View source for Khmer Empire

{{Short description|Empire in Southeast Asia (802–1431)}}
{{EngvarB|date=June 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox former country
| native_name            = {{langx|km|កម្វុជ|label=[[Old Khmer]]}}
| conventional_long_name = Kambuja
| common_name            = Khmer Empire/Angkorian Empire
| era                    = Post-classical era
| event_pre              = [[Indrapura (Khmer)|Indrapura]] 67
| date_pre               = 781
| event_start            = [[Devaraja|Consecration]] of [[Jayavarman II]]
| date_start             = 802
| event_end              = [[Fall of Angkor]]
| date_end               = 1431
| life_span              = 802–1431
| event1                 = Construction of [[Angkor Wat]]
| date_event1            = 1113–1150
| event2                 = [[Lan Xang]] founded
| date_event2            = 1353
| p1                     = Chenla#Water and Land Chenla{{!}}Lower Chenla
| p2                     = Chenla#Water and Land Chenla{{!}}Upper Chenla
| s1                     = Post-Angkor period{{!}}Post-Angkor Cambodia
| s2                     = Lan Xang
| s3                     = Ayutthaya Kingdom{{!}}Ayutthaya
| image_flag             = 
| flag_type              = 
| image_map              = Map-of-southeast-asia 900 CE.svg
| image_map_caption      = Khmer Empire, {{c.|900}}
| capital                = {{ubli|[[Mahendraparvata]] (early 9th century)|[[Hariharalaya]]<br>(mid 9th century)|[[Angkor|Yasodharapura]] {{nowrap|(late 9th cent.–928)}}|[[Koh Ker|Lingapura]]<br>(928–944)|Yasodharapura<br>(944–1431)}}
| common_languages       = {{ubl|[[Old Khmer]] (common)|[[Sanskrit]] (religious)}}
| religion               = {{ubl|[[Hinduism]]|[[Buddhism]]}}
| currency               = Native coins
| government_type        = [[Monarchy]]
| leader1                = [[Jayavarman II]]
| year_leader1           = 802–850 CE (first)
| leader2                = [[Suryavarman II]]
| year_leader2           = 1113–1150
| leader3                = [[Jayavarman VII]]
| year_leader3           = 1181–1218
| leader4                = [[Jayavarman IX]]
| year_leader4           = 1327–1336
| leader5                = [[Trasak Paem]]
| year_leader5           = 1336–1340
| leader6                = [[Thommasaok Reachea]]
| year_leader6           = 1373–1393
| leader7                = [[Ponhea Yat|Borom Reachea I]]
| year_leader7           = 1394–1431 (last)
| title_leader           = Monarch
| stat_year1             = 1181–1218
| stat_area1             = 1,263,322
| ref_area1              = <ref name="Turchin223">{{cite journal|last2=Adams|first2=Jonathan M.|last3=Hall|first3=Thomas D|date=December 2006|title=East-West Orientation of Historical Empires|url=http://jwsr.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/jwsr/article/view/369/381|journal=Journal of World-Systems Research|volume=12|issue=2|page=223|issn=1076-156X|last1=Turchin|first1=Peter|access-date=16 September 2016|archive-date=20 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190520161830/http://jwsr.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/jwsr/article/view/369/381|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Taagepera493">{{cite journal|date=September 1997|title=Expansion and Contraction Patterns of Large Polities: Context for Russia|jstor=2600793|journal=[[International Studies Quarterly]]|volume=41|issue=3|page=493|doi=10.1111/0020-8833.00053|author=Rein Taagepera|author-link=Rein Taagepera|url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3cn68807|access-date=7 September 2018|archive-date=17 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817161348/https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3cn68807|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
| today                  = {{ubl|[[Cambodia]]|[[Laos]]|[[Thailand]]|[[Vietnam]]|[[Myanmar]]}}
}}
{{History of Cambodia}}

The '''Khmer Empire''' was an [[empire]] in [[mainland Southeast Asia]], centered on [[Hydraulic empire|hydraulic cities]] in what is now northern [[Cambodia]]. Known as '''Kambuja''' ({{langx|km|កម្វុជ|label=[[Old Khmer]]}}; {{langx|km|កម្ពុជ}}) by its inhabitants, it grew out of the former civilization of [[Chenla]] and lasted from 802 to 1431. Historians call this period of [[History of Cambodia|Cambodian history]] the '''Angkor period''', after the empire's most well-known capital, [[Angkor]]. The Khmer Empire ruled or vassalised most of [[Mainland Southeast Asia]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/history/asia-africa/se-asia/khmer-empire|title=Khmer Empire &#124; Infoplease|website=www.infoplease.com|accessdate=15 January 2023|archive-date=12 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012204352/http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0827550.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and stretched as far north as [[southern China]].<ref name=FrankReynolds>{{cite web |last1=Reynolds |first1=Frank |title=Angkor |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Angkor#accordion-article-history |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |access-date=17 August 2018 |archive-date=26 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726143558/https://www.britannica.com/place/Angkor#accordion-article-history |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Plubins |first1=Rodrigo |title=Khmer Empire |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Khmer_Empire/ |website=[[World History Encyclopedia]] |access-date=17 August 2018 |archive-date=17 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417124558/https://www.worldhistory.org/Khmer_Empire/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The beginning of the Khmer Empire is conventionally dated to 802, when [[Khmer people|Khmer]] prince [[Jayavarman II]] declared himself ''[[chakravartin]]'' ({{Literal translation|universal ruler}}, a title equivalent to 'emperor') in the [[Phnom Kulen]] mountains. Although the end of the Khmer Empire has traditionally been marked with the [[fall of Angkor]] to the Siamese [[Ayutthaya Kingdom]] in 1431, the reasons for the empire's collapse are still debated amongst scholars.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/angkor-wat-civilization-collapsed-floods-drought-climate-change |title=LOVGREN, S. (2017, April 4). Angkor Wat's Collapse From Climate Change Has Lessons for Today. National Geographic. Retrieved March 30, 2022 |website=[[National Geographic Society]] |access-date=30 March 2022 |archive-date=28 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328182309/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/angkor-wat-civilization-collapsed-floods-drought-climate-change |url-status=dead }}</ref> Researchers have determined that a period of strong monsoon rains was followed by a severe drought in the region, which caused damage to the empire's hydraulic infrastructure. Variability between droughts and flooding was also a problem, which may have caused residents to migrate southward and away from the empire's major cities.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2020/04/14/climate-change-and-angkor-wat-collapse.html |title=Prasad, J. (2020, April 14). Climate change and the collapse of Angkor Wat. The University of Sydney. Retrieved March 30, 2022 |access-date=30 March 2022 |archive-date=24 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524200022/https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2020/04/14/climate-change-and-angkor-wat-collapse.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The site of Angkor is perhaps the empire's most notable legacy, as it was the capital during the empire's zenith. The majestic monuments of Angkor, such as [[Angkor Wat]] and the [[Bayon]], bear testimony to the Khmer Empire's immense power and wealth, impressive art and culture, architectural technique, aesthetic achievements, and variety of belief systems that it patronized over time. Satellite imaging has revealed that Angkor's elaborate water management network, during its peak in the 11th to the 13th centuries, was the most extensive pre-industrial urban complex in the world.<ref name="Evans2007">{{cite journal |author=Damian Evans |display-authors=etal |date=9 April 2009 |title=A comprehensive archaeological map of the world's largest preindustrial settlement complex at Angkor, Cambodia |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=104 |issue=36 |pages=14277–82 |bibcode=2007PNAS..10414277E |doi=10.1073/pnas.0702525104 |pmc=1964867 |pmid=17717084 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=31 May 2021 |title=Galloway, M. (2021, May 31). How Did Hydro-Engineering Help Build The Khmer Empire? The Collector. Retrieved November 12, 2021 |url=https://www.thecollector.com/khmer-empire-hydro-engineering/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211112123118/https://www.thecollector.com/khmer-empire-hydro-engineering/ |archive-date=12 November 2021 |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>

== Etymology ==
Modern scholars often refer to the Empire as the "Khmer Empire" ({{langx|km|ចក្រភពខ្មែរ}}) or the "Angkorian Empire" ({{langx|km|ចក្រភពអង្គរ|link=no}}), the latter after the capital Angkor.

The Empire referred to itself as ''Kambuja'' ({{langx|sa-Khmr|កម្ពុជ}}; {{langx|km|កម្វុជ|label=[[Old Khmer]]}}; {{langx|km|កម្ពុជ|link=no}}) or ''Kambujadeśa'' ({{langx|sa-Khmr|កម្ពុជទេស|link=no|lit=country of Kambuja}}; {{langx|km|កម្វុជទេឝ|label=Old Khmer}}; {{langx|km|កម្ពុជទេស|link=no}}), names which were pre-modern predecessors to the modern ''Kampuchea''.

== Historiography ==
No written records of the Angkor period have survived other than stone inscriptions. Current knowledge of the historical Khmer civilization is derived primarily from:
* Archaeological excavation, reconstruction and investigation
* Stone inscriptions (the most important of which are foundation steles of temples), which report on the political and religious deeds of the kings
* Reliefs in a series of temple walls with depictions of daily life, market scenes, military marches, and palace life
* Reports and chronicles of Chinese diplomats, traders, and travelers

==History==

===Formation and growth===

====Reign of Jayavarman II====
[[File:នៅប្រាសាទបន្ទាយស្រី៦ - at Banteay Srei 6.jpg|thumb|left|Temple of [[Banteay Srei]], built 967 AD]]
According to an [[Sdok Kok Thom#Inscription|inscription in the Sdok Kok Thom temple]],<ref name=Coedes>{{cite book|last= Coedès|first= George|author-link= George Coedès|editor= Walter F. Vella|others= trans. Susan Brown Cowing|title= The Indianized States of Southeast Asia|year= 1968|publisher= University of Hawaii Press|isbn= 978-0-8248-0368-1}}</ref>{{rp|97}}<ref name=Higham1>Higham, C. (2014). ''Early Mainland Southeast Asia''. Bangkok: River Books Co., Ltd., {{ISBN|978-6167339443}}.</ref>{{rp|353–354}} around 781 the Khmer prince [[Jayavarman II]] established [[Indrapura (Khmer)|Indrapura]] as the capital of his domain. It was located in [[Banteay Prey Nokor]], near today's [[Kampong Cham (city)|Kampong Cham]].<ref>Higham 1989, pp. 324 ff.</ref> After returning to his home in the former kingdom of [[Chenla]], he quickly built up his influence and defeated a series of competing kings. In 790 he became king of an empire called ''Kambuja'' by the Khmer. He then moved his court northwest to [[Mahendraparvata]], far inland north from the great lake of [[Tonlé Sap]].

