Most Important SE Asian Civ?

Most Important SE Asian Civ?

  • Khmers

    Votes: 16 28.6%
  • Siam/Thailand

    Votes: 10 17.9%
  • Vietnam

    Votes: 10 17.9%
  • Burma/Myanmar

    Votes: 1 1.8%
  • Laos

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Phillipines

    Votes: 2 3.6%
  • Indonesia/Srivjaya

    Votes: 3 5.4%
  • Malacca

    Votes: 1 1.8%
  • Malaysia

    Votes: 2 3.6%
  • Other

    Votes: 3 5.4%
  • No SE Asian civs were important.

    Votes: 8 14.3%

  • Total voters
    56
  • Poll closed .
The Khmers were the biggest of the SE Asian civs, they built Angkor Wat, and lasted 1000 years. They win. Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Malacca, and Burma were close, though.
 
Had the greatest longevity, culture, influence, science, or military might in the period or through history.
 
Hmmm... it's hard to make a judgement. It like trying to judge the most important European states after c.AD1000.

Huayna Capac357 said:
Had the greatest longevity, culture, influence, science, or military might in the period or through history.

In terms of influence, longetivity and culture, the Khmer Empire is definitely the most important. I've been to Angkor Wat and it was awesome (the begging starving kids in and around the site is kind of depressing though. Such is the cycle of the rise and fall of great powers...). Other states are also quite important though - Srivijaya had an empire as big as Khmer's and was known as far as China as the centre for Buddhist science and scholarship, while its Islamic and Hindu successor states in the area are also quite powerful and influential as well. Siam was the regional superpower from about AD1300 to AD1560 and from AD1600 to the present day and the only one to escape Western colonialism.
 
Actually this is an interesting topic to discuss, but I think I see the obvious answer for me. Thailand. :yup:

Well, what can I do, I'm a Thai, after all. :D
 
Vietnam. And hopefully that wasn't too much of a nationalist biased opinion.

1. Longetivity - it IS the longest living of all of those. It has been alive since c. 300 BCE, possibly even longer. Even if we have to include the 1000 year Chinese occupation.

2. Military - sure, we haven't gone conquering the world. But... we always speak quite haughtily about how we kicked out Song China, Yuan China - thats Mongolia, Ming China, Qing China, France, America, Communist China. Plus we had real women warrior-leaders.

3. THe culture of Vietnam was more or less equal with the Khmer. Just because the Khmer built the Angkor Wat doesn't mean the were the greatest SE Asian Civ. The Vietnamese built their own stuff too, like a mimic of the Forbidden Palace. Althuogh we did copy off the Chinese a lot of times.

4. Pho

Indonesia would come pretty close, because it was important in the international maritime trade routes.
 
It's a hard call, because none of the candidates are overwhelmingly more important than the rest. Each has its high points and low.

I would go with the Siamese/Thais or the Vietnamese/Annamese myself, for their staying power.
 
In each category that HC357 has stated, I have nominated the few who excell best in that Catergory

Longevity - In this Catergory, the winner goes to the one with the single most longest non-broken soveirgnity. The time is reset whenever they become conquered.

Thailand - The WINNER, indepedent for 769 years straight
Indonesia - First Runner-up 62, years
Burma - 59 years

Culture - The winner gets this if their culture is the most widespread and also for being defiantly un-assimalated into

This catergory has no winner since all their cultures dont go out much from the country. Also SEA's culture is all dued to outside influences. So the real winners of these should be India (culture in Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma), Islam (culture in Malaysia and Indonesia), China (culture in Vietnam) and the various colonial countries, Spain, France.

Influence - The winner in this catergory is for those who show that they were very...well influential!

Sirijaya and other Indonesian states - The WINNER, for controling the spice route and resources for centuries manipulating trade, relations between India, China and Europe and getting the Portuguese and Spanish to constantly hit each other.

Science - This is awarded to the nation which shows if was the most scientifically advance state of its time or simply put, a tech lead.

I dont much about them in this catergory so im going to let someone else do it

Military Might - For those who have shown great um...military Might

Vietnam is the Winner for there is something amazing about being able to halt Mongolia in its tracks three times, constanly repel attacks from bigger stronger more advance China and stop America from overrunning them. This country deserves more than a crappy nominations for being able to stand up to Three World Superpowers over a period of 1000 years and win!
 
Honestly though I"m a southeast asian in terms of their importance I don't think any were outstanding. I would say either Indonesia or the Thai. Indonesia supplied the spices that ultimately spurred European interest in exploration. Basically Indonesia is important because of trade.
 
Siam/Thailand and Vietnam tied for me, pretty much.

Though I'm not sure I'd put Vietnam into SEA. Geographically, yes, but culturally...they're really more of a East Asian civilization.
 
Siam/Thailand and Vietnam tied for me, pretty much.

Though I'm not sure I'd put Vietnam into SEA. Geographically, yes, but culturally...they're really more of a East Asian civilization.

I suppose. They were more Buddhist than Hindu, unlike the Khmers at their height, and they used Chinese writing and loan words, but they are still ethnically and in other ways SE Asian.
 
^we consider ourselves more East Asian than South Asian, even if we look more Khmer or something. Actually, a lot of Vietnamese can easily pass off as Chinese or Jpanese or whatever, even in the eyes of Asian people. And, althuogh our language is originally Austro-Asiatic or something, practically 90% of our words (including all our technical terms) are from Chinese.
 
^we consider ourselves more East Asian than South Asian, even if we look more Khmer or something. Actually, a lot of Vietnamese can easily pass off as Chinese or Jpanese or whatever, even in the eyes of Asian people. And, althuogh our language is originally Austro-Asiatic or something, practically 90% of our words (including all our technical terms) are from Chinese.

I really don't know much about Vietnam, do I? :D
 
^some people say I look like a Mongol. seriously. :)

But anyhow, to continue my rant...

2500 years ago and more, Vietnam was a happy little place, ruled by women (or at least one where women had much power, i don't think we were exactly like Amazons). But in those days, our culture was probably more related to the Polynesians than the Chinese.

But, anyhow, China was north of us, and who doesn't want to be next to China, unless they're the Mongols? Anyhow, at first, apparently, princes and nobles of the losers of the Chinese civil wars came to Vietnam and sort of became our rulers or something, thuogh it seemed that they didn't do much cultural assimililation.

But sooner or later, Chinas gotta get bigger. c. 111 BCE, Emperor Wudi comes down and takes us over.

Althuogh the Chinese would "rule" over us for, technically, more than 1000 years until c. 930 CE, it was always interrupted with rebellions, a number which had a degree of success. But, still, whether broken or not, thats 1000 years. More than enough time for cultural, AND blood assimilation.

Even after the CHinese left, Vietnam was always closely tied with China. Often, many Chinese on the losing side of their civil wars STILL took refuge in Vietnam.

That is why, to this day, practically all Vietnamese probably have a little Chinese blood in them, and why Vietnamese are more closer to China, Korea, and Japan than Thailand or Cambodia, and why Vietnam is considered to be part of "East Asia", which is just China the master, Korea the (once) hardcore traditionalist, Japan the isolationalist, and Vietnam the crazy insane madman.
 
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