មីសឺន: ប្រវត្តិសាស្ត្រ

ប្រវត្តិសាស្ត្រ 
The over 70 temples and tombs extant at Mỹ Sơn have been dated to the period between the 4th century and the 14th century AD. However, the inscriptions and other evidence indicate that earlier now defunct constructions probably were present from the 4th century.My Son Sanctuary - UNESCO World Heritage Centre The complex may have been the religious and cultural centre of historical Champa, while the government was based in nearby Trà Kiệu or Đồng Dương.

 ភទ្រវម៌្ម ("ផ្វានហ៊ូតា") និង ភទ្រេឝ្វរ 
left|thumb|This stone linga is dated to the 10th century. It stands next to the temple known as "B4."
The earliest historical events documented by the evidence recovered at Mỹ Sơn relate to the era of King Fànhúdá (, Sanskrit Bhadravarman, literally "Blessed armour" but also meaning the Jasminum sambac flower), who ruled from 380 until 413, and who spent the latter part of his reign waging war against the population of Chinese-occupied northern Vietnam.Georges Maspero, The Champa Kingdom, p.29. At Mỹ Sơn, Bhadravarman built a hall containing a lingam to worship Shiva under the Sanskrit name Bhadreśvara "Blessed Lord", a composite created from the king's own name and the word īśvara "lord" commonly used to refer to Shiva.Ngô Văn Doanh, My Son Relics, p.56.

King Bhadravarman caused a stele to be erected at Mỹ Sơn the inscription on which recorded his foundation. The stele indicates that the king dedicated the entire valley of Mỹ Sơn to Bhadreśvara. The text ends with a plea from Bhadravarman to his successors: "Out of compassion for me do not destroy what I have given."Maspero, G., 2002, The Champa Kingdom, Bangkok: White Lotus Co., Ltd.,   Drawing upon the doctrines of saṃsāra and karma, he added, "If you destroy [my foundation], all your good deeds in your different births shall be mine, and all the bad deeds done by me shall be yours. If, on the contrary, you properly maintain the endowment, the merit shall belong to you alone."Ngô Văn Doanh, My Son Relics, p.192-193. Bhadravarman's successors heard his plea, it seems, for Mỹ Sơn became the religious hub of Champa for many generations.

 ឝម្ភុវម៌្ម 
thumb|right|The great temple "A1" dedicated to the god Sambhubhadresvara by King Sambhuvarman in the 7th century is now a pile of rubble: scholars were able to make this diagram before its destruction during the Vietnam War.
More than two centuries after Bhadravaman's foundation, the temple to Bhadresvara was destroyed by fire. In the 7th century, King Sambhuvarman (Phạm Phạn Chi in Vietnamese, Fan Che as transcribed from the Chinese), who reigned from 577 until 629, rebuilt the temple, reinstalled the god under the name Sambhu-Bhadresvara, and erected a stele to document the event.Higham, C., 2014, Early Mainland Southeast Asia, Bangkok: River Books Co., Ltd.,  The stele affirmed that Sambhu-Bhadresvara was the creator of the world and the destroyer of sin, and expressed the wish that he "cause happiness in the kingdom of Champa."Ngô Văn Doanh, My Son Relics, p.14,196. The stele also applauded the king himself, claiming that he was "like a terrestrial sun illuminating the night" and that his glory rose "like the moon on an autumn evening."Georges Maspero, The Champa Kingdom, p.44.

Ironically, perhaps, Sambhuvarman's reign was marred by one of the most devastating invasions ever suffered by the country of Champa. In 605 AD, the Chinese general Liu Fang led an army southwards from the area of what is now northern Vietnam, defeated the elephant-riders of Sambhuvarman, and sacked the Cham capital, making off with an enormous booty that included over one thousand Buddhist books as well as the gold tablets commemorating the reigns of the previous eighteen kings.Georges Maspero, The Champa Kingdom, p.43. Heading back north with their heist, the Chinese invaders were struck by an epidemic that felled a large number of them, including Liu Fang. Sambhuvarman, for his part, returned home to his kingdom, began the process of rebuilding, and made sure to send regular shipments of tribute to the Chinese court, in order through appeasement to prevent a recurrence of the recent disaster.

French scholars investigating Mỹ Sơn at the beginning of the 20th century identified a then still existent edifice distinguished for "its majestic proportions, the antiquity of its style, and the richness of its decoration" as the temple of Sambhu-Bhadresvara constructed by King Sambhuvarman.M.L. Finot, "Les inscriptions de Mi-Son," p.910. The edifice, which is known to scholars as "A1", was practically destroyed by US aerial bombing in the Vietnam War and is now little more than a formless pile of bricks.