Jayavarman II (reigned 802–835)<ref name=Higham>Higham, C. (2001). ''The Civilization of Angkor.'' London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, {{ISBN|978-1842125847}}</ref>{{rp|xiii, 59}} is widely regarded as the king who set the foundations of the Angkor period. Historians generally agree that this period of Cambodian history began in 802, when Jayavarman II conducted a grandiose consecration ritual on the sacred Mount Mahendraparvata, now known as [[Phnom Kulen]].<ref>{{cite book | last = Albanese | first = Marilia | year = 2006 | title = The Treasures of Angkor | publisher = White Star | location = Italy | isbn = 88-544-0117-X | pages = 24}}</ref> At the ritual, which was taken from the [[Hindu]] tradition, Jayavarman II proclaimed himself as ''[[Chakravarti (Sanskrit term)|chakravartin]]'' (from Sanskrit, commonly translated as "universal ruler"; Old Khmer: ''Kamraten jagad ta Raja'') and ''[[devaraja]]'' (from Sanskrit, {{Literal translation|god king}}).<ref name="Rooney-Angkor">{{cite book |url=https://www.bookdepository.com/Angkor-Dawn-Rooney/978-9622178021 |title=Angkor, Cambodia's Wondrous Khmer Temples |first=Dawn |last=Rooney |date=16 April 2011 |publisher=Odyssey Publications |location=Hong Kong |isbn=978-9622178021 |website=www.bookdepository.com |access-date=21 January 2019 |archive-date=31 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231031084151/https://www.amazon.com/b/ref=usbk_surl_books/?node=283155 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|35}} He also declared Kambuja's independence from a place inscriptions call "Java".

Historians debate whether "Java" means the [[Java|Indonesian island of Java]], [[Champa]] or a different location.  According to an older established interpretation, Jayavarman II was a prince who lived at the court of [[Sailendra]] in Java and brought back to Cambodia the art and culture of the Javanese Sailendran court (such as the concept of a ''devaraja'').<ref name="Coedes" />{{rp|97–101}} This classical theory was criticized by modern scholars such as Claude Jacques<ref>{{cite journal |last=Jacques |first=Claude |year=1972 |title=La carrière de Jayavarman II |journal=BEFEO |language=fr |volume=59 |pages=205–220 |issn=0336-1519}}</ref> and Michael Vickery, who noted that the Khmer used the term ''chvea'' to describe the [[Champa|Chams]], their neighbors to the east.<ref>[[Khmer Empire#Vickery1998|Vickery, 1998]]</ref> But in 2013 Arlo Griffiths refuted these theories and convincingly demonstrated that in almost all cases the inscriptions mention Java they refer to the island of Java in the Indonesian archipelago.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Griffiths |first=Arlo |year=2013 |title=The Problem of the Ancient Name Java and the Role of Satyavarman in Southeast Asian International Relations around the Turn of the Ninth Century CE |journal=Archipel |language=en |volume=85/1 |pages=43–81 |doi=10.3406/arch.2013.4384 |issn=0044-8613|url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01958103/file/arch_0044-8613_2013_num_85_1_4384.pdf }}</ref>

Jayavarman's political career began in [[Vyadhapura]] (likely the modern-day ruins of [[Banteay Prey Nokor]]) in eastern Cambodia. Moreover, many early temples on Phnom Kulen show Cham (e.g. Prasat Damrei Krap) as well as Javanese influences (e.g. the primitive "[[Architecture of Cambodia#Temple mountain|temple-mountain]]" of Aram Rong Cen and Prasat Thmar Dap), even if their asymmetric distribution seems typically Khmer.<ref name="dumarc2001">{{cite book |author=Jacques Dumarçay |title=Cambodian Architecture, Eight to Thirteenth Centuries |publisher=Brill |year=2001 |isbn=90-04-11346-0 |pages=xviii-xxi and 44–47 |display-authors=etal}}</ref>

In the following years, Jayavarman II extended his territory and established a new capital, [[Hariharalaya]], near the modern-day town of [[Roluos]].<ref name="Coedes" />{{rp|98}} He thereby laid the foundation of Angkor, which was to arise some {{convert|15|km|mi}} to the northwest. Jayavarman II died in 835<ref name="Higham" />{{rp|59}} and was succeeded by his son [[Jayavarman III]].<ref name="Coedes" />{{rp|103}}<ref>David Chandler, ''A History of Cambodia'', p. 42.</ref> Jayavarman III died in 877 and was succeeded by [[Indravarman I]].<ref name="Coedes" />{{rp|110}}

The successors of Jayavarman II kept extending the territory of Kambuja. Indravarman I (reigned 877–889) managed to expand the kingdom without wars and initiated extensive building projects, which were enabled by the wealth gained through trade and agriculture. Foremost were the temple of [[Preah Ko]] and irrigation works. Indravarman I developed Hariharalaya further by constructing [[Bakong]]<ref name=Higham1/>{{rp|354–358}} circa 881.<ref name=Coedes/>{{rp|110–111}} Bakong in particular bears striking similarities to the [[Borobudur]] temple in Java, which suggests that it may have served as the prototype for Bakong. There were at the time exchanges of travellers and missions between Kambuja and the Sailendras in Java, which brought to Cambodia not only ideas, but also technical and architectural details.<ref>{{cite book | title=Southeast Asia in the 9th to 14th Centuries | author1=David G. Marr | author2=Anthony Crothers Milner | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lon7gmj040MC&pg=PA244 | publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore | date=1986 | page=244 | isbn=9971-988-39-9 | access-date=5 June 2014 | archive-date=31 October 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231031084140/https://books.google.com/books?id=Lon7gmj040MC&pg=PA244#v=onepage&q&f=false | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Griffiths |first=Arlo |year=2013 |title=The Problem of the Ancient Name Java and the Role of Satyavarman in Southeast Asian International Relations around the Turn of the Ninth Century CE |journal=Archipel |language=en |volume=85/1 |pages=43–81 |doi=10.3406/arch.2013.4384 |issn=0044-8613|url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01958103/file/arch_0044-8613_2013_num_85_1_4384.pdf }}</ref>

====Establishment of Yasodharapura====
{{multiple image|perrow=2/2|total_width=300|caption_align=center
| title = 
| image1 = Roulos Group - 005 Bakong (8587796725).jpg|caption1=[[Bakong]], one of the earliest temple mountains in Khmer architecture
| image2 = Banteay Srei 33.jpg|caption2=[[Banteay Srei]], a 10th-century Cambodian temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva
| image3 = Ta Keo 3.jpg|caption3=[[Ta Keo]], a state temple built around the year 1000
| image4 = Le Baphuon (Angkor) (6832283873).jpg|caption4 = [[Baphuon]], a temple-mountain dedicated to Shiva
}}

Indravarman I was followed by his son [[Yasovarman I]] (reigned 889–915), who established a new capital, [[Yasodharapura]]{{nbsp}}– the first city of the larger [[Angkor]] area. The city's central temple was built on [[Phnom Bakheng]], a hill which rises around 60 m above the plain on which Angkor sits. The [[East Baray]], a massive water reservoir measuring {{convert|7.1|by|1.7|km|mi}}, was also created under the reign of Yasovarman I.<ref name=Coedes/>{{rp|111–114}}<ref name=Higham1/>{{rp|358, 360–361}}

At the beginning of the 10th century, the empire fractured. Jayavarman IV moved the capital to Lingapura (now known as [[Koh Ker]]), some {{convert|100|km|mi}} northeast of Angkor.<ref name=Higham1/>{{rp|360, 363}} Only when [[Rajendravarman II]] ascended to the throne (reigned 944–968) was the royal palace returned to Yasodharapura. He once again took up the extensive building schemes of the earlier kings and established a series of Hindu temples in the Angkor area, such as [[Pre Rup]] and the [[East Mebon]], a temple located on an artificial island in the center of the East Baray. Several Buddhist temples and monasteries were also built.<ref name=Higham1/>{{rp|363–367}} In 950, the first war took place between Kambuja and the kingdom of [[Champa]] to the east (in what is now central [[Vietnam]]).<ref name=Coedes/>{{rp|114–117}}

The son of Rajendravarman II, [[Jayavarman V]], reigned from 968 to 1001, after establishing himself as the new king over the other princes. His rule was a largely peaceful period, marked by prosperity and a cultural flowering. He established a new capital slightly west of his father's and named it Jayendranagari; its state temple, [[Ta Keo]], was to the south. At the court of Jayavarman V lived philosophers, scholars, and artists. New temples were also established; the most important of these were [[Banteay Srei]], considered one of the most beautiful and artistic of Angkor, and Ta Keo, the first temple of Angkor built completely of [[sandstone]].<ref name=Coedes/>{{rp|117–118}}<ref name=Higham1/>{{rp|367}}

[[File:04-Koh Ker-nX-18.jpg|thumb|left|The pyramid of [[Koh Ker]]. Koh Ker (Lingapura) was briefly the capital of Kambuja.]]

A decade of conflict followed the death of Jayavarman V. Three kings reigned simultaneously as antagonists to each other until [[Suryavarman I]] (reigned 1006–1050) ascended to the throne by taking the capital Angkor.<ref name=Coedes/>{{rp|134–135}} His rule was marked by repeated attempts by his opponents to overthrow him and military conflicts with neighboring kingdoms.<ref name="Kenneth R. Hall 1975 pp. 318-336">Kenneth R. Hall (October 1975). Khmer Commercial Development and Foreign Contacts under Sūryavarman I. ''Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient'' 18(3):318–336.</ref> Suryavarman I established diplomatic relations with the [[Chola dynasty]] of south India early in his rule.<ref>A History of Early Southeast Asia: Maritime Trade and Societal Development by Kenneth R. Hall p. 182</ref> 

[[File:Baksei Chamkrong.jpg|upright|thumb|Pyramid of [[Prasat Baksei Chamkrong]]]]

In the first decade of the 11th century, Kambuja came into conflict with the kingdom of [[Tambralinga]] in the [[Malay Peninsula]].<ref name="Kenneth R. Hall 1975 pp. 318-336"/><ref name="C. Majumdar 1961 pp. 338-342">[[R. C. Majumdar]] (1961), "The Overseas Expeditions of King Rājendra Cola", Artibus Asiae 24 (3/4), pp. 338–342, Artibus Asiae Publishers</ref> After surviving several invasions from his enemies, Suryavarman requested aid from the powerful [[Chola dynasty|Chola]] emperor [[Rajendra Chola I|Rajendra I]] against Tambralinga.<ref name="Kenneth R. Hall 1975 pp. 318-336"/><ref>Early kingdoms of the Indonesian archipelago and the Malay Peninsula by Paul Michel Munoz p. 158</ref><ref>Society and Culture: The Asian Heritage, Festschrift for Juan R. Francisco, Ph.D. University of the Philippines Asian Center p. 106</ref> After learning of Suryavarman's alliance with Chola, Tambralinga requested aid from the [[Srivijaya]] king Sangrama Vijayatungavarman.<ref name="Kenneth R. Hall 1975 pp. 318-336"/><ref name="C. Majumdar 1961 pp. 338-342"/> This eventually led to Chola coming into conflict with Srivijaya. The war ended with a victory for Chola and Kambuja, and major losses for Srivijaya and Tambralinga.<ref name="Kenneth R. Hall 1975 pp. 318-336" /><ref name="C. Majumdar 1961 pp. 338-342" /> The two alliances had religious nuance, as Chola and Kambuja were Hindu [[Shaivite]], while Tambralinga and Srivijaya were [[Mahayana]] [[Buddhist]]. There is some indication that, before or after the war, Suryavarman I gifted a chariot to Rajendra I to possibly facilitate trade or an alliance.<ref name="Coedes" />{{rp|136}}<ref>Economic Development, Integration, and Morality in Asia and the Americas by Donald C. Wood p. 176</ref><ref>Indian History by Reddy: p. 64</ref> 

