Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Decline & Fall of Angkor
Angkor was the epicentre of an incredible empire that held sway over much of the Mekong
region, but like all empires, the sun was to eventually set.
A number of scholars have argued that decline was already on the horizon at the time
Angkor Wat was built, when the Angkorian empire was at the height of its remarkable pro-
ductivity. There are indications that the irrigation network was overworked and slowly
starting to silt up due to the massive deforestation that had taken place in the heavily popu-
lated areas to the north and east of Angkor. This was exacerbated by prolonged periods of
drought in the 14th century, which was more recently discovered through the advanced
analysis of dendrochronology, or the study of tree rings, in the Angkor area.
Massive construction projects such as Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom no doubt put an
enormous strain on the royal coffers and on thousands of slaves and common people who
subsidised them in hard labour and taxes. Following the reign of Jayavarman VII, temple
construction effectively ground to a halt, in large part because Jayavarman VII's public
works had quarried local sandstone into oblivion and left the population exhausted.
Another challenge for the later kings was religious conflict and internecine rivalries. The
state religion changed back and forth several times during the twilight years of the empire,
and kings spent more time engaged in defacing the temples of their predecessors, than
building monuments to their own achievements. From time to time this boiled over into
civil war.
Angkor was losing control over the peripheries of its empire. At the same time, the Thais
were ascendant, having migrated south from Yunnan, China, to escape Kublai Khan and his
Mongol hordes. The Thais, first from Sukothai, later Ayuthaya, grew in strength and made
repeated incursions into Angkor before finally sacking the city in 1431 and making off with
thousands of intellectuals, artisans and dancers from the royal court. During this period,
perhaps drawn by the opportunities for sea trade with China and fearful of the increasingly
bellicose Thais, the Khmer elite began to migrate to the Phnom Penh area. The capital shif-
ted several times over the centuries but eventually settled in present-day Phnom Penh.
From 1500 until the arrival of the French in 1863, Cambodia was ruled by a series of
weak kings beset by dynastic rivalries. In the face of such intrigue, they sought the protec-
tion - granted, of course, at a price - of either Thailand or Vietnam. In the 17th century the
Nguyen lords of southern Vietnam came to the rescue of the Cambodian king in return for
settlement rights in the Mekong Delta region. The Khmers still refer to this region as Kam-