 ប្រកាឝធម៌ 
King Prakasadharma (Po Kia Pho Pa Mo, as transcribed from the Chinese) ruled Champa from 653 AD to approximately 687.Georges Maspero, The Champa Kingdom, p.45. Upon ascending to the throne, he also assumed the name Vikrantavarman. During his reign, he expanded the borders of Champa toward the South and sent ambassadors and tribute (including tame elephants) to China. Inscriptions link him not only to Mỹ Sơn, but also to the nearby urban settlements of Trà Kiệu and Đồng Dương. He began the religious practice of donating "kosas" or decorated metallic sleeves to be placed over a lingam. Unusually for a king of Champa, he was devoted not only to Shiva, but also to Vishnu.Ngô Văn Doanh, My Son Relics, p.66-70.

One of the most important steles to be found at Mỹ Sơn is that erected by Prakasadharma in 657 AD. The purpose of the stele was to commemorate the king's establishment of a god identified as the ruler of the world, i.e. Shiva, with a view to overcoming the seeds of karma that lead to rebirth. The stele is important because it sets forth the king's ancestry and is of great help in reconstructing the sequence of Champa's rulers. Among his ancestors, notably, the king claimed a Cambodian king named Isanavarman I. And like the Cambodian kings, he traced his ancestry to the legendary couple of the brahman Kaundinya and the nāga-princess Soma.Ngô Văn Doanh, My Son Relics, p.197-203.

 ដំណើរវិវត្តន៍ចុងក្រោយ 
right|thumb|A Cham artist of approximately the 10th century depicted a Cham temple tower in this fragment located in the museum at My Son.
Subsequent kings renovated the older temples and constructed additional ones. For many centuries, the building of temples and shrines of varying sizes continued, and Mỹ Sơn served as the religious and cultural center of the Cham civilization in central Vietnam, as well as the burial place of kings and religious leaders.

Most of the extant temples at Mỹ Sơn, such as the Isanabhadresvara, were built in the 10th century AD. The inscriptions from this period have not survived, except in fragmentary form.Ngô Văn Doanh, My Son Relics, p.71. At the beginning of the 10th century, the Cham center of power was at Đồng Dương, not far from Mỹ Sơn. By the end of the century, it had been displaced southward to Bình Định Province on account of military setbacks in wars with the Viet. However, Cham kings continued periodically to renovate the temples at Mỹ Sơn and even to build new foundations. The latest significant Cham record at Mỹ Sơn is a pillar inscription of King Jaya Indravarman V dated 1243 AD. By the early 15th century, the Cham had lost their northernmost lands, including the area of Mỹ Sơn, to the Viet.Ngô Văn Doanh, My Son Relics, p.170-171.

 ការសិក្សារបស់អ្នកប្រាជ្ញសម័យទំនើប 
Following the conquest of central Vietnam by the Viet and the decline and eventual fall of Champa, the Mỹ Sơn complex fell into disuse and was largely forgotten. It was rediscovered in 1898 by the Frenchman M. C. Paris.Ngô Văn Doanh, My Son Relics, p.4-5. A year later, members of the scholarly society called École française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO) began to study the inscriptions, architecture, and art of Mỹ Sơn. In 1904, they published their initial findings in the journal of the society called Bulletin de l'École française d'Extrême Orient (BEFEO). Henri Parmentier gave a description of the ruins at Mỹ Sơn, and M. L. Finot published the inscriptions that had been found there.Henri Parmentier, "Les monuments du Cirque de Mi-Son"; M.L. Finot, "Les inscriptions de Mi-Son."

 ការស្ដារ 
In 1937, French scholars began to restore the temples at Mỹ Sơn. In 1937 and 1938, the main temple known as "A1" and the smaller temples surrounding it were restored. Other major temples were restored between 1939 and 1943. However, many historical buildings were destroyed during the Vietnam War. United States B52 aircraft carpet-bombed the region in August 1969. The surrounding area is still rendered dangerous through the presence of unexploded land mines.

thumb|200px|left|Bombs dropped by the US during the Vietnam War made craters that are still visible.

The majority of the temple sites in the centre of the complex have survived to this day. However, worries persist regarding the structural soundness of the remaining temples, some of which are vulnerable to collapse. Although many statues have been removed to France or to historical museums in Vietnam, such as the Museum of Cham Sculpture in Da Nang, others can be viewed in a temporary museum that has been set up on site in two of the temples, with the funding of benefactors from Germany and Poland.

From 2002 to 2004, the Ministry of Culture of Vietnam allotted around 440,000 USD to maintain the site. A draft plan of UNESCO was funded by the Government of Italy and sponsors from Japan to prevent further degradation. These efforts are also funded by the World Monuments Fund.