Udayādityavarman Ier : Une énigme au début du XI e siècle au Cambodge (The Udayadityavarman I Enigma)

What we know: Udayadityavarman the Ist was a king of Angkor who reigned from 1001 to 1002 AD. Maternal nephew of his predecessor Jayavarman V (968-1001), he reigned only a few months and his death triggered a nine-year civil war. His successor in Yaśodharapura was a prince of the royal family named Jayavirahvarman (1002-1010). Then Suryavarman I took the reins of the Khmer Empire.

In this audacious essay, the author develops a thesis speculated in 1948 by the Indianist historian Frederik David Kan Bosch: the enigmatic sovereign was in fact Udayana, King of Bali born and raised in Java.

To the inscription at Prasat Khna temple (K. 356, S) mentioning Udayadityavarman as the successor of Jayavarman V, the author adds several traditions establishing that the connection between the nascent Khmer Empire, Bali and Java already was in full swing. According to this hypothesis, Udayadityavarman (whose maternal aunt was King Jayavarman V's spouse) escaped back to Bali after his short reign, which could explain his subsequent disappearance from Khmer royal chronicles and scriptures.