Harivarman IV

After a turbulent period of chaos marked by the reign of a tyrant king who had left Champa completely devastated in the civil war and power struggles, the future Harivarman expelled a coalition of enemies in the country. Harivarman was crowned the king of Champa, declared himself protector of Champa, established a new dynasty, and set about rebuilding the kingdom: he constructed a capital, restored the citadel of Tralauṅ Svon and streamlined state welfare and happiness.[2] Harivarman was described as having ‘retrospective originalish mind’ and ‘want to make Champa as a great power again’,[3] henceforth he restored the ancient city of Simhapura (former capital of Champa from c. 400 to 750 AD), rebuilt many religious foundations in My Son, including the temple of Bhadresvara. He donated the local gods foreign war prisoners and trophies after his military victories. He also reformed the fiscal system, strengthen Champa's might and prosperity surpassing the pre-civil war period.[4]

Harivarman defeated a Vietnamese raid led by Chancellor Ly Thuong Kiet in 1074. He refused to cooperate with the Song dynasty and the Khmer Empire in a joint-campaign against Dai Viet in 1076, instead he made peace with the Dai Viet.[1] Subsequently, Harshavarman III of the Khmer Empire sent Prince Nandavarmadeva as the commander leading a Khmer army to attack northern Champa, sacking cities and temples, and looting many in My Son. Harivarman routed the invaders at the Battle of Somesvara, and Prince Nandavarmadeva was captured alive as a prisoner. In 1080, Cham army under Harivarman and his younger brother, Prince Pang, later known as Paramabodhisattva (r. 1081–1086), launched a counter invasion of Cambodia, where they plundered the city of Sambhupura (Sambor) on the Mekong River.[5]

In his textual epitaph, Harivarman praises indigenous Cham traditions of matrilinealism while the text was written in Sanskrit, which, very conflicted with Indian traditions, through he was a very religious man.[6]

Harivarman stepped down in 1080 and chose his nine-year-old son Prince Väk as heir, crowned as Jaya Indravarman II (r. 1080–81, 1086–1113). He then entered esoteric religious life, and died in 1081. The deceased king's funeral took place on a pyre according to the tradition of Sati, with his first-queen and second-rank queen.[7] The inexperienced young Jaya Indravarman II, "did not know how to govern the kingdom properly and did everything contrary to the rules of the government", was deposed by his uncle and chief regent, Prince Pang.[1]

• Coedès, George (1975), Vella, Walter F. (ed.), The Indianized States of Southeast Asia, University of Hawaii Press, ISBN 978-0-824-80368-1
• Griffiths, Arlo; Lepoutre, Amandine; Southworth, William A.; Phần, Thành (2012), The inscriptions of Campā at the Museum of Cham sculpture in Đà Nẵng / Văn khắc Chămpa tại bảo tàng điêu khắc Chăm – Đà Nẵng, Vietnam National University in Ho Chi Minh City Publishing House (published in collaboration with EFEO and the Center for Vietnamese and Southeast Asian Studies, Hồ Chí Minh City)
• Lafont, Pierre-Bernard (2007), Le Campā: Géographie, population, histoire, Indes savantes, ISBN 978-2-84654-162-6
• Maspero, Georges (2002), The Champa Kingdom, White Lotus Co., Ltd, ISBN 978-97475-3-499-3