The Khmer empire was located at South East Asia, along the Mekong River. Its territory extended and covered much of what today is Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Southern Vietnam. The time period of the Khmer empire’s reign was from the 802 CE till the 1432 CE.
The people of the Khmer empire are categorized into 4 main groups. The first group includes kings and the second group includes nobles, officials and priests. The third group includes normal people/citizens and the last group includes slaves.
The main ethnic group are the Khmers. Other ethnic groups that were in the Khmer empire were Vietnamese, Chinese and Muslim Cham which is basically the Khmer Islam and also lots of highland tribes which are known as the Khmer Loeu.
The Khmer empire was mainly Hinduism but there was also some Buddhism. There were lots of temples and were mostly dedicated to either the god Shiva or Vishnu. The Buddhism of the Khmer empire was known as Buddhism of Mahayana. In the 13th century, the Thervada Buddhism was introduced to the Khmer empire from Sri Lanka and had quite a big effect on the royalty and locals. Not only did the people of the Khmer empire practice Hinduism and Buddhism, but some people had their own indigenous beliefs that include the evil spirits, ancestral spirits and local deities.
When Indravarman II died, in the west his Thai subjects rebelled and established the first Thai kingdom at Sukhothai then they pushed back the Khmer. During the thirteenth century most of the statues of Buddha statues in the empire (archaeologists estimate the number at over 10,000, of which few traces remain) were destroyed, and Buddhist temples were converted to Hindu temples; During the same period the construction of the Angkor Wat took place around that time. From the outside, the empire was threatened in 1283 by the Mongols under kublai khan's general Sagatu. There are few historical records from the time following Srindravarman's reign. No further large temples were established. The western neighbor of the Empire, the first Thai kingdom of Sukhothai, was conquered by another Thai kingdom, Ayutthaya, in 1350. After 1352 several assaults on Kambuja were repelled. In 1431, however, the superiority of Ayutthaya was too great, and according the Thailand chronicles, the Thai army conquered Angkor. The center of the residual Khmer kingdom was in the south, in the region of today's Phnom Penh. However, there are indications that Angkor was not completely abandoned, including evidence for the continued use of Angkor Wat. King Ang Chand (reigned 1530-1566) ordered the covering of two hitherto unfilled galleries of that temple with scenes from the Ramayana. Under the rule of king Barom Reachea I (reigned 1566 - 1576), who temporarily succeeded in driving back the Thai, the royal court was briefly returned to Angkor. From the seventeenth century there are inscriptions which testify to Japanese settlements alongside those of the remaining Khmer. The best-known relates that Ukondafu Kazufusa celebrated the Khmer New Year there in 1632. One line of Khmer kings probably remained in Angkor, while a second moved to Phnom Penh to establish a parallel kingdom. The final fall of Angkor would then have been due to the transfer of economic, and therefore political, significance, as Phnom Penh became an important trade centre on the Mekong River. Costly construction projects and conflicts within the royal family sealed the end of the Khmer empire. The kingdom was divided in the tenth century which brought conflict but it reunited internally and able to expand under the rule of Suryavarman II. The final fall of Angkor would then have been due to the transfer of economic, and therefore political, significance. Costly construction projects and conflicts within the royal family sealed the end of the Khmer empire.
khmer empire was one of the first organized political states in Southeast Asia, male members of the family competed to succeed to the throne upon an emperor’s death. Sometimes people would kill or take over the throne. The always came first and was looked upon as a god.
Indravarman I = reigned 877 – 889, expanded the kingdom without waging war, begun building projects using wealth gained through trade and agriculture, Foremost among these were the temple of Preah Ko and irrigation works.
Yasovarman I = ascended to the throne in 889 C.E, A great king and an accomplished builder, he was celebrated by one inscription as "a lion-man; he tore the enemy with the claws of his grandeur; his teeth were his policies; his eyes were the Veda, constructed a new city called Yasodharapura, he also constructed a massive water reservoir measuring roughly 7.5 by 1.8 kilometers called the East Baray.
Jayavarman V = The son of Rajendravarman II, reigned from 968 to c. 1001. After he had established himself as the new king over the other princes, his rule was a largely peaceful period marked by prosperity and cultural flowering.
A decade of conflict followed the death of Jayavarman V. A series of kings reigned only for a few years, and were each violently replaced by his successor.
Until Suryavarman I = reigned 1002 - 1049, His rule was marked by repeated attempts by his opponents to overthrow him and by military conquests, in the west he extended the kingdom to the modern city of Lopburi in Thailand, construction of the West Baray (the second and even larger 8 by 2.2 km) water reservoir after the Eastern Baray began.
