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Angkor civilization
The <anchor>Angkor civilization</anchor>, also sometimes called the Khmer Empire, controlled all of Cambodia and southeastern Thailand and northern Vietnam, with a heyday dated roughly between 800 to 1300 AD. They are known for their trading network: including rare woods, elephant tusks, cardamom and other spices, wax, gold, silver, and silk from China; and for their engineering capacity in water control.
Ankgor Civilization, the Khmer Empire in Southeast Asia
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# Angkor Civilization

The Ancient Khmer Empire in Southeast Asia

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The East Gate at Angkor Thom surrounded by jungle.:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/east_gate_angkor-thom-56b3b77b5f9b5829f82c1e6e.jpg)

Ian Walton / Getty Images News / Getty Images

By

Archaeology Expert

- M.A., Anthropology, University of Iowa
- B.Ed., Illinois State University

K. Kris Hirst is an archaeologist with 30 years of field experience. Her work has appeared in scholarly publications such as Archaeology Online and Science.

Updated on April 05, 2020

The Angkor Civilization (or Khmer Empire) is the name given to an important civilization of southeast Asia, including all of Cambodia, southeastern Thailand, and northern Vietnam, with its classic period dated roughly between 800 to 1300 A.D. It is also the name of one of the medieval Khmer capital cities, containing some of the most spectacular temples in the world, such as Angkor Wat.

The ancestors of the Angkor civilization are thought to have migrated into Cambodia along the Mekong River during the 3rd millennium B.C. Their original center, established by 1000 B.C., was located on the shore of the large lake called Tonle Sap. A truly sophisticated (and enormous) irrigation system allowed the spread of the civilization into the countryside away from the lake.

## Angkor (Khmer) Society

During the classic period, the Khmer society was a cosmopolitan blend of Pali and Sanskrit rituals resulting from a fusion of Hindu and High Buddhist belief systems, probably the effects of Cambodia's role in the extensive trade system connecting Rome, India, and China during the last few centuries B.C. This fusion served as both the religious core of the society and as the political and economic basis on which the empire was built.

The Khmer society was led by an extensive court system with both religious and secular nobles, artisans, fishermen, rice farmers, soldiers, and elephant keepers, as Angkor was protected by an army using elephants. The elites collected and redistributed taxes. Temple inscriptions attest to a detailed barter system. A wide range of commodities was traded between Khmer cities and China, including rare woods, elephant tusks, cardamom and other spices, wax, gold, silver, and silk. Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618-907) porcelain has been found at Angkor. Song Dynasty (A.D. 960-1279) whitewares, such as Qinghai boxes, have been identified at several Angkor centers.

The Khmer documented their religious and political tenets in Sanskrit inscribed on stelae and on temple walls throughout the empire. Bas-reliefs at Angkor Wat, Bayon, and Banteay Chhmar describe great military expeditions to neighboring polities using elephants, horses, chariots, and war canoes, although there doesn't seem to have been a standing army.

The end of Angkor came in the mid-14th century and was partly brought about by a change in religious belief in the region, from Hinduism and High Buddhism to more democratic Buddhist practices. At the same, an environmental collapse is seen by some scholars as having a role in the disappearance of Angkor.

## Road Systems Among the Khmer

The immense Khmer empire was united by a series of roads, comprised of six main arteries extending out of Angkor for a total of approximately 1,000 kilometers (approximately 620 miles). Secondary roads and causeways served local traffic in and around the Khmer cities. The roads which interconnected Angkor and Phimai, Vat Phu, Preah Khan, Sambor Prei Kuk, and Sdok Kaka Thom (as plotted by the Living Angkor Road Project) were fairly straight and constructed of earth piled from either side of the route in long, flat strips. The road surfaces were up to 10 meters (approximately 33 feet) wide and in some places were raised to as much as five to six meters (16-20 feet) above the ground.

## The Hydraulic City

Recent work conducted at Angkor by the Greater Angkor Project (GAP) used advanced radar remote sensing applications to map the city and its environs. The project identified the urban complex of about 200 to 400 square kilometers, surrounded by a vast agricultural complex of farmlands, local villages, temples, and ponds, all connected by a web of earthen-walled canals that were part of a vast water control system.

The GAP newly identified at least 74 structures as possible temples. The results of the survey suggest that the city of Angkor, including the temples, agricultural fields, residences (or occupation mounds), and hydraulic network covered an area of nearly 3,000 square kilometers over the length of its occupation, making Angkor the largest low-density pre-industrial city on Earth.

