Foundation and development (10th - 12th centuries)
The date of the foundation of the Khmer Empire is 802, when King Jayavarman II, widely considered the founder of the Empire, organized a great ceremony on the sacred mountain of Mahendraparvata, now known as Phnom Kulen. The meaning of this ceremony: to declare the independence of a kingdom that he had just conquered, and that the local inhabitants, of Khmer ethnicity, called Kambuja. In passing, he declared himself Emperor, universal sovereign of divine right. Jayavarman II died in 835, and during the 33 years of his reign he considerably extended the territory of his new empire. He also moved the capital to Hariharalaya, near the present city of Rolous. These are the foundations of the city of Angkor which will develop in the centuries to come. The successors of the founding king will push back the borders, by military conquests or alliances. Indravarman I, between 877 and 899, managed to expand the empire without armed conflict, and established the basis for modern agriculture and developed the infrastructure. But history retains Yasovarman I, his successor, as the true creator of the first city of Angkor. His main temple stands on a hill overlooking the plain called Phnom Bakheng. During his reign, the East Baray, a vast reservoir 7.1 kilometers long and 1.7 kilometers wide, was also created. For a short period, Angkor was no longer the only capital. The kingdom was split in two at the beginning of the 10th century, and King Jayavarman IV established his own capital at Koh Ker, 100 km away. The status of capital is attributed again to Angkor under the reign of Rajendravarman II (944-968), who accelerates the construction of temples. It was during this period that some of the key pieces of the complex were built: Mebon East, Pre Rup, as well as several monasteries. With his successor Jayavarman V (968-1001), the Ta Keo temple, which celebrates the relocation of the capital to a few kilometers from that of his father, but also the Banteay Srei. The following century saw a succession of territorial wars and alliances between neighboring empires, which made the Khmer Empire one of the most influential civilizations of its time.
Apogee
Although the first conflict with the Champa kingdom dates from the 10th century, it is in the 12th century that wars with the powerful neighbor will intensify, and mark the whole period considered as the apogee of the Khmer empire. Although these wars did not all end in victory, the reign of King Suryavarman II (1113-1150), a great conqueror, is generally considered to be the beginning of the Khmer Golden Age. It was under this reign that the temple of Angkor Wat, dedicated to the god Vishnu and the largest construction of the Angkor complex, was built in "only" 37 years. The following decades saw a succession of monarchs with reigns as short as their end was violent. This period ended with a final battle in 1177 between the Khmers and the Chams on the waters of the Tonle Sap. The latter won and sacked Angkor. King Jayavarman VII (1181-1219), generally considered the greatest king in the history of Cambodia, reconquered the city and pushed back the Cham. He fought them until 1203, which allowed the empire not only to get rid of the threat of a troublesome neighbor, but also to gain some territories in the process. When peace returned, Jayavarman VII built the temples of Ta Prohm and Preah Khan in honor of his mother and father. He also built Banteay Kdei, Neak Pean, as well as the reservoir of Srah Srang. The new capital of his kingdom is named Angkor Thom. Chinese travelers report that the fabulous temples are covered with gold. Although he had an undeniable warrior spirit, Jayavarman VII seemed to be fundamentally interested in his people. He developed a network of roads linking the various cities of his empire, and especially built many hospitals. His three successors, Indravarman II, then Jayavarman VIII and Srindravarman maintained the greatness of the empire until the beginning of the 14th century, even if the golden age seemed to be starting to fade. Military successes were no longer really forthcoming, the Dai Viet people in the east and the hereditary enemy Champa were gaining in power, and above all the Thais in the east were becoming more and more threatening. The Khmer empire lost many territories.
Decline and fall
Many hypotheses have been put forward to explain the decline and fall of the Khmer empire. While several of them are based on undeniable evidence and propose perfectly plausible scenarios, none has established itself as the sole truth among the community of historians. This truth is probably to be found in an accumulation of all these factors. There is, however, one point on which all specialists agree: while the final fall of the Khmer empire can be dated fairly precisely to 1431, which marks the abandonment of the capital in favor of Oudong near Phnom Penh, the Angkor civilization did not die out overnight. Today, we speak of a gradual and slow decline, not a brutal fall.