Suryavarman I's wife was [[Viralakshmi]], and following his death in 1050, he was succeeded by [[Udayadityavarman II]], who built the [[Baphuon]] and [[West Baray]].<ref name=Coedes/>{{rp|135, 137–138}}  In 1074, conflict arose between [[Harshavarman III]], the younger brother and successor of Udayadityavarman II, and the [[Champa]] king [[Harivarman IV]].<ref name=Coedes/>{{rp|152}}
[[File:Phimeanakas Angkor Thom1147.jpg|thumb|left|Stepped pyramid of [[Phimeanakas]]]]

===Golden age of Khmer civilization ===
The Greater Angkor Region had a population of approximately 700,000 to 900,000 at its peak in the 13th century CE.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Klassen |first1=S. |last2=Carter |first2=A. K. |last3=Evans |first3=D. H. |last4=Ortman |first4=S. |last5=Stark |first5=M. T. |last6=Loyless |first6=A. A. |last7=Polkinghorne |first7=M. |last8=Heng |first8=P. |last9=Hill |first9=M. |last10=Wijker |first10=P. |last11=Niles-Weed |first11=J. |last12=Marriner |first12=G. P. |last13=Pottier |first13=C. |last14=Fletcher |first14=R. J. |date=2021 |title=Klassen, S., Carter, A. K., Evans, D. H., Ortman, S., Stark, M. T., Loyless, A. A., Polkinghorne, M., Heng, P., Hill, M., Wijker, P., Niles-Weed, J., Marriner, G. P., Pottier, C., & Fletcher, R. J. (2021, May 7). "Diachronic modeling of the population within the medieval Greater Angkor Region settlement complex." ''Science''. Retrieved November 10, 2021 |journal=Science Advances |volume=7 |issue=19 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.abf8441 |pmc=8104873 |pmid=33962951}}</ref> This population made Angkor one of the most populous cities of the medieval world.

====Reign of Suryavarman II and Angkor Wat====
{{Further|Khmer–Cham wars}}
{{multiple image|perrow=2/2|total_width=400|caption_align=center
| title = 
| image1 = |caption1=King [[Suryavarman II]]
| image2 = Angkor Wat viewed from Phnom Bakheng, Cambodia (9716020650).jpg|caption2=[[Angkor Wat]]
}}
The 12th century was a time of conflict and brutal power struggles. Under [[Suryavarman II]] (reigned 1113–1150) the empire united internally<ref name=Higham/>{{rp|113}} and [[Angkor Wat]], dedicated to the god [[Vishnu]], was built over a period of 37 years. In the east, Suryavarman II's campaigns against [[Champa]] and [[Dai Viet]] were unsuccessful,<ref name="Higham" />{{rp|114}} though he sacked [[Vijaya (Champa)|Vijaya]] in 1145 and deposed Jaya Indravarman III.<ref name="Maspero">Maspero, G., 2002, The Champa Kingdom, Bangkok: White Lotus Co., Ltd., {{ISBN|9747534991}}</ref>{{rp|75–76}} The Khmers occupied Vijaya until 1149, when they were driven out by [[Jaya Harivarman I]].<ref name="Coedes" />{{rp|160}} In 1114, Suryavarman II sent a mission to Chola and presented a precious stone to the Chola emperor [[Kulottunga I]].<ref>A History of India, Hermann Kulke, Dietmar Rothermund: p. 125.</ref><ref>Commerce and Culture in the Bay of Bengal, 1500–1800 by Om Prakash, Denys Lombard pp. 29–30</ref>

Another period followed in which kings reigned briefly and were violently overthrown by their successors. Finally, in 1177 the capital was raided and looted in a [[Battle of Tonlé Sap|naval battle on the Tonlé Sap lake]] by a Cham fleet under [[Jaya Indravarman IV]], and Khmer king [[Tribhuvanadityavarman]] was killed.<ref name="Coedes" />{{rp|164}}<ref name="Maspero" />{{rp|78}}

====Reign of Jayavarman VII and Angkor Thom====
{{multiple image|perrow=2/2|total_width=300|caption_align=center
| title = 
| image1 = Jayavarman VII Guimet 90508 3.jpg|caption1=Portrait statue of [[Jayavarman VII]]
| image2 = Cambodian - Eight-armed Avalokiteshvara - Walters 542726.jpg|caption2=Bronze replica of one of the twenty-three stone images sent by King Jayavarman VII to different parts of his kingdom in 1191
| image3 = Prasat_Bayon_2014.JPG|caption3=The [[Bayon]], the state temple located at the center of Jayavarman VII's capital, Angkor Thom
}}

King [[Jayavarman VII]] (reigned 1181–1219) was generally considered{{whom|date=April 2024}} Cambodia's greatest king. He had already been a military leader as a prince under the previous kings. After Champa had conquered Angkor, he gathered an army and retook the capital. He consequently ascended to the throne and continued to wage war against Champa for another 22 years, until the Khmer defeated the Chams in 1203 and conquered large parts of their territory.<ref name=Coedes/>{{rp|170–171}}<ref name=Maspero/>{{rp|79–80}} According to Chinese sources, Jayavarman VII added [[Pegu]] to the territory of the Khmer Empire in 1195.<ref>Chatterji, B. (1939). JAYAVARMAN VII (1181–1201 A.D.) (The last of the great monarchs of Cambodia). Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 3, 380. Retrieved 13 July 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/44252387</ref>

Jayavarman VII stands as the last of the great kings of Angkor, not only because of his successful military campaign against Champa, but also because he was not a tyrannical ruler in the manner of his immediate predecessors.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}} He unified the empire and carried out noteworthy building projects. The new capital, now called [[Angkor Thom]] ({{Literal translation|great city}}), was built. In the center, the king (himself a follower of Mahayana Buddhism) had constructed as the state temple the Bayon,<ref name=Higham1/>{{rp|378–382}} with towers bearing faces of the [[boddhisattva]] [[Avalokiteshvara]], each several meters high, carved out of stone. Further important temples built under Jayavarman VII were [[Ta Prohm]] for his mother, [[Preah Khan]] for his father,<ref name=Higham1/>{{rp|388–389}} [[Banteay Kdei]], and [[Neak Pean]], as well as the reservoir of [[Srah Srang]]. An extensive network of roads was laid down connecting every town of the empire, with rest-houses built for travelers and a total of 102 hospitals established across his realm.<ref name=Coedes/>{{rp|173, 176}}

====Reign of Jayavarman VIII====
{{Continental Asia in 1300 CE|right|The Khmer Empire and contemporary Asian polities circa 1300}}

After the death of Jayavarman VII, his son [[Indravarman II]] (reigned 1219–1243) ascended to the throne.<ref name=Coedes/>{{rp|180–181}} Like his father, he was a Buddhist, and he completed a series of temples begun under his father's rule. As a warrior he was less successful. In 1220, under mounting pressure from the increasingly powerful Đại Việt and its ally Champa, the Khmer withdrew from many of the provinces previously conquered from the Chams.

Indravarman II was succeeded by [[Jayavarman VIII]] (reigned 1243–1295). In contrast to his predecessors, Jayavarman VIII was a follower of [[Hinduism|Hindu]] [[Shaivism]] and an aggressive opponent of Buddhism, destroying many Buddha statues in the empire and converting Buddhist temples to Hindu temples.<ref name=Higham/>{{rp|133}} Kambuja was threatened externally in 1283 by the Mongol-led [[Yuan dynasty]].<ref name="coedes127">{{Harvnb|Cœdès|1966|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=qgrAFlAC4-QC&pg=PA127 127]}}</ref> Jayavarman VIII avoided war with general Sogetu (sometimes known as Sagatu or Sodu), the governor of [[Guangzhou, China]], by paying annual tribute to the Mongols, starting in 1285.<ref name=Coedes/>{{rp|192}}<ref name="coedes127" /> Jayavarman VIII's rule ended in 1295 when he was deposed by his son-in-law [[Srindravarman]] (reigned 1295–1309). The new king was a follower of [[Theravada Buddhism]], a school of Buddhism that had arrived in [[Southeast Asia]] from [[Sri Lanka]] and subsequently spread through most of the region.

In August 1296, the Chinese diplomat [[Zhou Daguan]] arrived in Angkor and recorded, "In the recent war with the Siamese, the country was utterly devastated".<ref name=Coedes/>{{rp|211}}<ref name=Maspero/>{{rp|90}} He remained at the court of Srindravarman until July 1297. He was neither the first nor the last Chinese representative to visit Kambuja. His stay is notable, however, because Zhou later wrote a detailed report on life in Angkor. His portrayal of the empire is today one of the most important sources of understanding historical Angkor. Alongside the descriptions within several great temples (the Bayon, the Baphuon, Angkor Wat), his account informs us that the towers of the Bayon were once covered in [[gold]]; the text also offers valuable information on the everyday life and habits of the inhabitants of Angkor.

===Decline===
By the 14th century, Kambuja had suffered a long, arduous, and steady decline. Historians have proposed different causes for the decline: the religious conversion from [[Vaishnavism|Vishnuite-Shivaite Hinduism]] to [[Theravada|Theravada Buddhism]] that affected social and political systems, incessant internal power struggles among Khmer princes, [[vassal]] revolt, foreign invasion, plague, and ecological breakdown.

For social and religious reasons, many aspects contributed to the decline of Kambuja. The relationship between the rulers and their elites was unstable{{nbsp}}– among the 27 rulers of Kambuja, eleven lacked a legitimate claim to power, and violent power struggles were frequent. Kambuja focused more on its domestic economy and did not take advantage of the international maritime trade network. The input of Buddhist ideas also conflicted with and disturbed the state order built under Hinduism.<ref>Stark, M.T. (2006). ''From Funan to Angkor: Collapse and regeneration in ancient Cambodia. After collapse: The regeneration of complex societies.'' pp. 144–167.</ref>

====Conversion from Hinduism to Buddhism====
[[File:Cambodia-buddha-11thcentury-fix2.jpg|upright|thumb|11th-century Khmer sculpture of the Buddha]]

The last Sanskrit inscription is dated 1327 and describes the succession of [[Indrajayavarman]] by Jayavarmadiparamesvara.<ref name=Coedes/>{{rp|228}} Historians suspect a connection with the kings' adoption of Theravada Buddhism: the kings were no longer considered ''devarajas'' (god kings) and there was therefore no need to erect huge temples to them, or rather to the gods under whose protection they stood.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}} The retreat from the concept of the ''devaraja'' may also have led to a loss of royal authority and thereby to a lack of workers.{{Speculation inline|date=April 2024}} The [[Irrigation|water-management]] apparatus also degenerated, meaning that harvests were reduced by floods or drought. While previously three [[rice]] harvests per year were possible{{nbsp}}– a substantial contribution to the prosperity and power of Kambuja{{nbsp}}– the declining harvests further weakened the empire.

