1181
King Jayavarman VII is crowned
after he expels Cham forces
from Cambodia. The empire
will reach the peak of its
splendor under his reign.
14th-15th centuries
Severe monsoons and
floods damage the irrigation
infrastructure of the complex.
Despite depopulation, Angkor
Wat will still function as a temple.ca 1200
Jayavarman VII builds Angkor
Thom north of Angkor Wat. The
city centers on the Buddhist
Bayon temple, reflecting a shift
away from Hinduism.ca 1431
The neighboring kingdom of
Ayutthaya attacks the Khmer. The
capital moves south to Phnom Penh,
triggering the decline of Angkor as a
political center.NEAK PEANMe
ko
ngTonleSapIrr
aw
ad
dySouth
China SeaGulf of
ThailandAndaman
SeaCH
AM
PABaganBagoAyutthayaVientianePhnom
PenhSiem ReapAngkorSukhothaiLuang Hanoi
Prabang
Chiang MaiThaton IndrapuraSri KsetraKhmer Empire, circa 800Khmer Empire, circa 1100
Khmer Empire, circa 1210Town with inscriptions and
monumental religious buildingsKhmer Empire0 150 300 mi
0 150 300 kmCITY IN THE JUNGLE
Dense vegetation dominates the
landscape today, and the temples
of Angkor appear isolated, like
islands half subsumed by jungle.
In its heyday in the 12th and 13th
centuries, the Khmer capital was
an urban macro-complex, as
shown here. Some estimate its
peak population in the hundreds
of thousands. Angkor was home
to carved wooden palaces and
sumptuously decorated temples.
Beyond the city walls, dwellings
raised on pillars dotted the rice
paddies, ponds, and canals—the
latter a testimony to the Khmer’s
genius for water engineering.NG^MAPSEAST BARAY AND TA PROHM445566778899ILLUSTRATION: RAIDEN STUDIO