Because of the enormous aerial spread of the city and the clear emphasis on water catchment, storage, and redistribution, members of the GAP call Angkor a 'hydraulic city,' in that villages within the greater Angkor area were set up with local temples, each surrounded by a shallow moat and traversed by earthen causeways. Large canals connected cities and rice fields, acting both as irrigation and roadway.

## Archaeology at Angkor

Archaeologists who have worked at Angkor Wat include Charles Higham, Michael Vickery, Michael Coe, and Roland Fletcher. Recent work by the GAP is based in part on the mid-20th century mapping work of Bernard-Philippe Groslier of the École Française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO). The photographer Pierre Paris took great strides with his photos of the region in the 1920s. Due in part to its enormous size and in part to the political struggles of Cambodia in the latter half of the 19th century, excavation has been limited.

## Khmer Archaeological Sites

- Cambodia: Angkor Wat, Preah Palilay, Baphuon, Preah Pithu, Koh Ker, Ta Keo, Thmâ Anlong, Sambor Prei Kuk, Phum Snay, Angkor Borei.
- Vietnam: Oc Eo.
- Thailand: Ban Non Wat, Ban Lum Khao, Prasat Hin Phimai, Prasat Phanom Wan.

## Sources

- Coe, Michael D. "Angkor and the Khmer Civilization." Ancient Peoples and Places, Paperback, Thames & Hudson; Reprint edition, 17 February 2005.
- Domett, K.M. "Bioarchaeological evidence for conflict in Iron Age north-west Cambodia." Antiquity, D.J.W. O'Reilly, H.R. Buckley, Volume 85, Issue 328, Cambridge University Press, 2 January 2015, https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/bioarchaeological-evidence-for-conflict-in-iron-age-northwest-cambodia/4970FB1B43CFA896F2780C876D946FD6.
- Evans, Damian. "A comprehensive archaeological map of the world's largest preindustrial settlement complex at Angkor, Cambodia." Christophe Pottier, Roland Fletcher, et al., PNAS, National Academy of Sciences, 4 September 2007, https://www.pnas.org/content/104/36/14277.
- Hendrickson, Mitch. "A Transport Geographic Perspective on Travel and Communication in Angkorian Southeast Asia (Ninth to Fifteenth Centuries AD)." World Archaeology, ResearchGate, September 2011, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233136574_A_Transport_Geographic_Perspective_on_Travel_and_Communication_in_Angkorian_Southeast_Asia_Ninth_to_Fifteenth_Centuries_AD.
- Higham, Charles. "The Civilization of Angkor." Hardcover, First Edition edition, University of California Press, January 2002.
- Penny, Dan. "The use of AMS 14C dating to explore issues of occupation and demise at the medieval city of Angkor, Cambodia." Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, Volume 259, Issue 1, ScienceDirect, June 2007, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168583X07005150.
- Sanderson, David C.W. "Luminescence dating of canal sediments from Angkor Borei, Mekong Delta, Southern Cambodia." Quaternary Geochronology, Paul Bishop, Miriam Stark, et al., Volume 2, Issues 1–4, ScienceDirect, 2007, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1871101406000653.
- Siedel, Heiner. "Sandstone weathering in tropical climate: Results of low-destructive investigations at the temple of Angkor Wat, Cambodia." Engineering Geology, Stephan Pfefferkorn, Esther von Plehwe-Leisen, et al., ResearchGate, October 2010, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/223542150_Sandstone_weathering_in_tropical_climate_Results_of_low-destructive_investigations_at_the_temple_of_Angkor_Wat_Cambodia.
- Uchida, E. "Consideration on the construction process and the sandstone quarries during the Angkor period based on the magnetic susceptibility." Journal of Archaeological Science, O. Cunin, C. Suda, et al., Volume 34, Issue 6, ScienceDirect, June 2007, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440306001828.

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Hirst, K. Kris. "Angkor Civilization." ThoughtCo, Jun. 25, 2024, thoughtco.com/angkor-civilization-ancient-khmer-empire-169557.Hirst, K. Kris. (2024, June 25). Angkor Civilization. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/angkor-civilization-ancient-khmer-empire-169557Hirst, K. Kris. "Angkor Civilization." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/angkor-civilization-ancient-khmer-empire-169557 (accessed September 13, 2024).

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