Military pressure from its powerful neighbors certainly played a significant role. The Dai Viet and the Cham, as we have seen, pushed in on the eastern front. But it was above all the emergence of the Thai kingdoms that sounded the death knell for Khmer power from the west: first the Kingdom of Sukothai, the first to repel the Khmer advance, but above all its conqueror and successor the Kingdom of Ayutthaya, from 1350 onwards. From this period onwards, and until the abandonment of Angkor, Ayutthaya became the Khmer empire's main and most feared rival. Angkor fell, was recaptured, fell again, was recaptured... until the Khmer king Ponhea Yat finally considered it indefensible and moved to the Phnom Penh region with arms and baggage.
Today, an ecological catastrophe thesis is gaining ground. As a result of population growth, many forests had to be cut down to make way for rice cultivation. These forced changes in vegetation are said to have led to sediment flows. The Angkorian economy relied heavily on a sophisticated system of canals and reservoirs, used for transportation and irrigation. Sediments would have disrupted this system, aggravated by climatic changes leading to exceptional monsoons in the 14th and 15th centuries. These disruptions would have had a severe impact on the entire local economy.
The change of religion in the Empire, which adopted Theravada Buddhism, is also proposed as an aggravating factor rather than the main reason, as it would have turned to a philosophy more concerned with inner peace than material development. Finally, the great plague that ravaged Europe during this period would have contributed to the decomposition of an already ailing empire.
Daily life
With over 600 years of existence, the Khmer empire has never ceased to evolve, to restructure its society, its economy, its political organization, and even its religion. By the 12th and 13th centuries, Angkorian society was large, organized and resourceful... in a word, prosperous. The driving force behind this prosperity was rice cultivation. Thanks to particularly enlightened rulers, Angkor was equipped with a highly sophisticated system of canals and reservoirs, as mentioned above. Facilitating trade, transport and, above all, irrigation, this network enabled the population to be fed on a large scale, thus promoting demographic growth. Gathered in large agricultural centers around the main towns, rice cultivation is complemented by more diversified crops such as vegetables, coconuts and palms. In addition, the fabulous reservoir of fresh water provided by the Tonlé Sap and the country's many rivers enables the inhabitants to supplement their diet with fish, often preserved and eaten dried in banana leaves. Pig, chicken and buffalo rearing add to the protein intake. These farming centers form veritable small towns, trading and exchanging with one another, notably through a barter system. In the markets, women were the main shopkeepers, the undeniable driving forces behind the economy of the time.
Hinduism being the state religion (before being supplanted by Buddhism), society was organized into castes, and everyone knew his or her place, function, rights and duties. The majority of the population are peasants and fishermen. Nobles and warriors, priests, slaves, craftsmen organized into trade guilds... all follow the laws established by the ruling caste. According to the principles of religion, the Emperor had the status of god on earth, which conferred on him an authority that was rarely questioned, and left his hands free to initiate great architectural projects, notably the fabulous temples we know today.
Legacy
The influence of Khmer culture on today's Cambodia is self-evident. On the national flag, three vertical stripes and a representation of the temple of Angkor Wat. Since the end of the French protectorate, Cambodia has experienced a succession of regimes and factions, often leading to civil war. Yet one constant unites them all: they all claim, in one way or another, to inherit the civilization of Angkor.
This heritage is, of course, most visible at Angkor. This unique archaeological site, the largest in Southeast Asia, stretching over almost 400 km2, is the pride of an entire people. The Angkorian style has influenced many areas of Cambodian culture today. The excavation of the ruins has shed new light on the skills of Khmer craftsmen of past centuries, who serve as a source of inspiration. Khmer art as a whole is inspired by Angkorian grandeur, especially pictorial representations and sculptures. But it is undoubtedly the traditional Cambodian dance that best illustrates this contemporary admiration for an empire that could well have been forgotten, but which, thanks perhaps to a few explorers from afar, animates the national feeling and pride of the entire Khmer people.
