Editing History of Cambodia (section)

==Khmer Empire (802–1431)==
{{Main article|Khmer Empire}}
[[File:AngkorThomBasRelief.JPG|thumb|left|[[Archery|Archers]] mounted on [[war elephant]]s, stone relief at the [[Bayon]]]]
[[File:Map-of-southeast-asia 900 CE.png|thumb|200px|Map of South-east Asia c. 900 CE, showing the [[Khmer Empire]] in red, [[Champa]] in yellow and [[Haripunjaya]] in light green, plus additional surrounding states]]

The six centuries of the Khmer Empire are characterised by unparalleled technical and artistic progress and achievements, political integrity and administrative stability. The empire represents the cultural and technical apogee of the Cambodian and Southeast Asian pre-industrial civilisation.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Jacques Dumarçay|author2=Pascal Royère|title=Cambodian Architecture: Eighth to Thirteenth Centuries|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tbBii4uBCvsC&pg=PA109|year=2001|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-11346-6|page=109}}</ref>
[[File:Roulos_Group_-_005_Bakong_(8587796725).jpg|left|thumb|[[Bakong]], one of the earliest temple mountain in Khmer architecture]]
The Khmer Empire was preceded by Chenla, a polity with shifting centres of power, which was split into Land Chenla and Water Chenla in the early 8th century.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mksjournal.org/mks42gordon.pdf |title=THE JOURNAL OF THE SIAM SOCIETY - AN HISTORICAL ATLAS OF THAILAND Vol. LII Part 1-2 1964 - The Australian National University Canberra |publisher=The Australian National University |access-date=15 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150209114317/http://www.mksjournal.org/mks42gordon.pdf |archive-date=9 February 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> By the late 8th century Water Chenla was absorbed by the Malays of the [[Srivijaya|Srivijaya Empire]] and the Javanese of the [[Shailendra dynasty|Shailandra Empire]] and eventually incorporated into Java and [[Srivijaya]].<ref name="Chenla - 550-800"/>
[[Jayavarman II]], ruler of Land Chenla, initiates a mythical Hindu [[consecration]] ceremony at [[Phnom Kulen|Mount Kulen]] (Mount Mahendra) in 802 CE, intended to proclaim political autonomy and royal legitimacy. As he declared himself [[devaraja]] - god-king, divinely appointed and uncontested, he simultaneously declares independence from Shailandra and Srivijaya. He established [[Hariharalaya]], the first capital of the Angkorean area near the modern town of [[Roluos]].<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 |editor-last=Sengupta |editor-first=Arputha Rani  |year=2005 |publisher=National Museum Institute |isbn=978-8189233266 |access-date=14 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121209215215/http://easternbookcorporation.com/moreinfo.php?txt_searchstring=7306 |archive-date=9 December 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[Indravarman I]] (877–889) and his son and successor [[Yasovarman I]] (889–900), who established the capital [[Yasodharapura]] ordered the construction of huge water reservoirs (barays) north of the capital. The water management network depended on elaborate configurations of channels, ponds, and embankments built from huge quantities of clayey sand, the available bulk material on the Angkor plain. Dikes of the [[East Baray]] still exist today, which are more than {{convert|7|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|1.8|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} wide. The largest component is the West Baray, a reservoir about {{convert|8|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|2|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} across, containing approximately 50 million m<sup>3</sup> of water.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://faculty.washington.edu/plape/citiesaut11/readings/Fletcher-water%20management%20in%20angkor%20Antiquity%202008.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://faculty.washington.edu/plape/citiesaut11/readings/Fletcher-water%20management%20in%20angkor%20Antiquity%202008.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title= The water management network of Angkor, Cambodia Roland Fletcher Dan Penny, Damián Evans, Christophe Pottier, Mike Barbetti, Matti Kummu, Terry Lustig & Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap (APSARA) Department of Monuments and Archaeology Team | publisher= University of Washington |access-date=14 July 2015}}</ref>
[[File:Southeast Asian history - 13th century.png|thumb|right|200px|The mainland of Southeast Asia at the end of the 13th century]]
Royal administration was based on the religious idea of the Shivaite Hindu state and the central cult of the sovereign as warlord and protector – the "Varman". This centralised system of governance appointed royal functionaries to provinces. The [[Mahidharapura|Mahidharapura dynasty]] – its first king was [[Jayavarman VI]] (1080 to 1107), which originated west of the [[Dângrêk Mountains]] in the [[Mun river]] valley discontinued the old "ritual policy", genealogical traditions and crucially, [[Hinduism]] as exclusive state religion. Some historians relate the empires' decline to these religious discontinuities.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://studiesofasia.wikispaces.com/file/view/EDAS8003A+Assignment+1+Khmer+civilisation+at+Angkor.pdf |title=The emergence and ultimate decline of the Khmer Empire – Many scholars attribute the halt of the development of Angkor to the rise of Theravada... |publisher=Studies Of Asia |access-date=11 June 2015 |archive-date=20 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200620024207/https://studiesofasia.wikispaces.com/file/view/EDAS8003A+Assignment+1+Khmer+civilisation+at+Angkor.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Lowman 2011">{{cite thesis |last1=Lowman |first1=Ian Nathaniel |title=The Descendants of Kambu: The Political Imagination of Angkorian Cambodia |type=PhD dissertation |publisher=University of California, Berkeley |date=2011 |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/06j1b9tp |access-date=6 March 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

