 a peace agreement was at least signed and formally accepted by all sides. . After the free elections of 1993 Cambodia had a parliamentary system with two prime ministers who shared power. A new constitution was adopted and in 1993, King Norodom Sihanouk assumed the throne once again. It was 52 years since he had been crowned king the first time. The official name of the country today is 'Kingdom of Cambodia'.