Suryavarman II = reigned 1113 - after 1145, the eleventh century was a period of conflict and brutal power struggles but under him the kingdom was united internally and able to expand, conquered the Mon kingdom of Haripunjaya to the west (in today's central Thailand), and the area further west to the border with the kingdom of Bagan (modern Burma), Another period of disturbances, in which kings reigned briefly and were violently overthrown by rebellions or wars, followed his death.
Jayavarman VII = defeated the Cham in battles on the lake and on the land, reigned 1181-after 1206, constructed the walled city of Angkor Thom also temples of Ta Prohm and Preah Khan dedicating them to his parents, In 1181 he ascended the throne and continued the war against the neighboring eastern kingdom for 22 years until the Khmer defeated Champa in 1203 and conquered large parts of its territory, Jayavarman VII is regarded as the last of the great kings of Angkor.
Ruling people:
9th century: Jayavarman II (Parameshvara)
9th century: Jayavarman III (Vishnuloka)
9th century: Rudravarman (Rudreshvara)
9th century-877: Prthivindravarman (Prthivindreshvara)
877-889: Indravarman I (Isvaraloka)
889-910: Yasovarman I (Paramasivaloka)
910-923: Harshavarman I (Rudraloka)
923-928: Isānavarman II (Paramarudraloka)
921-941: Jayavarman IV (Paramasivapada)
941-944: Harshavarman II (Vrahmaloka or Brahmaloka)
944-968: Rājendravarman (Sivaloka)
968-1001: Jayavarman V (Paramasivaloka)
1001-1002?: Udayādityavarman I
1002-1017?: Jayaviravarman
1001-1049: Suryavarman I (Nirvanapada)
1049-1067: Udayādityavarman II
1066-1080?: Harshavarman III (Sadasivapada)
1080-1113?: Jayavarman VI (Paramakaivalyapada)
1107-1112/13: Dharanindravarman I (Paramanishkalapada)
1113-1150: Suryavarman II (not known)
1160-1165/6: Yasovarman II
1166-1177: Tribhuvanāditya (Mahāparamanirvanapada)
1181-1206?: Jayavarman VII (Mahāparamasaugata?)
13th century-1243: Indravarman II
13th century: not known (Paramavisnuloka)
1243 or 1267-1295: Jayavarman VIII (abdicated) (Paramesvarapada)
1295-1308: Srindravarman
- 1308-1327?: Indrajayavarman
The Khmer Empire produced some of the world's most magnificent architectural masterpieces in Angkor. They built several riverways to help transport their crops and the rivers also provided water for their crops. The people mostly relied on agriculture to survive. There were a lot of rice fields and it could feed an empire of 1 million people and had enough to trade to other empires. 121 rest-houses were built for traders and Phnom Penh was an important trade center on the Mekong River.
1431 = Thai invaders (Siamese) conquered Angkor (capital of khmer empire).
tenth century = the kingdom split.
death of Jayavarman = a decade of conflict and series of kings reigned only for a few years and were each violently replaced by his successor.
reign of Suryavarman I = repeated attempts by his opponents to overthrow him and by military conquests.
eleventh century = a period of conflict and brutal power struggles.
Suryavarman II = Another period of disturbances in which kings reigned briefly and were violently overthrown by rebellions or wars.
The Cham forces = sacked the Khmer capital of Yasodharapura and killed the reigning king incorporating Kambuja as a province of Champa but later on Jayavarman VII rallied his people and defeated the Cham.
Indravarman II = Thai subjects rebelled, established the first Thai kingdom at Sukhothai and pushed back the Khmer.
1283 = the khmer empire was threatened by the Mongols.
1431 = the superiority of Ayutthaya was too great, and, according the Thailand/Thai chronicles, the Thai army conquered Angkor.
- between 1145 and 1150 = Suryavarman II died during a military expedition which weakened the kingdom considerably.
The biggest technological advancement in the Khmer empire was water management. The water management system would stretch to 1,200 kilometers (460 square miles) and connects the natural lake called Tonle Sap with other large and man made lakes. Water quantities would change drastically and to keep up with that they would:
Raise the elevation of the houses
Build small ponds at house level and large ponds at village level
Bibliography
Khmer Empire Water Management System - Archaeology - About.com
Cambodia Travel: Religion of Khmer Civilization
Khmer Facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about Khmer
Society in Angkor and the Khmer Empire
Southeast Asian art and architecture: Khmer Art - Infoplease
Cambodia | history - geography | Britannica.com
Khmer - Introduction, Location, Language, Folklore, Religion, Major holidays, Rites of passage
The Collapse of the Khmer Empire - An Expert from “The Watchman’s Rattle” | Rebecca Costa - Blog
http://www.encyclopedia.com/article-1G2-3048600041/khmer-empire.html
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Khmer_Empire
http://www.ancient.eu/Khmer_Empire/