Fall from power by hayden nguyen
The Angkor/Khmer empire collasped in 1431. It is still unclear exactly how it happened due to a lack of historical documentation. However, there are many possible factors that may have brought down this once great empire.
Different historians and scholars have made theories on how the Angkor/Khmer empire collasped using the evidence they have been able to find. Below are some of the theories. |
an image showing modern day Bayon temple
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- Exhaustion: It is suggested that Jayavarman VII ordered many constructions which exhausted the empire physically and economically. The empire depleted its resources.
- New Religion: Theravada Buddhism was adopted by the Angkor/Khmer empire. For religious reasons, the empire rarely had wars allowing other countries and empires to expand.
- Lost of Control Over Land: Kings after Jayavarman VII may have had difficulties controlling the empire. Eventually the Kings lost control of their empire giving an opportunity for a neighbouring empire known as the Thai to attack. The Thai sacked the Angkor/Khmer empire in 1431.
- Deforestation: The Angkor/Khmer empir was expanding and demand for land was high. This resulted in a lot of deforestation. Consequently, the deforestation led to soil erosion. The soil clogged up irrigation works forcing farmers to go look for more fertile land. This was bad for the empire as it relied heavily on agriculture.
- Climate Change: The empire's growth heavily depended on agriculture which as aided by wet and rainy climate. Cambodia's climate began to change from wet to dry. This would have reduced the effectiveness of agriculture resulting in lack of food.
- Black Plague: Some historians suggest that the Black Plague played a role in the collapse of the Angkor/Khmer empire. Oddly, there is no evidence to support that the plague even reached that part of Asia.
Primary source
A photo taken by Brian Jeffrey Beggerly showing a tree that has grown onto the walls of an Angkor/Khmer temple called Ta Prohm. This image suggests temples like Ta Prohm have long been abandoned allowing trees to grow like this. A circumstance that affects the liability of this website is how old it is. If it is old, Ta Prohm may have been rebuilt and is being used again. This is a primary source because the subject in the photo is original and has not been modified or altered.
secondary source
This website page by K. Kris Hirst explains possible reasons for the Angkor/Khmer empire's downfall. It explains a few reasons why the empire fell. The website page is a secondary source due to the possibility that the information may have been altered or false, meaning it has limited reliability.
REFERENCES
http://archaeology.about.com/od/medieval/qt/Collapse-Of-Angkor.htm
http://www.cambodia-travel.com/khmer/
http://khmerknowledgekeepers.weebly.com/rise-and-fall-of-the-khmer-empire.html
http://www.cambodia-travel.com/khmer/
http://khmerknowledgekeepers.weebly.com/rise-and-fall-of-the-khmer-empire.html
Click on image to view image references