Looking at the archaeological record, however, archaeologists noticed that not only were the structures ceasing to be built, but the Khmer's historical inscription was also lacking from the 14th to 17th centuries. With this lack of historical content, there is very limited archaeological evidence to work with. However, archaeologists have been able to determine that the sites were abandoned and then reoccupied later by different people.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Welch|first1=David|s2cid=141979595|title=Archaeology of Northeast Thailand in Relation to the Pre-Khmer and Khmer Historical Records|journal=International Journal of Historical Archaeology|date=1998|volume=2|issue=3|pages=205–233|doi=10.1023/A:1027320309113}}</ref>

====Foreign pressure====
[[File:Stele with seated Buddha from Cambodia or northeast Thailand, Khmer, 12th century, sandstone, HAA.JPG|thumb|upright|Seated Buddha from the 12th century]]

The [[Ayutthaya Kingdom]] arose from a confederation of three city-states on the Lower Chao Phraya basin (Ayutthaya-Suphanburi-Lopburi).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Chris |last2=Phongpaichit |first2=Pasuk |title=A History of Ayutthaya: Siam in the Early Modern World |date=2017 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-19076-4 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/history-of-ayutthaya/52FC0674CC0532A8F1EDB01CC37E703B |access-date=20 February 2023 |archive-date=18 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230218022331/https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/history-of-ayutthaya/52FC0674CC0532A8F1EDB01CC37E703B |url-status=live }}</ref> From the fourteenth century onward, Ayutthaya became the Khmer empire's rival.<ref name=Coedes/>{{rp|222–223}} Angkor was besieged by the Ayutthayan king [[Uthong]] in 1352, and following its capture the next year, the Khmer king was replaced with successive Siamese princes. Then in 1357, the Khmer king Suryavamsa Rajadhiraja retook the throne.<ref name=Coedes/>{{rp|236}} In 1393, the Ayutthayan king [[Ramesuan (king of Ayutthaya)|Ramesuan]] besieged Angkor again, capturing it the next year. Ramesuan's son ruled Kambuja for a short time before being assassinated. Finally, in 1431, the Khmer king [[Ponhea Yat]] abandoned Angkor as indefensible, and moved to the [[Phnom Penh]] area.<ref name=Coedes/>{{rp|236–237}}

The new center of the Kambuja was in the southwest, at [[Oudong]] near present-day Phnom Penh. However, there are indications that Angkor was not completely abandoned. One line of Khmer kings may have remained there, while a second moved to Phnom Penh to establish a parallel kingdom. The final fall of Angkor would then be due to the transfer of economic{{nbsp}}– and therewith political{{nbsp}}– significance, as Phnom Penh became an important trade center on the [[Mekong]]. Severe droughts and ensuing floods were considered one of the contributing factors to its fall.<ref name=Buckley-2010>{{cite journal |last1=Buckley |first1=Brendan M. |display-authors=et al. |title=Climate as a contributing factor in the demise of Angkor, Cambodia |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=29 March 2010 |volume=107 |issue=15 |pages=6748–6752 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0910827107 |pmid=20351244 |pmc=2872380 |bibcode=2010PNAS..107.6748B |url=https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/early/2010/03/22/0910827107.full.pdf |access-date=3 June 2020 |doi-access=free |archive-date=3 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603092116/https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/early/2010/03/22/0910827107.full.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The empire focused more on regional trade after the first drought.<ref>Vickery, M. T. (1977). Cambodia after Angkor: The chronicular evidence for the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries (Vol. 2). Yale University.</ref>

====Ecological breakdown====
[[File:Angkor Ruins from Space.jpg|thumb|right|A satellite image of Angkor. The dried [[East Baray]] indicates environmental changes in the region.]]

Ecological failure and infrastructural breakdown is an alternative theory regarding the end of Kambuja. Scientists working on the Greater Angkor Project believe that the Khmers had an elaborate system of reservoirs and canals used for trade, transportation, and irrigation. The canals were used for harvesting rice. As the population grew there was more strain on the water system. During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, there were also severe climatic changes impacting the water management system.<ref name=Buckley-2010/>

Periods of drought led to decreases in agricultural productivity, and violent floods due to monsoons damaged the infrastructure during this vulnerable time.<ref name=Buckley-2010/> To adapt to the growing population, trees were cut down from the Kulen hills and cleared out for more rice fields. That created rain runoff carrying sediment to the canal network. Any damage to the water system would have enormous consequences.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20040613-0915-fallenangkor.html |title=Scientists dig and fly over Angkor in search of answers to golden city's fall |author=Miranda Leitsinger |publisher=Associated Press |date=13 June 2004 |access-date=21 August 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210051110/http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20040613-0915-fallenangkor.html |archive-date=10 December 2008 }}</ref>

====Plague====
The [[Plague (disease)|plague]] theory, which suggests a severe [[epidemic]] outbreak may have hit the heavily populated Angkor and contributed to the fall of the empire, has been reconsidered.<ref>{{cite web | title = A Reassessment of the Decline of the Khmer Empire | author = LG Gundersen | url = http://www.ijch.net/vol1/011-J002.pdf | website = www.ijch.net | access-date = 6 August 2017 | archive-date = 21 July 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180721201203/http://www.ijch.net/vol1/011-J002.pdf | url-status = live }}</ref> By the 14th century, the [[Black Death]] had affected Asia, as the plague first appeared in China around 1330 and reached Europe around 1345. Most seaports along the line of travel from China to Europe felt the impact of the disease, which might have had a severe impact on life throughout Southeast Asia. Possible diseases include [[bubonic plague]], [[smallpox]], and [[malaria]].

====Angkor after the 15th century====
There is evidence for a further period of use of Angkor after the 15th century. Under the rule of Khmer king [[Barom Reachea I]] (reigned 1566–1576), who temporarily succeeded in driving back Ayutthaya, the royal court was briefly returned to Angkor. Inscriptions from the 17th century testify to [[Japanese people|Japanese]] settlements alongside those of the remaining Khmer.<ref name="Nikkei">{{cite web |title=Japanese Diaspora – Cambodia |author1=Masako Fukawa |author2=Stan Fukawa |date=6 November 2014 |website=Discover Nikkei |url=http://www.discovernikkei.org/en/journal/2014/11/6/japanese-diaspora-cambodia/ |access-date=18 October 2015 |archive-date=15 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200515040929/http://www.discovernikkei.org/en/journal/2014/11/6/japanese-diaspora-cambodia/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The best-known inscription tells of [[Ukondayu Kazufusa]], who celebrated the [[Khmer New Year]] in Angkor in 1632.<ref>{{cite web | title = History of Cambodia, Post-Angkor Era (1431– present day) | work = Cambodia Travel | url = http://www.cambodia-travel.com/khmer/post-angkor.htm | access-date = 18 October 2015 | archive-date = 11 September 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190911082903/http://www.cambodia-travel.com/khmer/post-angkor.htm | url-status = dead }}</ref> However, in the following decades the Japanese community was absorbed into the local Khmer community, owing to a lack of new Japanese arrivals and thus little possibility of renewing their community.<ref name="Nikkei"/>

==Culture and society==
[[File:An artists representation of Angkor Thom Cambodia at musée Guimet.jpg|thumb|right|Reconstruction of the [[Bayon]], the center of [[Angkor Thom]]]]

Much of what is known about Kambuja comes from the bas-reliefs of Angkor's temples and the first-hand accounts of Chinese diplomat [[Zhou Daguan]] (''[[The Customs of Cambodia]]''), which provide information on 13th-century Cambodia and earlier. The bas-reliefs, such as those in the [[Bayon]], describe everyday life in the ancient Khmer kingdom, including scenes of palace life, naval battles on the river and lakes, and common scenes of the marketplace.

===Economy and agriculture===
[[File:Bayonmarket01.JPG|thumb|Khmer market in the Bayon]]

The ancient Khmers were a traditional agricultural community, relying heavily on [[rice farming]]. The farmers, who formed the majority of the kingdom's population, planted rice near the banks of the lake or river, in the irrigated plains surrounding their villages, or in the hills when the lowlands were flooded. The rice paddies were irrigated by a massive and complex hydraulics system, including networks of canals and ''[[baray]]s'', or giant water reservoirs. This system enabled the formation of large-scale rice farming communities surrounding Khmer cities. Sugar palm trees, fruit trees, and vegetables were grown in the orchards by the villages, providing other sources of agricultural produce such as [[palm sugar]], [[palm wine]], coconut, various tropical fruits, and vegetables.

Located by the massive [[Tonlé Sap]] lake, and also near numerous rivers and ponds, many Khmer people relied on fresh water fisheries for their living. Fishing gave the population their main source of protein, which was turned into ''[[prahok]]''{{nbsp}}– dried or roasted or steamed fish paste wrapped in banana leaves. Rice was the main staple along with fish. Other sources of protein included pigs, cattle, and poultry, which were kept under the farmers' houses, which were elevated on stilts to protect them from flooding.

The [[marketplace]] of Angkor contained no permanent buildings; it was an open square where the traders sat on the ground on woven straw mats and sold their wares. There were no tables or chairs. Some traders might be protected from the sun with a simple thatched parasol. A certain type of tax or rent was levied by officials for each space occupied by traders in the marketplace. The trade and economy in the Angkor marketplace were mainly run by women.

Zhou Daguan's description of the women of Angkor:<ref name=":0">{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=rs4IBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT23 |author= Zhou Daguan |title= A Record of Cambodia |others= translated by Peter Harris |page= 70 |publisher= University of Washington Press |year= 2007 |isbn= 978-9749511244 |access-date= 18 March 2016 |archive-date= 31 October 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231031084140/https://books.google.com/books?id=rs4IBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT23#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status= live }}</ref><ref name=smith/>

{{cquote|The local people who know how to trade are all women. So when a Chinese man goes to this country, the first thing he must do is take in a woman, partly with a view of profiting from her trading abilities.{{parabr}}The women age very quickly, no doubt because they marry and give birth when they are too young. When they are twenty or thirty-years-old, they look like Chinese women who are forty or fifty.}}

The role of women in the trade and economy of Kambuja suggests that they enjoyed significant rights and freedom.{{Specify|reason=What rights and freedoms in particular?|date=January 2024}} Their practice of marrying early may have contributed to the high fertility rate and huge population of the kingdom.<ref name=":0" />

===Society and politics===
{{See also|Devaraja}}
[[File:Angkor Thom-Bayon-78-Frauen-2007-gje.jpg|thumb|left|Women of the royal court]]
[[File:Naval Battle Bayon1108.jpg|thumb|A naval battle against the [[Chams]]; relief in the Bayon]]
[[File:Angkor - Bayon - 052 At Home (8581882636).jpg|thumb|right|Bas-relief in the Bayon depicting home life]]

Kambuja was founded upon extensive networks of agricultural [[rice farming]] communities. A distinct settlement hierarchy is present in the region. Small villages were clustered around regional centres, such as the one at Phimai, which in turn sent their goods to large cities like Angkor in return for other goods, such as pottery and foreign trade items from China.<ref>Welch, D. J. (1998). Archaeology of northeast Thailand in relation to the pre-Khmer and Khmer historical records. ''International Journal of Historical Archaeology'' 2(3):205–233.</ref> The king and his officials were in charge of irrigation management and water distribution, which consisted of an intricate series of hydraulics infrastructure, such as canals, moats, and massive reservoirs called ''[[baray]]s''.

