30 Facts About Khmer Empire

1.

Khmer Empire, or the Angkorian Empire, is a term used by historians to refer to Cambodia from the 9th to the 15th centuries, when the nation was a Hindu-Buddhist empire in Southeast Asia.

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2.

At its peak, the Khmer Empire was larger than the Byzantine Empire, which existed around the same time.

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3.

Researchers have concluded that the Khmer Empire invented the world's first healthcare system which included 102 hospitals.

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4.

Khmer Empire then moved his court northwest to Mahendraparvata, far inland north from the great lake of Tonle Sap.

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5.

Khmer Empire declared himself Chakravartin in a ritual taken from the Hindu tradition, thereby not only becoming the divinely appointed and therefore uncontested ruler, but simultaneously declaring the independence of his kingdom from Java.

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6.

Khmer Empire took up again the extensive building schemes of the earlier kings and established a series of temples in the Angkor area, not the least being the East Mebon, a temple located on an artificial island in the center of the East Baray, and several Buddhist temples, such as Pre Rup, and monasteries.

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7.

Khmer Empire established a new capital slightly west of his father's and named it Jayendranagari; its state temple, Ta Keo, was to the south.

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8.

Khmer Empire had already been a military leader as a prince under the previous kings.

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9.

Khmer Empire ascended the throne and continued the war against the neighbouring eastern kingdom for another 22 years, until the Khmer defeated Champa in 1203 and conquered large parts of its territory.

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10.

Khmer Empire unified the empire and carried out noteworthy building projects.

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11.

Khmer Empire was neither the first nor the last Chinese representative to visit Kambuja.

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12.

Khmer Empire's stay is notable because Zhou Daguan later wrote a detailed report on life in Angkor.

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13.

Khmer Empire's portrayal is today one of the most important sources of understanding historical Angkor.

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14.

Khmer Empire'storians have proposed different causes for the decline: the religious conversion from Vishnuite-Shivaite Hinduism to Theravada Buddhism that affected social and political systems, incessant internal power struggles among Khmer princes, vassal revolt, foreign invasion, plague, and ecological breakdown.

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15.

The Khmer empire focused more on the domestic economy and did not take advantage of the international maritime network.

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16.

Angkor was besieged by the Ayutthayan king Uthong in 1352, and following its capture the next year, the Khmer Empire monarch was replaced with successive Siamese princes.

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17.

New centre of the Khmer Empire kingdom was in the southwest, at Oudong in the region of today's Phnom Penh.

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18.

However, in following decades the Japanese community was absorbed into the local Khmer Empire community, owing to the lack of new Japanese arrivals and very little possibility of renewing their community.

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19.

Much of what is known of the ancient Khmer Empire society comes from the many bas-reliefs and the first-hand Chinese accounts of Zhou Daguan, which provide information on 13th-century Cambodia and earlier.

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20.

The bas-reliefs of Angkor temples, such as those in Bayon, describe everyday life of the ancient Khmer Empire kingdom, including scenes of palace life, naval battles on the river or lakes, and common scenes of the marketplace.

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21.

Role of women in the trade and economy of the Khmer Empire suggests that they enjoyed significant rights and freedom.

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22.

Khmer Empire kings were often involved in series of wars and conquests.

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23.

Some Khmer Empire kings embarked on military conquests and war against neighbouring Champa, Dai Viet, and Thai warlords.

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24.

The Khmer Empire had double bow crossbows mounted on elephants, which Michel JacqHergoualc'h suggests were elements of Cham mercenaries in Jayavarman VII's army.

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25.

Khmer Empire architecture reflects the Hindu belief that the temple was built to recreate the abode of Hindu gods, Mount Meru, with its five peaks and surrounded by seas represented by ponds and moats.

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26.

The early Khmer Empire temples built in the Angkor region and the Bakong temple in Hariharalaya employed stepped pyramid structures to represent the sacred temple-mountain.

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27.

Khmer Empire described the story of a Khmer king who defied the power of Maharaja of Zabaj.

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28.

The Khmer Empire rulers established relations with the Chola dynasty of South India.

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29.

Khmer Empire seems to have maintained contact with Chinese dynasties; spanning from the late Tang period to the Yuan period.

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30.

Javanese source, the Nagarakretagama canto 15, composed in 1365 in the Majapahit Khmer Empire, claimed Java had established diplomatic relations with Kambuja together with Syangkayodhyapura, Dharmmanagari, Rajapura and Singhanagari, Marutma, Champa and Yawana .

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