BATTAMBANG or BATTAMBONG (locally Phrata bong), the chief town of the north-western division of Cambodia, formerly capital of Monton Khmer, i.e., "The Cambodian Divi sion," one of the eastern provinces of Siam. It is in the midst of a fertile plain and on the river Sang Ke, which flows into the Tonle or Tale sap, the great lake of Cambodia. The town is a collection of bamboo houses of no importance, but there is a walled enceinte of some historical interest. Trade is small and is carried on by Chinese settlers, overland with Bangkok, or by water with Saigon. The population is about 5,000, two-thirds Cambodian and the remainder Chinese and Siamese. The language is Cambodian.
Battambang was taken from Cambodia by the Siamese towards the end of the i8th century, and was recognized by the French as belonging to Siam when the frontier of Cambodia was adjusted by treaty in 1867-72, but in 1904 Battambang was admitted to lie within the French sphere of influence. In March 19o7 (see SIAM), the district of Battambang was finally ceded to the French.