Society was arranged in a hierarchy reflecting the [[Hindu caste|Hindu caste system]],{{citation needed|date=February 2021}} where the commoners{{nbsp}}– rice farmers and fishermen – formed the large majority of the population.  The [[kshatriya]]s{{nbsp}}– royalty, nobles, warlords, soldiers, and warriors{{nbsp}}– formed a governing elite and authorities. Other social classes included [[brahmin]]s (priests), traders, [[artisan]]s such as carpenters and stonemasons, potters, [[metalworker]]s, [[goldsmith]]s, and textile weavers, while on the lowest social level were [[slaves]].

The extensive irrigation projects provided rice surpluses that could support a large population. The state religion was Hinduism but influenced by the cult of [[Devaraja]], elevating the Khmer kings as possessing the divine quality of living gods on earth, attributed to the incarnation of [[Vishnu]] or [[Shiva]].<ref name="God and King">{{cite book |url=http://www.easternbookcorporation.com/moreinfo.php?txt_searchstring=7306 |title=God and King : The Devaraja Cult in South Asian Art & Architecture |author=Sengupta, Arputha Rani (Ed.) |year=2005 |publisher=National Museum Institute |isbn=8189233262 |access-date=14 September 2012 |archive-date=9 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121209215215/http://easternbookcorporation.com/moreinfo.php?txt_searchstring=7306 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In politics, this status was viewed as the divine justification of a king's rule. The cult enabled the Khmer kings to embark on massive architectural projects, constructing majestic monuments such as [[Angkor Wat]] and the Bayon to celebrate the king's divine rule on earth.

[[File:Angkor - Bayon - 057 Childbirth (8580786377).jpg|thumb|right|Bas-relief in the Bayon depicting childbirth]]

The King was surrounded by ministers, state officials, nobles, royalties, palace women, and servants, all protected by guards and troops. The capital city of Angkor and the Khmer royal court are famous for grand ceremonies, with many festivals and rituals held in the city. Even when travelling, the King and his entourages created quite a spectacle, as described in Zhou Daguan's accounts. Zhou Daguan's description of a royal procession of [[Indravarman III]] is as follows:<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aMsTfbVCtqwC&pg=PT108 |title=Angkor: Eighth Wonder of the World |author1=Andrew Forbes |author2=David Henley |author3=Colin Hinshelwood |publisher=Cognoscenti Books |year=2012 |page=108 |isbn=9781300554561 |access-date=18 March 2016 |archive-date=31 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231031084141/https://books.google.com/books?id=aMsTfbVCtqwC&pg=PT108#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{cquote|When the king goes out, troops are at the head of [his] escort; then come flags, banners and music. Palace women, numbering from three to five hundred, wearing flowered cloth, with flowers in their hair, hold candles in their hands, and form a troupe. Even in broad daylight, the candles are lighted. Then come other palace women, bearing royal paraphernalia made of gold and silver... Then come the palace women carrying lances and shields, with the king's private guards. Carts drawn by goats and horses, all in gold, come next.  Ministers and princes are mounted on elephants, and in front of them one can see, from afar, their innumerable red umbrellas. After them come the wives and concubines of the king, in palanquins, carriages, on horseback and on elephants. They have more than one hundred parasols, flecked with gold.  Behind them comes the sovereign, standing on an elephant, holding his sacred sword in his hand. The elephant's tusks are encased in gold.}}

Zhou Daguan's description of the Khmer king's wardrobe:<ref name=smith/>

{{cquote|Only the ruler can dress in cloth with an all-over floral design...Around his neck he wears about three pounds of big pearls. At his wrists, ankles and fingers he has gold bracelets and rings all set with cat's eyes...When he goes out, he holds a golden sword [of state] in his hand.}}

Khmer kings were often involved in series of wars and conquests. The large population of Angkor enabled the empire to support large free standing armies, which were sometimes deployed to conquer neighbouring princedoms or kingdoms. Series of conquests were led to expand the empire's influence over areas surrounding Angkor and Tonle Sap, the Mekong valley and delta, and surrounding lands. Some Khmer kings embarked on military conquests and war against neighbouring [[Champa]], [[Dai Viet]], and Thai warlords. Khmer kings and royal families were also often involved in incessant power struggle over successions or rivalries over principalities.

===Military===
[[File:Angkor_Thom,_Bayon_08.jpg|thumb|left|A [[bas-relief]] depicting Khmer naval soldiers using bow and arrows. Located in the [[Bayon]], created {{circa}} 12th-13th century.]]
[[File:Travels in the central parts of Indo-China (Siam), Cambodia, and Laos - during the years 1858, 1859, and 1860 (1864) (14782636112).jpg|thumb|Helmets, weapons, and armory of Kambuja's military as depicted in Angkor Wat. Taken from French explorer [[Henri Mouhot]]'s book.]]

According to Zhou Daguan, who stayed in [[Yaśodharapura]] from 1296 to 1297, the [[Sukhothai Kingdom]] laid waste to Khmer lands in repeated wars. According to Zhou, the Khmer soldiers fought naked and barefoot, wielding only lance and shield. He did not witness any usage of bows and arrows (although bows and arrow are depicted in [[bas-relief]] at the [[Bayon]]), trebuchets, body armour, or helmets. When Sukhotai attacked, ordinary people were ordered to face them without strategy or preparation.{{sfn|Zhou|2007|p=117}} The Khmer had double bow crossbows mounted on elephants, which Michel JacqHergoualc'h suggests were elements of [[Chams|Cham]] mercenaries in [[Jayavarman VII]]'s army.{{sfn|Liang|2006}}

In terms of fortifications, Zhou described [[Angkor Thom]]'s walls as being {{convert|10|km|mi}} long in circumference with five gateways, each with two gates, surrounded by a large moat spanned by bridges. The walls, which formed an exact square, were made of stone and so tightly packed that no weeds grew from them. The walls were around 6–7 meters in height and sloped from the inside, thick enough to contain chambers, but with no battlements and only a single stone tower on each of the four sides. Guards operated them, but dogs were not allowed on the walls.{{sfn|Zhou|2007|p=57}} According to an oral tradition told to [[Henri Mouhot]], Kambuja had a standing army of 5 to 6 million soldiers.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Klassen, S., Carter, A. K., Evans, D. H., Ortman, S., Stark, M. T., Loyless, A. A., Polkinghorne, M., Heng, P., Hill, M., Wijker, P., Niles-Weed, J., Marriner, G. P., Pottier, C., & Fletcher, R. J. (2021, May 7). "Diachronic modeling of the population within the medieval Greater Angkor Region settlement complex." ''Science''. Retrieved November 10, 2021 |date=2021 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.abf8441 |pmid=33962951 |last1=Klassen |first1=S. |last2=Carter |first2=A. K. |last3=Evans |first3=D. H. |last4=Ortman |first4=S. |last5=Stark |first5=M. T. |last6=Loyless |first6=A. A. |last7=Polkinghorne |first7=M. |last8=Heng |first8=P. |last9=Hill |first9=M. |last10=Wijker |first10=P. |last11=Niles-Weed |first11=J. |last12=Marriner |first12=G. P. |last13=Pottier |first13=C. |last14=Fletcher |first14=R. J. |journal=Science Advances |volume=7 |issue=19 |pmc=8104873 }}</ref>

===Culture and way of life===
[[File:Reliefs of the Bayon (6597692067).jpg|thumb|right|Relief in the Bayon depicting [[cockfighting]]]]
[[File:Bas-reliefs du Bayon (Angkor) (6912574919).jpg|thumb|right|Bas-relief depicting people playing a chess-like game]]

Zhou Daguan's description of Khmer houses:<ref name=smith>{{Cite web|url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/angkor_side.html|title=Cardiff de Alejo Garcia – Passing Notes – Smithsonian Magazine "History & Archaeology"|work=Smithsonian magazine |accessdate=15 January 2023|archive-date=11 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111100849/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/angkor_side.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{cquote|The dwellings of the princes and principal officials have a completely different layout and dimensions from those of the people. All the outlying buildings are covered with thatch; only the family temple and the principal apartment can be covered in tiles. The official rank of each person determines the size of the houses.}}

Houses of farmers were situated near the rice paddies on the edge of the cities.  The walls of the houses were made of woven bamboo, with thatched roofs, and they were on stilts. A house was divided into three rooms by woven bamboo walls. One was the parents' bedroom, another was the daughters' bedroom, and the largest was the living area. Sons slept wherever they could find space. The kitchen was at the back or in a separate room. Nobles and kings lived in the palace and much larger houses in the city. They were made of the same materials as the farmers' houses, but the roofs were wooden shingles and had elaborate designs as well as more rooms.

Zhou Daguan reported that locals do not produce silk or have the ability to stitch and darn with a needle and thread.<ref name="zhou:2">{{cite book |last=Daguan |first=Zhou |title=A Record of Cambodia: The Land and Its People |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IpJuAAAAMAAJ |year=2007 |publisher=Silkworm Books |isbn=9789749511244 |access-date=10 July 2023 |archive-date=21 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231021211148/https://books.google.com/books?id=IpJuAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live}}</ref>

{{quote|None of the locals produces silk. Nor do the women know how to stitch and darn with a needle and thread. The only thing they can do is weave cotton from kapok. Even then they cannot spin the yarn, but just use their hands to gather the cloth into strands. They do not use a loom for weaving. Instead they just wind one end of the cloth around their waist, hang the other end over a window, and use a bamboo tube as a shuttle.

In recent years people from Siam have come to live in Cambodia, and unlike the locals they engage in silk production. The mulberry trees they grow and the silkworms they raise all come from Siam. They themselves weave the silk into clothes made of a black, patterned satiny silk. Siamese women do know how to stitch and darn, so when local people have torn or damaged clothing they ask them to do the mending.}}

The common people wore a [[sampot]] where the front end was drawn between the legs and secured at the back by a belt. Nobles and kings wore finer and richer fabrics. Women wore a strip of cloth to cover the chest, while noble women had a lengthened one that went over the shoulder. Men and women wore a [[Krama]]. Along with depictions of battle and the military conquests of kings, the basreliefs of the Bayon depict the mundane everyday life of common Khmer people, including scenes of the marketplace, fishermen, butchers, people playing a chess-like game, and gambling during [[cockfighting]].{{cn|date=May 2023}}

===Religion===
[[File:Cambogia, vishnu, prov. ignota, stile di transizione tra baphuon e angkor vat, 1150-1210 ca..JPG|thumb|upright|Vishnu, [[Baphuon]] style]]

The main religion was [[Hinduism]], followed by [[Buddhism]] in popularity.{{cn|date=March 2023}} Initially, the kingdom revered Hinduism as the main state religion.{{cn|date=March 2023}} [[Vishnu]] and [[Shiva]] were the most revered deities, worshipped in Khmer Hindu temples. Temples such as Angkor Wat are actually known as ''Phitsanulok '' (''Vara Vishnuloka'' in Sanskrit) or the realm of Vishnu, to honor the posthumous King [[Suryavarman II]] as Vishnu.

