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Battambang[bat´umbang] Pronunciation Key, city (1995 est. pop. 110,000), capital of Battambang prov., W Cambodia, in a great rice-growing area. The second largest city in Cambodia, it is a market center with numerous rice mills. Textiles are also made. The city is on both the highway and railroad linking Phnom Penh with Thailand; after the outbreak (1970) of civil war in Cambodia, the Battambang–Phnom Penh road was a prime target of the Khmer Rouge insurgents, who, by capturing it, severed Phnom Penh from its major source of rice. Battambang was acquired by Thailand in 1809 and returned to Cambodia in 1907. A technical university is located in the city.
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