Chapter 2C: A Brief History of the Empire of Angkor

Author: “But let’s clean my mind of all this money and politics talk and get back to art. What was this Khmer culture that was at the foundation of Thailand and created such wonderful works of art such as Angkor Wat and what happened to them?”

Doing some cursory research my unwitting Author discovered that the Khmer’s classical period was from 802 AD -> 1432 AD - over 600 years - nearly 3 times longer than the USA has been around.

Author: “Classic period?”

Khmer: “The classic period was when our capitols were at Angkor.”

Author: “I thought Angkor was Khmer culture. What other periods were there?”

Khmer: “You’ve got a lot to learn. Patience and all will be revealed. Jayavarman II was considered the founder of the Khmer Empire based at Angkor.”

Author: “Jayavarman II? Why not Jayavarman I if he was the first?”

Khmer: “Empty your Mind of preconceptions. They are confusing you. Listen and you might learn something. In 790 AD Jayavarman II returned from the Sailendra court in Java with some big plans. He claimed heritage from the ancient royal family of Funan.”

Author: “Sailendra court in Java? Funan?”

Khmer: “Cultivate silence. In 802 he founded a capital on a hill called Phnom Kulen, the first of many hill capitols. He even built a brick pyramid to support a temple-shrine. He called in artists from Champa and Java to give new impetus to local traditions.”

Author, thinking to himself: “How was he able to institute such innovations?”

Khmer: “Jayavarman was followed by a series of strong rulers. Indravarman I (877-889) laid the foundation of temple complex known as Angkor. It was 1700 yards by 1500 yards. Its well thought out plan was based upon rectangular grid of reservoirs, canals, and irrigation channels to control flooding and provide water for the growing empire. As we shall see this well developed irrigation system was one of the foundations of our empire. After dealing with the water for his new capital Indravarman I built Bakong.

Author: “Was that the mountain top temple that we visited?”

Khmer: “Yes. The succeeding kings elaborated on this theme - further enhancing the Angkor complex by building their own temple mountains in 893, 961, 1000, 1066 - each more elaborate and grandiose than the preceding. In 1100 this temple building spree culminated in the construction of Angkor Wat by Suryavarman II.

Following this efflorescence of art our culture under Jayavarman VII suffered an embarrassing loss to the Cham culture of South Vietnam. Marshaling his forces he eventually defeated them and extended the boundaries of our empire further than they had ever been before - to Chang Mai in the north - to South Vietnam in the east - to southern Thailand in the west. With this renewal of energy he then supervised the construction of Angkor Thom in 1200 - perhaps the most ambitious of all the temples in size and scope.”

Author: “This was the temple with the four sided Buddha head that we also visited.”

Khmer: “Correct. These heads represented the all-seeing power of the Buddhist Lokesvara - Lord of this world - and his representative - the king.

This was the last of the temple building. Our crafts maintained their high standards but there were no more huge works of art. After Jayavarman VII our culture at Angkor lasted about 200 more years. Then pressure from the Mongol invasions of China created a huge population pressure pushing the Thai out of Southern China and the Cham out of North Vietnam. They attacked our people from the east and the west.

Our cultural momentum had petered out. We were dissipated internally. There was no more temple building to revitalize and give meaning to our people. Perhaps more importantly the irrigation system that we had used to support our inland empire was in need of repair or was crumbling. Our previously fertile land which had provided 3 crops of rice a year during its peak - with which we had fed their temple population - was spent and overused. Like our Khmer culture, the vitality of our land was severely diminished.

Alternately the Thai momentum was rising. They invaded and conquered our kingdom reducing us to the status of a vassal state. Simultaneously the Thai stripped all of our temples at Angkor of their gold and gems. Our once proud Empire had been reduced to ruins in a generation. Our cultural energy had played itself out. It disappeared. For the next 400 years we were vassals of Vietnam or Thailand, until we came under Western rule when we became a French protectorate in 1864.

The jungle took over at Angkor. The local Buddhists and tribes used these temples as a place of worship. But the magnificent temple complex disappeared from history, until the French rediscovered them in the late 1800s. It was at about this time that archaeologists began the long process of simultaneously restoring our temples as well as protecting them from looters.”

Southeast Asia: “Such was the wave of Khmer’s civilization at Angkor. We saw the wave build, grow into maturity, and then crash upon the beach of humanity, leaving an indelible mark. Then we saw his cultural tidal wave fragment and dissolve back into Void. Such a brief stay upon our planet. But what an impact. Like a glacier, etching my ground for human eternity.

This is just one more example of the Indian postulate that the external world of manifestation is transitory. No matter how great or small, all things pass. When it is happening it seems like it will last forever. But when it is over, it just seems like the blink of an eye. I’ve seen so many come and go.

Entire human lives can be devoted to the recollection of these flowerings - recalling the grandeur of these great civilizations, which have left their sand castles upon the shores of time. With just minuscule glimpses into these ancient cultures, entire universes are created. Then the historian implies reality to his fantasy - believing it to be real - when it is just one more illusion - reflecting his world view - and perhaps of those around him - but what a great story. Allow my Author to bounce off the trampoline of facts to soar high into the air. Hopefully our Reader realizes that it is really just a tale to amuse, educate, inspire, and transform and that it has no reality whatsoever - just the foam of the waves, seeming so dramatic, but without substance.