Hindu ceremonies and rituals performed by Brahmins (Hindu priests), usually only held among the ruling elites of the king's family, nobles, and the ruling class. The empire's official religions included Hinduism and [[Mahayana Buddhism]] until [[Theravada Buddhism]] prevailed, even among the [[Commoner|lower classes]], after its introduction from [[Sri Lanka]] in the 13th century.<ref>[[#Keyes1995|Keyes, 1995]], pp.78–82</ref>

===Art and architecture===
{{Main|Khmer architecture|Khmer sculpture}}
[[File:The corbel span of Spean Praptos.JPG|thumb|left|Kambuja's Spean Praptos, a [[corbel]] bridge in present-day Siem Reap Province, Cambodia]]

Zhou Daguan's description on the Angkor Royal Palace:<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=fcIvtBPnYL8C&pg=PA115 |title= Other Routes: 1500 Years of African and Asian Travel Writing |editor= Tabish Khair |page= 115 |publisher= Indiana University Press |year= 2006 |isbn= 978-0253218216 |access-date= 18 March 2016 |archive-date= 31 October 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231031084141/https://books.google.com/books?id=fcIvtBPnYL8C&pg=PA115#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status= live }}</ref>

{{cquote|All official buildings and homes of the aristocracy, including the Royal Palace, face the east.  The Royal Palace stands north of the Golden Tower and the Bridge of Gold: it is one and a half mile in circumference.  The tiles of the main dwelling are of lead.  Other dwellings are covered with yellow-coloured pottery tiles. Carved or painted Buddhas decorate all the immense columns and lintels. The roofs are impressive too. Open corridors and long colonnades, arranged in harmonious patterns, stretch away on all sides.}}

[[File:Angkor The Lost Empire of Cambodia (52715067689).jpg|thumb|Angkorian [[Garuda]] statue on visiting display at [[California Science Center]] ]]
The Angkor Empire produced numerous temples and majestic monuments to celebrate the divine authority of Khmer kings. Khmer architecture reflects the Hindu belief that the temple was built to recreate the abode of [[Hindu gods]], [[Mount Meru]], with its five peaks and surrounded by seas represented by ponds and moats. The early Khmer temples built in the Angkor region and the [[Bakong]] temple in [[Hariharalaya]] ([[Roluos]]) employed [[stepped pyramid]] structures to represent the sacred temple-mountain.

Khmer art and architecture reached their aesthetic and technical peak with the construction of the majestic temple [[Angkor Wat]]. Other temples are also constructed in the Angkor region, such as [[Ta Phrom]] and the [[Bayon]]. The construction of the temple demonstrates the artistic and technical achievements of Kambuja through its architectural mastery of stone masonry.

[[File:West Mebon Vishnu.jpg|thumb|West Mebon Vishnu]]
Bronze is an alloy composed primarily of copper and tin. It was a preferred material for representing Hindu and Buddhist deities in Angkor and throughout the Khmer Empire. The Khmer regarded bronze as a noble substance, associated with prosperity and success, and it held cultural significance for many centuries.  <ref>Getty Museum. (n.d.). Gods of Angkor: Bronzes from the National Museum of Cambodia. J. Paul Getty Museum. https://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/gods_angkor/index.html</ref>  A bronze statue of [[Vishnu]] is considered the "[[Mona Lisa]] of Cambodia or the "[[Venus de Milo]] of Cambodia".  It was discovered in 1936 by Frenchman Maurice Glaize in what was once the [[West Mebon]] temple on an island in Angkor's largest pond.  The statue is estimated to have been made in the 11th century and would have been between 5-6 meters long.  <ref>Pujol, C. (2024, April 21). Cambodia’s Mona Lisa: A large bronze statue of Vishnu is due to be examined in Paris. Le Monde. https://www.lemonde.fr/en/science/article/2024/04/21/cambodia-s-mona-lisa-a-large-bronze-statue-of-vishnu-is-due-to-be-examined-in-paris_6669089_10.html</ref>

{{-}}
'''List of architectural styles during Angkor period''':<ref>"''Ancient Angkor guide book''", by Michael Freeman and Claude Jacques, pp. 30–31, published in 2003.</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Styles !! Dates !! Rulers !! Temples !! Chief Characteristics 
|-
| [[Phnom Kulen National Park|Kulen]] || 825–875|| [[Jayavarman II]] || Damrei Krap || Continuation of pre-Angkorean but a period of innovation and borrowing such as from [[Cham people|Cham]] temples. Tower mainly square and relatively high. Mainly brick with laterite walls and stone door surrounds. Square and octagonal colonettes begin to appear.
|-
| [[Preah Ko]] || 877–886 || [[Jayavarman III]] [[Indravarman I]] || [[Preah Ko]], [[Bakong]], [[Lolei]] || Simple plan: one or more square brick towers on a single base. First appearance of concentric enclosures and of [[gopura]] and libraries. Decorative 'flying palaces' replaced by [[dvarapalas]] and [[devatas]] in niches. First major [[Architecture of Cambodia#Temple mountain|temple mountain]] at [[Bakong]].
|-
| [[Bakheng]] || 889–923 || [[Yasovarman I]] [[Harshavarman I]] || [[Phnom Bakheng]], [[Phnom Krom]], [[Phnom Bok]], [[Baksei Chamkrong]] (trans.) || Development of the [[Architecture of Cambodia#Temple mountain|temple mountain]]. More use of stone, particularly for major temples and more decorative stone carving.
|-
| [[Koh Ker]] || 921–944 || [[Jayavarman IV]] || Group of [[Koh Ker]] temples || Scale of buildings diminishes toward center. Brick still main material but sandstone also used.
|-
| [[Pre Rup]] || 944–968 || [[Rajendravarman]] || [[Pre Rup]], [[East Mebon]], [[Bat Chum]], [[Kutisvara]] || Transitional between [[Koh Ker]] and [[Banteay Srei]]. Long halls partly enclose sanctuary. The last great monuments in plastered brick, increasing use of sandstone. 
|-
| [[Banteay Srei]] || 967–1000 || [[Jayavarman V]] || [[Banteay Srei]] || [[Ornate]], superposed [[pediment]]s, sweeping [[gable]] ends, rich and deep carving. Plasterd brick replaced by stone and [[laterite]]. Appearance of scenes in pediments. Voluptuous devatas with gentle expressions.
|-
| [[Khleang]] || 968–1010 || [[Jayavarman V]] || [[Ta Keo]], The [[Khleang]]s, [[Phimeanakas]], Royal Palace || First use of galleries. Cruciform gopuras. Octagonal colonettes. Restrained decorative carving. 
|-
| [[Baphuon]] || 1050–1080|| [[Udayadityavarman II]] || [[Baphuon]], [[West Mebon]] || A return to rich carving: floral motifs but also [[lintel]]s with scenes. [[Nāga|Nagas]] without head-dress. [[Bas-relief]]s appear at Baphuon temple, carving with lively scenes enclosed in small panels, often in narritive sequence. 
|-
| [[Angkor Wat]] || 1113–1175 ||[[Suryavarman II]] [[Yasovarman II]]||[[Angkor Wat]], [[Banteay Samré]], [[Thommanon]], [[Chau Say Tevoda]], [[Beng Mealea]], some of [[Preah Pithu]], [[Phimai Historical Park|Phimai]] and [[Phnom Rung]] || The high classical style of Khmer architecture. Fully developed conical towers with carving profile. Galleries wider and with half galleries on one side. Concentric enclosures connected by axial galleries. Nagas with head-dress, naga balustrades raised off the ground. Invention of cross-shaped terrace. Richly carved lintels and other decorations. Bas-reliefs, [[Apsara]]s.
|-
| [[Bayon]] || 1181–1243 || [[Jayavarman VII]] [[Indravarman II]] || [[Ta Prohm]], [[Preah Khan]], [[Neak Pean]], [[Ta Som]], [[Ta Nei]], [[Angkor Thom]], [[Prasat Chrung]], [[Bayon]], [[Elephant terrace]], [[Ta Prohm Kel]], [[Krol Ko]], [[Prasat Suor Prat]], [[Banteay Chhmar]], Hospital [[Chapel|Chaples]], Jayatataka [[baray]] || The last great style. Hurried construction, often in laterite not stone, carving less elegant. Complex plans, huge temples. In Cambodia, face-towers and historical narrative bas-reliefs. Three periods: 1. large complex temples on a single level, 2. face-towers and avenues of giants carrying nagas, 3. decline of the building standards, devatas acquire Angkor Wat style diadem.
|-
| Post Bayon || 1243–15th c. || [[Jayavarman VIII]] and others || [[Terrace of the Leper King]], [[Preah Pithu]], [[Preah Palilay]] (modifications to temples) || Inversion of cross-shaped terrace, causeways on columns, low or high.
|}

==Relations with regional powers==
[[File:Khmer Empire Expansion (cropped1).png|thumb|Expansion of Kambuja into the kingdoms of [[Lavo Kingdom|Lavo]] and [[Champa]]{{citation needed|reason=This map contradicts the borders given in Victor Lieberman's "Strange Parallels (Vol. 1)" and David K. Wyatt's "Thailand: A Short History".|date=January 2022}}]]
[[File:Phimai-AVR2008-010.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Phimai historical park|Phimai]], the site of the ancient Khmer city of Vimayapura]]

During the formation of the empire, the Khmer had close cultural, political, and trade relations with [[Sailendra|Java]]<ref name="Shadows">{{cite book |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=mhkw4Psq0SQC&q=Angkor+Borobudur+Jayavarman+II+Java&pg=PA56 |title =Dancing in shadows: Sihanouk, the Khmer Rouge, and the United Nations in Cambodia |last =Widyono |first =Benny |year =2008 |publisher =Rowman & Littlefield Publisher |isbn =9780742555532 |access-date =25 February 2013 |archive-date =31 October 2023 |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20231031084145/https://books.google.com/books?id=mhkw4Psq0SQC&q=Angkor+Borobudur+Jayavarman+II+Java&pg=PA56#v=snippet&q=Angkor%20Borobudur%20Jayavarman%20II%20Java&f=false |url-status =live }}</ref> and with the [[Srivijaya|Srivijaya Empire]] that lay beyond Khmer's southern seas. In 851 a [[Persians|Persian]] merchant named [[Sulaiman al-Tajir]] recorded an incident involving a Khmer king and a Maharaja of [[Zabag kingdom|Zabaj]]. He described the story of a Khmer king who defied the power of Maharaja of Zabaj. It was said that the Javanese Sailendras staged a surprise attack on the Khmers by approaching the capital from the river. The young king was later punished by the Maharaja, and subsequently the kingdom became a vassal of the Sailendra dynasty.<ref name="Rooney-Angkor"/>{{rp|35}}