The area that comprises the various capitals was spread out over around {{convert|1000|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}, it is nowadays commonly called [[Angkor]]. The combination of sophisticated wet-rice agriculture, based on an engineered irrigation system and the [[Tonlé Sap]]'s spectacular abundance in fish and aquatic fauna, as protein source guaranteed a regular food surplus. Recent Geo-surveys have confirmed that Angkor maintained the largest pre-industrial settlement complex worldwide during the 12th and 13th centuries – some three quarters of a million people lived there. Sizeable contingents of the public workforce were to be redirected to monument building and [[infrastructure]] maintenance. A growing number of researchers relates the progressive over-exploitation of the delicate local eco-system and its resources alongside large scale [[deforestation]] and resulting [[erosion]] to the empires' eventual decline.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.khamkoo.com/uploads/9/0/0/4/9004485/the_journal_of_the_siam_society_vol._lxxxii_part_1-2_1994.pdf |title=GEOHYDROLOGY AND THE DECLINE OF ANGKOR by HENG L. THUNG |publisher=Khamkoo |access-date=29 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629010703/http://www.khamkoo.com/uploads/9/0/0/4/9004485/the_journal_of_the_siam_society_vol._lxxxii_part_1-2_1994.pdf |archive-date=29 June 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

{{multiple images 
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| image1            = Angkor Wat.jpg
| caption1          = [[Angkor Wat]]
| image2            = Bayon Angkor frontal.jpg
| caption2          = Faces of [[Bodhisattva]] [[Avalokiteshvara]] at [[Bayon|Prasat Bayon]]
}}

Under king [[Suryavarman II]] (1113–1150) the empire reached its greatest geographic extent as it directly or indirectly controlled [[Indochina]], the [[Gulf of Thailand]] and large areas of northern [[maritime Southeast Asia]]. Suryavarman II commissioned the temple of [[Angkor Wat]], built in a period of 37 years, its five towers representing [[Mount Meru]] is considered to be the most accomplished expression of classical [[Khmer architecture]]. However, territorial expansion ended when Suryavarman II was killed in battle attempting to invade [[Đại Việt]]. It was followed by a period of dynastic upheaval and a [[Cham people|Cham]] invasion that culminated in the sack of Angkor in 1177.

[[File:Jayavarman VII Guimet 90508 3.jpg|thumb|200px|Portrait statue of [[Jayavarman VII]]]]
King Jayavarman VII (reigned 1181–1219) is generally considered to be Cambodia's greatest King. A [[Mahayana Buddhism|Mahayana Buddhist]], he initiates his reign by striking back against [[Champa]] in a successful campaign. During his nearly forty years in power he becomes the most prolific monument builder, who establishes the city of [[Angkor Thom]] with its central temple the [[Bayon]]. Further outstanding works are attributed to him – [[Banteay Kdei]], [[Ta Prohm]], [[Neak Pean]] and Sra Srang. The construction of an impressive number of utilitarian and secular projects and edifices, such as maintenance of the extensive road network of [[Suryavarman I]], in particular the royal road to [[Phimai]] and the many rest houses, bridges and hospitals make Jayavarman VII unique among all imperial rulers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://faculty.washington.edu/plape/citiesaut11/readings/Hendrickson--angkor%20roads-Antiquity.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://faculty.washington.edu/plape/citiesaut11/readings/Hendrickson--angkor%20roads-Antiquity.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title= Historie routes to Angkor: development of the Khmer road system (ninth to thirteenth centuries CE) in mainland Southeast Asia by Mitch Hendrickson | publisher= University of Sydney |access-date=14 July 2015}}</ref>

In August 1296, the Chinese diplomat [[Zhou Daguan]] arrived at Angkor and remained at the court of king [[Srindravarman]] until July 1297. He wrote a detailed report, ''[[The Customs of Cambodia]]'', on life in Angkor. His portrayal is one of the most important sources of understanding historical Angkor as the text offers valuable information on the everyday life and the habits of the inhabitants of Angkor.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thegreatkhmerempire.blogspot.com/2011/12/zhou-daguan-record-of-cambodia-siam.html |title= Zhou Daguan-A Record of Cambodia-Siam Society Review by Milton Osborne |date= December 2011 | publisher= The Great Khmer Empire |access-date=13 July 2015}}</ref>

The last Sanskrit inscription is dated 1327, and records the succession of Indrajayavarman by [[Jayavarman IX]] Parameshwara (1327–1336).

The empire was an agrarian state that consisted essentially of three social classes, the elite, workers and slaves. The elite included advisers, military leaders, courtiers, priests, religious ascetics and officials. Workers included agricultural labourers and also a variety of craftsman for construction projects. Slaves were often captives from military campaigns or distant villages. Coinage did not exist and the barter economy was based on agricultural produce, principally rice, with regional trade as an insignificant part of the economy.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://studiesofasia.wikispaces.com/file/view/EDAS8003A+Assignment+1+Khmer+civilisation+at+Angkor.pdf |title=The emergence and ultimate decline of the Khmer Empire was paralleled with development and subsequent change in religious ideology, together with infrastructure that supported agriculture by Kay McCullough |publisher=National Academy of Science |access-date=15 July 2015 |archive-date=20 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200620024207/https://studiesofasia.wikispaces.com/file/view/EDAS8003A+Assignment+1+Khmer+civilisation+at+Angkor.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite book| title=Southeast Asia in the 9th to 14th Centuries |first1=David G. |last1=Marr |first2=Anthony Crothers |last2=Milner |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lon7gmj040MC&pg=PA244 |publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore | date=1986 | page=244 | isbn=978-9971-988-39-5}}</ref>