“I do imagine that Hun Sen considers himself a reincarnation of Sdech Kan, destined to lead the nation through prowess and might,” Dr. Noren-Nilsson said.

In speeches, Mr. Hun Sen has noted that he and Kan were both born in the Year of the Dragon, a symbolically potent coincidence in a superstitious country. He has sponsored research to find the site of Kan’s capital — which proved to be not far from the prime minister’s birthplace — and paid to have it developed as a tourist attraction. In August, Kan was the hero of a heavily promoted action movie directed by an official in Mr. Hun Sen’s government.

David Chandler, a historian of Cambodia and professor emeritus at Monash University in Australia, said the Kan myth was useful to Mr. Hun Sen, whose biggest early rivals were Cambodian royals, because both men came from common stock.

“He wants to connect himself with some part of Cambodia’s past that doesn’t necessarily have to do with the royal family, and has to do with his part of the country and a certain amount of courage and populism, which he thinks he’s got,” Dr. Chandler said. “There aren’t a lot of characters like Kan in Cambodian history.”