Lavishly illustrated with maps, plans, drawings and photographs, Angkor and the Khmer Civilization presents a concise but complete picture of the extraordinary society and culture of medieval Angkor for all those interested in Southeast Asian culture and in the rise and decline of ancient civilizations.
The ancient city of Angkor with the awe-inspiring Angkor Wat, the world's largest religious structure, has fascinated Westerners since its rediscovery in the mid-nineteenth century. Interest has recently intensified with renewed access to Cambodia. Thanks to the pioneering work of scholars over the past 125 years and modern techniques such as remote sensing from the space shuttle, a great deal is now known about the brilliant Khmer civilization.
The Classic-period Khmer kings ruled over their part-Hindu and part-Buddhist empire from AD 802 for more than five centuries. This period saw the construction of many architectural masterpieces, including the huge capital city of Angkor. Numerous other provincial centres were scattered across the Cambodian Plain, northeast Thailand, southern Laos and southern Vietnam. The gigantic hydraulic system, still a source of controversy, is believed by many to have provided the agricultural basis of Angkor's power, and its nature and function are analyzed here.
Khmer civilization by no means disappeared with the abandonment of Angkor, and the final chapter describes the conversion of the Khmer to a different kind of Buddhism, the move of the capital downriver, and the reorientation of the Khmer state to maritime trade. This period set the stage for the entry of the Khmer into the modern era.
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