Zabaj is the [[Arabic]] form of [[Javaka]] and might refer to Java or Srivijaya. The legend probably describes the predecessor or initial stage of the Kambuja under Javanese dominion.<ref>{{cite book | title =The tale of the Khmer king and the Maharaja of Zabag | work =Teaching History, Volume 48 Issue 1 | date =Mar 2014 | author =St Julian, James | volume =48 | issue =1 | pages =59–63 | url =http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=597289710287466;res=IELAPA | access-date =17 October 2015 | archive-date =16 November 2019 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20191116163651/https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn%3D597289710287466;res%3DIELAPA | url-status =live }}</ref> The Legend of the Maharaja of Zabaj was later published by the historian [[Al-Masudi|Masoudi]] in his 947 book, "Meadows of Gold and Mines of Gems." The [[Kaladi inscription]] of Java ({{circa}} 909) mentioned ''Kmir'' (Khmer people or Cambodian) together with ''Campa'' (Champa) and ''Rman'' (Mon) as foreigners from mainland Southeast Asia who frequently came to Java to trade. The inscription suggests a maritime trade network had been established between Kambuja and Java ([[Medang Kingdom|Mdang]] kingdom).<ref>{{cite book | title = Offshore Asia: Maritime Interactions in Eastern Asia Before Steamships, volume 18 from Nalanda-Sriwijaya series | editor1 = Fujita Kayoko | editor2 = Shiro Momoki | editor3 = Anthony Reid | publisher = Institute of Southeast Asian Studies | year = 2013 | isbn = 978-9814311779 | page = 97 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=lcT3AwAAQBAJ&q=Kaladi+inscription+909+CE&pg=PA97 | access-date = 1 November 2020 | archive-date = 31 October 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231031084146/https://books.google.com/books?id=lcT3AwAAQBAJ&q=Kaladi+inscription+909+CE&pg=PA97#v=snippet&q=Kaladi%20inscription%20909%20CE&f=false | url-status = live }}</ref>

In 916 CE, Arab historian [[Abu Zayd al-Sirafi]] recorded in a lengthy chronicle that the young, inexperienced king of Khmer, is hostile to Java. When the hostility becomes state policy and is known publicly, the king of Java attacked and captured the Khmer king. He was beheaded and the head brought to Java. The king of Java ordered the minister of Khmer Empire to seek the successor. After being cleaned and embalmed, the head of the king was put in a vase and sent to the new Khmer king.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Munoz|first=Paul Michel|title=Early Kingdoms of the Indonesian Archipelago and Malay Peninsula|publisher=Editions Didier Miller|year=2006|location=Singapore|pages=187–189}}</ref>

Throughout its history, the empire also was involved in series of wars and rivalries with the neighbouring kingdoms of [[Champa]], [[Tambralinga]], and [[Đại Việt]]{{nbsp}}– and later in its history with Siamese [[Sukhothai kingdom|Sukhothai]] and [[Ayutthaya kingdom|Ayutthaya]]. The Khmer Empire's relations with its eastern neighbor Champa was exceptionally intense, as both sides struggled for domination in the region. The Cham fleet [[Battle of Tonlé Sap|raided Angkor in 1177]], and in 1203 the Khmer managed to push back and defeat Champa.

[[File:Bas-reliefs_du_Bayon_(Angkor)_(6912550571).jpg|thumb|left|A Khmer soldier (left) fights against his Cham rival (right). The bas-reliefs of the [[Bayon]], always depict the Chams as wearing helmets in the shape of a [[Magnolia champaca]] flower.]]

[[List of Muslim historians#The historians of the classical period|Arab writers]] of the 9th and 10th century hardly mention the region for anything other than its perceived backwardness, but they considered the king of Al-Hind (India and Southeast Asia) one of the four great kings in the world.<ref>India and Indonesia During the Ancien Regime: Essays by P. J. Marshall, Robert Van Niel</ref> The ruler of the [[Rashtrakuta Dynasty]] is described as the greatest king of Al-Hind, but even the lesser kings of Al-Hind including the kings of Java, [[Pagan Kingdom|Pagan Burma]], and the Khmer kings of Cambodia are invariably depicted by the Arabs as extremely powerful and as being equipped with vast armies of men, horses, and often tens of thousands of elephants. They were also known to have been in possession of vast treasures of gold and silver.<ref>India and Indonesia During the Ancien Regime: Essays by P. J. Marshall, Robert Van Niel: p. 41</ref> The Khmer rulers established relations with the [[Chola dynasty]] of South India.<ref>India: A History by John Keay p. 223</ref>

The Khmer Empire seems to have maintained contact with [[Imperial China|Chinese dynasties]]; spanning from the late [[Tang dynasty|Tang]] period to the [[Yuan dynasty|Yuan]] period. The relations with the Yuan dynasty was of great historical significance, since it produced ''[[The Customs of Cambodia]]'' ({{lang|zh-hant|真臘風土記}}), an important insight into the Khmer Empire's daily life, culture and society. The report was written between 1296 and 1297 by the Yuan diplomat Zhou Daguan, sent by [[Temür Khan]] of Yuan dynasty to stay in Angkor.<ref name="smith"/>

[[File:Southeast Asian history - 13th century.png|thumb|right|200px|Mainland Southeast Asia at the end of the 13th century]]

Beginning in the 13th century, Khmer's relations with the [[Thai people|Siamese]] were difficult and bitter, resulting in rivalry and hostility for centuries. In August 1296, Zhou Daguan recorded that in the recent war with the Siamese, the country was utterly devastated. This report confirmed that by the late 13th century, the Siamese warlords had revolted and disrupted the Khmer empire's hegemony, starting Siam's rise. By the 14th century, the Siamese [[Ayutthaya Kingdom]] became the Khmer empire's formidable rival, as Angkor was besieged and captured twice by Ayutthayan Siamese invaders in 1353 and 1394. Being the successor to the former Khmer dependency of [[Lavo Kingdom|Lavo]] (Lopburi), Ayutthaya also inherited traditions of Khmer prestige and statecraft. Unlike earlier Tai polities that had a relatively flat hierarchy, Ayutthaya adopted Angkor's more complex social stratification, the deification of kings ''([[Devaraja]])'' as well as Khmer honorifics and elaborate [[Brahmanism|Brahmanic]] rituals. Specialist staff in early Ayutthaya, like scribes, court Brahmans, jurists, chamberlains, accountants, physicians and astrologers, usually came from the Khmer-speaking elites of city-states in the eastern Chaophraya Basin that had been under the influence of the Khmer Empire.<ref>{{Cite book |author=David K. Wyatt |title=Thailand: A Short History |edition=2nd |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2003 |pages=55–61}}</ref>

In the 1300s, the Lao prince [[Fa Ngum]] was exiled to live in the royal court of [[Angkor]]. His father-in-law, the King of Cambodia, gave him a Khmer army to create a [[buffer state]] in what is now [[Laos]]. Fa Ngum conquered local principalities and established the Kingdom of [[Lan Xang]]. With the assistance of Khmer scholars, Fa Ngum introduced [[Theravada Buddhism]] and the culture of the Khmer Empire to the region.

A Javanese source, the [[Nagarakretagama]] canto 15, composed in 1365 in the [[Majapahit|Majapahit Empire]], claimed Java had established diplomatic relations with ''Kambuja'' (Cambodia) together with ''Syangkayodhyapura'' ([[Ayutthaya Kingdom|Ayutthaya]]), ''Dharmmanagari'' ([[Negara Sri Dharmaraja]]), ''Rajapura'' ([[Ratchaburi]]) and ''Singhanagari'' ([[Songkla]]), ''Marutma'' (Martaban or [[Mottama]], Southern [[Myanmar]]), ''[[Champa]]'', and ''Yawana'' ([[Đại Việt|Annam]]).<ref>Nagarakretagama ''pupuh'' (canto) 15, these states are mentioned as ''Mitreka Satata'', literary means "partners with common order".</ref> This record describes the political situations in Mainland Southeast Asia in the mid-14th century; although the Cambodian polity still survived, the rise of Siamese Ayutthaya had taken its toll. Finally, the empire fell, marked by the abandonment of Angkor for Phnom Penh in 1431, caused by Siamese pressure.

==List of rulers==
{{See also|List of monarchs of Cambodia|Cambodian monarchs' family tree#Khmer Empire (802–1431)|label 2=Monarchs' family tree}}

