TimeMaps

South East Asia
2500BC

At around this time, a series of major population movements begin to affect this region. Starting in southern China and Taiwan, farming and fishing communities begin to move south and east, into the coasts and islands of South East Asia. These are the ancestors of today's Malays, Polynesians and other Austronesian peoples, and it is the start of a millennia-long migration which will take them to Madagascar in one direction, and Hawaii in the other.

At the same time, the population of south west China is expanding as Austroasiatic migrants move in from the central Yangtze valley, with their wet-rice farming technology. From there they will soon begin to follow the river valleys down into present-day Burma and Laos.

South East Asia
1500BC

By this date Austronesians are settling the coast and islands of the Philippines, as well as points further east, into the Pacific, and south, towards New Guinea. They are sailors and fishermen, and have developed advanced boat-building and navigation techniques.

Meanwhile, continued population expansion in southern China is leading Austroasiatic-speaking peoples to migrate from there into northern South East Asia. They bring with them their wet-rice farming techniques, pioneered by their ancestors in the Yangtze Valley, and this allows their numbers to grow. Their rice-farming villages soon dot the rivers and valleys of present-day Burma and Laos. Their descendants, notably the Mon and Khmer peoples, will come to form a major part of the population of mainland South East Asia.

South East Asia
1000BC

This region continues to witness movements of populations. The Austronesians have established themselves on the coasts and islands of the Philippines, and are now probing outwards to the coasts of Vietnam and Borneo, as well as south-eastwards along the coast of New Guinea and beyond.

In the west, the Austroasiatic ancestors of the Mon and Khmer peoples are continuing to spread downwards in South East Asia, establishing their rice-growing villages as they go. The use of bronze for weapons and decorative objects is also now becoming established among these peoples, as a result of continuing links with southern China.

To the north, a new group of peoples, the Tibeto-Burmans, are moving down the river valleys of south-east China into northern Burma.

South East Asia
500BC

The Austronesians have, over the past few centuries, been thrusting westwards into the coasts and islands of South East Asia. Here, they will become known as the Champa, in Vietnam, the Malays, and the Javanese.

In the north, the Burmans (including the Pye) are establishing themselves in northern Burma, pushing the Mon and Khmer peoples south and east.

By this date, the use of iron, for weapons and farming implements, is spreading down into South East Asia from southern China.

South East Asia
200BC

The coasts of Burma and the Malayan peninsula are by this date already being visited by sailors and traders from the Indian sub-continent, and by Hindu and Buddhist missionaries. These religions, together with the cultural package that they bring with them, including literacy (in Sanskrit), and Indian styles of art and architecture, are beginning to make headway in the region. Small kingdoms have probably already begun to appear along these coastlines, outposts of Indian civilization.

South East Asia
30BC

The first literate and urban civilization of South East Asia has now appeared, in Burma. This is linked to the Pye kingdom, which, lying across the trade routes between China and India which pass down the Irrawaddy river system to the Indian Ocean, has received influences from both these great civilizations. The kingdom seems to be a confederacy of small states under a royal overlord based in the city of Pyu. According to Chinese records, the Pye culture is strongly Buddhist by religion, and is noted for its emphasis on humane values.

South East Asia
200AD

The Pye kingdom continues to flourish, and it is likely that the broad outlines of later Burmese civilization are already being laid down, with its Buddhist foundations and emphasis on monasticism, expressed architecturally in the distinctive vaulted temples which adorned later Burmese cities.

Elsewhere in South East Asia, it is Hinduism that is most influential at this time. Indian traders have established stopping-off points along the coast, around which local rulers have established small states, deeply influenced by Indian civilization. The most notable of these states is the kingdom of Funan.

In southern China, increasing numbers of Chinese settlers from the north are putting pressure on local tribes. Most notably, the Tai (or Thai) people are gradually beginning to move away from their original homeland into the border areas between China and South East Asia.

South East Asia
500AD

At this stage in its history the region’s strong trading and cultural links with India are at their height. Buddhism has gained a firm foothold in Burma, and Hinduism is a major cultural force throughout much of the rest of South East Asia. With these faiths has come Indian influences in art, architecture and political organization.

In present-day Vietrnam, an area formerly full of “wild tribes” has been moulded into a kingdom by leaders of Chinese origin. Like Funan, to the south, it is organized along Indian lines,as are the numeous small kingdoms on the Malayan peninsula, eastern Sumatra and eastern Java.

In nortehrn South East Asia, Mon tribes are expanding in modern-day southern Burma and northern Thailand. This movement may be linked to the drift of Tai (Thai) tribes southwards into Laos and northern Thailand.

South East Asia
750AD

By this period, Chinese influence is growing in South East Asia. Under the powerful Tang dynasty, China's trade with the countries of the region is expanding strongly, and one consequence of this may well be the rise of the maritime power of Sri Vijaya, which seems to enjoy a specially-favoured status as a tributary trading partner with the Chinese empire.

The Champa kingdom remains a thriving centre for trade, though further south the centuries-old kingdom of Funan has disappeared.

Another long-established South East Asian state, the Pye kingdom in Burma, is coming under increasing pressure from Burman tribes, from the north. Meanwhile, the Mon people have established powerful kingdoms in southern Burma and northern and central Thailand.

South East Asia
979AD

In Burma, the kingdom of Pyu has fallen. In its place, the Burmans have founded a state based on their capital Pagan, while a powerful Mon kingdom has also been established. Both the Mon and Pagan kingdoms have inherited much of their civilization from the Pyu kingdom, and both give Buddhism a central place in their religious and cultural life.

This period sees Champa reach a peak of power and prosperity, and to its north, the Vietnamese people, hitherto content to remain under Chinese rule, have won their independence. In Cambodia, a strong, centralized Khmer kingdom has superseded the numerous smaller states in the area.

The Sri Vijayan empire continues to dominate many of the coasts and islands of South East Asia. However, the kingdoms of Java have won their independence. Here, one of the most remarkable structures in the entire region has been constructed, the massive Buddhist temple complex at Borobodur.

South East Asia
1215AD

The Sri Vijaya empire has vanished, to be replaced by numerous kingdoms in Malaya, Java and Sumatra. The dominant power in the region is now the Khmer empire, which is based in Cambodia but has expanded over a huge empire. This is the age in which the great series of Khmer temples were built, culminating in Angkor Wat, by all measures one of the most spectacular buildings ever constructed anywhere in the world.

The historic kingdom of Champa has been conquered by the Khmer. In Burma, the Burman kingdom of Pagan has now expanded, conquering the Mon kingdom to the south.

South East Asia
1453AD

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South East Asia
1648AD

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South East Asia
1789AD

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South East Asia
1837AD

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South East Asia
1871AD

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South East Asia
1914AD

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South East Asia
1960AD

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South East Asia
2005AD

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