{| class="wikitable sortable" border="1" width="75%"
!width="60px"|Reign
!width="80px"|King
!width="80px"|Capital
!width="440px"|Information and events
|-
|802–835
|[[Jayavarman II]]
|[[Mahendraparvata]], [[Hariharalaya]]
|Proclaimed the independence of Kambuja from [[Śailendra|Java]]. Claimed as [[Chakravartin]] through sacred Hindu ritual on [[Phnom Kulen]] and initiating [[Devaraja]] cult in Cambodia.
|-
|835–877
|[[Jayavarman III]]
|[[Hariharalaya]]
|Son of Jayavarman II
|-
|877–889
|[[Indravarman I]]
|[[Hariharalaya]]
|Nephew of Jayavarman II. Built Preah Ko dedicated to [[Jayavarman II]], also for his father and his grand father. Constructed temple mountain [[Bakong]].
|-
|889–910
|[[Yasovarman I]]
|[[Hariharalaya]], [[Yasodharapura]]
|Son of Indravarman I. Built Indratataka Baray and [[Lolei]]. Moved the capital to Yasodharapura centred around [[Phnom Bakheng]], and also built [[East Baray|Yashodharatataka]].
|-
|910–923
|[[Harshavarman I]]
|[[Yasodharapura]]
|Son of Yasovarman I. Involved in a power struggle against his maternal uncle Jayavarman IV. Built [[Baksei Chamkrong]].
|-
|923–928
|[[Ishanavarman II]]
|[[Yasodharapura]]
|Son of Yasovarman I, brother of Harshavarman I. Involved in a power struggle against his maternal uncle Jayavarman IV. Built [[Prasat Kravan]].
|-
|928–941
|[[Jayavarman IV]]
|[[Koh Ker]] (Lingapura)
|Son of King Indravarman I's daughter, Mahendradevi, married to Yasovarman I sister, claim the throne through maternal line. Ruled from [[Koh Ker]].
|-
|941–944
|[[Harshavarman II]]
|[[Koh Ker]] (Lingapura)
|Son of Jayavarman IV.
|-
|944–968
|[[Rajendravarman II]]
|[[Angkor]] ([[Yasodharapura]])
|Uncle and first cousin of Harshavarman II and wrestle power from him. Transfer the capital back to Angkor, Built [[Pre Rup]] and [[East Mebon]]. War against Champa in 946.
|-
|968–1001
|[[Jayavarman V]]
|[[Angkor]] (Jayendranagari)
|Son of Rajendravarman II. Built a new capital Jayendranagari and [[Ta Keo]] in its centre.
|-
|1001–1006
|Udayadityavarman I, Jayaviravarman, Suryavarman I
|[[Angkor]]
|Period of chaos, three kings rule simultaneously as antagonist.
|-
|1006–1050
|[[Suryavarman I]]
|[[Angkor]]
|Took the throne. Alliance with [[Chola dynasty|Chola]] and conflict with [[Tambralinga]] kingdom. Built [[Preah Khan Kompong Svay]]. The king adhered to Mahayana Buddhism.
|-
|1050–1066
|[[Udayadityavarman II]]
|[[Angkor]] ([[Yasodharapura]])
|Took the throne, descendant of Yasovarman I's spouse. Built [[Baphuon]], [[West Baray]] and [[West Mebon]], also [[Sdok Kok Thom]].
|-
|1066–1080
|[[Harshavarman III]]
|[[Angkor]] ([[Yasodharapura]])
|Succeeded his elder brother Udayadityavarman II, capital at Baphuon. Champa invasion in 1074 and 1080.
|-
|1090–1107
|[[Jayavarman VI]]
|[[Angkor]]
|Usurper from Vimayapura. Built [[Phimai Historical Park|Phimai]].
|-
|1107–1113
|[[Dharanindravarman I]]
|[[Angkor]]
|Succeeded his younger brother, Jayavarman VI.
|-
|1113–1145
|[[Suryavarman II]]
|[[Angkor]]
|Usurped and killed his great uncle. Built [[Angkor Wat]], [[Banteay Samre]], [[Thommanon]], [[Chau Say Tevoda]] and [[Beng Mealea]]. Invade [[Đại Việt]] and [[Champa]].
|-
|1150–1160
|[[Dharanindravarman II]]
|[[Angkor]]
|Succeeded his cousin Suryavarman II
|-
|1160–1167
|[[Yasovarman II]]
|[[Angkor]]
|Overthrown by his minister Tribhuvanadityavarman
|-
|1167–1177
|[[Tribhuvanadityavarman]]
|[[Angkor]]
|Cham invasion in 1177 and 1178 led by Jaya Indravarman IV, looted the Khmer capital.
|-style="background:#ccf;"
|1178–1181
| colspan=3 valign="middle"|[[Champa|Cham]] occupation, led by Champa king [[Jaya Indravarman IV]]
|-
|1181–1218
|[[Jayavarman VII]]
|[[Angkor]] ([[Yasodharapura]])
|Led Khmer army against Cham invaders thus liberated Cambodia. Led the conquest of Champa (1190–1191). Major infrastructure constructions; built hospitals, rest houses, reservoirs, and temples including [[Ta Prohm]], [[Preah Khan]], the [[Bayon]] in [[Angkor Thom]] city, and [[Neak Pean]].
|-
|1219–1243
|[[Indravarman II]]
|[[Angkor]]
|Son of Jayavarman VII. Lost control of [[Champa]] and lost western territories to [[Thai people|Siamese]] [[Sukhothai Kingdom]].
|-
|1243–1295
|[[Jayavarman VIII]]
|[[Angkor]]
|[[Mongol]] invasion led by [[Kublai Khan]] in 1283 and war with Sukhothai. Built Mangalartha. He was a zealous Shivaite and eradicated Buddhist influences.
|-
|1295–1308
|[[Indravarman III]]
|[[Angkor]]
|Overthrew his father in law Jayavarman VIII. Made [[Theravada Buddhism]] the state religion. Received [[Yuan Dynasty|Yuan]] Chinese diplomat [[Zhou Daguan]] (1296–1297).
|-
|1308–1327
|[[Indrajayavarman]]
|[[Angkor]]
|
|-
|1327–1336
|[[Jayavarman IX]]
|[[Angkor]]
|Last Sanskrit inscription (1327).
|-
|1336–1340
|[[Trasak Paem]]
|[[Angkor]]
| 
|-
|1340–1346
|[[Nippean Bat]]
|[[Angkor]]
| 
|-
|1346–1347
|[[Sithean Reachea]]
|[[Angkor]]
| 
|-
|1347–1352
|Lompong Reachea
|[[Angkor]]
| 
|-style="background:#ccf;"
|1352–1357
| colspan=3 valign="middle"|Siamese [[Ayutthaya Kingdom|Ayutthaya]] invasion led by [[Uthong]]
|-
|1357–1363
|Soryavong
|[[Angkor]]
| 
|-
|1363–1373
|[[Borom Reachea I]]
|[[Angkor]]
| 
|-
|1373–1393
|[[Thomma Saok]]
|[[Angkor]]
| 
|-style="background:#ccf;"
|1393
| colspan=3 valign="middle"|Siamese [[Ayutthaya Kingdom|Ayutthaya]] invasion led by [[Ramesuan (king of Ayutthaya)|Ramesuan]]
|-
|1394–c.{{nbsp}}1421
|[[Intharacha (king of Ayutthaya)|In Reachea]]
|[[Angkor]]
| 
|-
|1405–1431
|[[Ponhea Yat|Barom Reachea II]]
|[[Angkor]], [[Phnom Penh|Chaktomuk]]
|Abandoned Angkor (1431).
|-
|}

==Gallery of temples==
<gallery class="center" caption="Angkor-period temples in Cambodia" widths="150px" heights="150px" perrow="7">
File:Banteay Srei 48.jpg|{{center|[[Banteay Srei]]}}
File:Preah Khan, Angkor, Camboya, 2013-08-17, DD 26.JPG|{{center|[[Preah Khan]]}}
File:Ta Keo 01.jpg|{{center|[[Ta Keo]]}}
File:Phimeanakas, Angkor Thom, Camboya, 2013-08-16, DD 04.jpg|{{center|[[Phimeanakas]]}}
File:Chau Say Tevoda2012.jpg|{{center|[[Chau Say Tevoda]]}}
File:Banteay Samre, Cambodia (2211425643).jpg|{{center|[[Banteay Samré]]}}
File:Terraza de los Elefantes, Angkor Thom, Camboya, 2013-08-16, DD 03.jpg|{{center|[[Terrace of the Elephants]]}}
</gallery>

<gallery class="center" caption="Angkor-period temples in Thailand" widths="150px" heights="150px" perrow="7">
File:ปราสาทพนมรุ้ง รุ่งเรืองดั่งสวรรค์.JPG|{{center|[[Phanom Rung historical park|Phanom Rung]]}}
File:Entrance-phimai.jpg|{{center|[[Phimai historical park|Prasat Phimai]]}}
File:Prang Sam Yot.jpg|{{center|[[Lopburi|Prang Sam Yot]]}}
File:ปราสาทศีขรภูมิ จังหวัดสุรินทร์ ประเทศไทย.JPG|{{center|[[Sikhoraphum District|Prasat Sikhoraphum]]}}
File:Muangtum Castle at Buriram, Thailand.jpg|{{center|[[Prasat Muang Tam]]}}
File:Sing, Sai Yok District, Kanchanaburi, Thailand - panoramio.jpg|{{center|[[Mueang Sing Historical Park|Prasat Muang Singh]]}}
File:Close up, the outer walls of Prasat Sadok Kok Thom in Thailand..jpg|{{center|[[Sdok Kok Thom]]}}
</gallery>

<gallery class="center" caption="Angkor-period temples in Laos" widths="150px" heights="150px" perrow="7">
File:Champasak VatPhou5 tango7174.jpg|{{center|[[Vat Phou]]}}
</gallery>

<gallery class="center" caption="Angkor-period temples in Vietnam" widths="150px" heights="150px" perrow="7">
File:Vinh_Hung_tower,_Vinh_Loi,_Bac_Lieu.jpg|{{center|Vĩnh Hưng temple}}
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Post-Angkor period]]
* [[List of kings of Cambodia]], a chronological list with reign, title, and posthumous title(s), where known

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book| last =Cœdès| first =George| title =The making of South East Asia| year =1966| publisher =University of California Press| isbn =0-520-05061-4| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=qgrAFlAC4-QC| access-date =25 October 2015| archive-date =31 October 2023| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20231031084147/https://books.google.com/books?id=qgrAFlAC4-QC| url-status =live}}
* {{cite book|last1= Freeman|first1= Michael|author-link1= Michael Freeman (photographer)|last2= Jacques|first2= Claude|title= Ancient Angkor|year= 2006|publisher= River Books|isbn= 974-8225-27-5|ref= FreJac2006|url-access= registration|url= https://archive.org/details/ancientangkor00free}}
* {{cite book|last= Higham|first= Charles|author-link= Charles Higham (archaeologist)|title= The Civilization of Angkor|year= 2001|publisher= Phoenix|isbn= 978-1-84212-584-7|ref= Higham2001}}
* Vittorio Roveda: ''Khmer Mythology'', River Books. {{ISBN|974-8225-37-2}}.
* {{cite book |last=Dagens |first=Bruno |author-link=Bruno Dagens |translator-last=Sharman |translator-first=Ruth |year=1995 |orig-year=1989 |title=Angkor: Heart of an Asian Empire |series='[[Découvertes Gallimard|New Horizons]]' series |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UKH4RwAACAAJ |location=London |publisher=Thames & Hudson |isbn=0-500-30054-2 |access-date=27 June 2020 |archive-date=31 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231031084747/https://books.google.com/books?id=UKH4RwAACAAJ |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book|last= Keyes|first= Charles F.|title= The Golden Peninsula|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=g3oajnKzUNEC|year= 1995|publisher= University of Hawaii Press|isbn= 978-0-8248-1696-4|ref= Keyes1995|access-date= 25 October 2015|archive-date= 31 October 2023|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231031084748/https://books.google.com/books?id=g3oajnKzUNEC|url-status= live}}
* {{cite book|title= Angkor: Cambodia's wondrous khmer temples|last= Rooney|first= Dawn F.|year= 2005|edition= 5th|publisher= Odissey|isbn= 978-962-217-727-7|ref= Rooney2005}}
* [[David P. Chandler]]: ''A History of Cambodia'', Westview Press. {{ISBN|0-8133-3511-6}}.
* {{citation |last=Liang |first=Jieming |year=2006 |title=Chinese Siege Warfare: Mechanical Artillery & Siege Weapons of Antiquity |publisher=Leong Kit Meng |isbn=981-05-5380-3 |location=Singapore, Republic of Singapore}}.
* {{citation|last=Zhou|first=Daguan|year=2007|title=The Customs of Cambodia|publisher=The Siam Society|isbn=978-974-8359-68-7}}.
* [[Henri Mouhot]]: ''Travels in Siam, Cambodia, Laos, and Annam'', White Lotus Co, Ltd. {{ISBN|974-8434-03-6}}.
* {{cite book|last= Vickery|first= Michael|title= Society, economics, and politics in pre-Angkor Cambodia: the 7th–8th centuries|year= 1998|publisher= Toyo Bunko|isbn= 978-4-89656-110-4|ref= Vickery1998}}
* [[Benjamin Walker (author)|Benjamin Walker]], ''Angkor Empire: A History of the Khmer of Cambodia'', Signet Press, Calcutta, 1995.
* I. G. Edmonds, ''The Khmers of Cambodia: The story of a mysterious people''.
* Jessup, H. I. (2018). The South-East Asia: The Khmer 802–1566. In J. Masselos (ed.) ''The Great Empires of Asia'' (pp. 78–106). [[Thames & Hudson]].

==External links==
* {{wikivoyage-inline}}
* {{Commonscatinline}}
{{Wikiquote}}

{{Cambodia topics}}
{{Empires}}

[[Category:Khmer Empire| ]]
[[Category:Former countries in Cambodian history]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1431]]
[[Category:802 establishments]]
[[Category:1431 disestablishments in Asia]]
[[Category:Medieval Hindu kingdoms]]
[[Category:Indianized kingdoms]]
[[Category:1st millennium in Cambodia]]
[[Category:2nd millennium in Cambodia]]
[[Category:Former monarchies of Southeast Asia]]
[[Category:Tributaries of Imperial China]]