The Decline and Fall of Angkor - Rulers of the Khmer Empire #12

Following the death of Jayavarman VII, the Khmer Empire begins to gradually fall apart. Ever fewer inscriptions and stone monuments can be found at the capital, and various regions start to break free and even launch raids on it. That being said, Angkor was still a wealthy, densely populated and impressive city by the time the Chinese diplomat Zhou Daguan arrived 200 years later. The first of Jayavarman's successors was his son Indravarman II. We don't know a whole lot about him, but he seems to have enlarged or completed some of his father's temples. It was also during his time that the Sukhothai kingdom under C Indrateet as well as the kingdom of Champa broke free from the Khmers. In 1243, he is succeeded by Jayavarman VIII, who reverts from Buddhism to Hinduism. In 1283, the Mongol forces under Kublai Khan reaches his borders, forcing him to pay tribute to bespare what would have been a devastating invasion. A couple of years later, records from Mongol-controlled China state that he presented, quote, the usual tribute of gold, elephant ivory and other things. Jayavarman VIII also suffered a devastating war against the Sukhothai kingdom, and lost control over the Mon people in 1290. Not long before being deposed, five years later, he dedicated a small Hindu shrine called the Mangalarta, which is the last monument at Angkor, to be dated with any precision. The next king was his son-in-law, Indravarman III, a follower of the Theravada branch of Buddhism. He is succeeded by the Hindu Indra Jayavarman in 1308, and in 1327, his son Jayavarman IX inherits the throne. He is the last king to be mentioned on the monuments, and the last Sanskrit inscription in Cambodia dates from his reign, which lasted up until 1336. Angkor continued to be inhabited to some degree after this, but by the 15th century it had been completely abandoned with the exception of Angkor Wat, which remained a Buddhist shrine. There are several theories surrounding the fall of the Khmer Empire. One of them claims that it had to do with the conversion to Theravada Buddhism. Compared to the lavish rituals associated with Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism, the Theravada branch was much more austere, and may have undermined the religious institutions upon which the state was built. Another factor would be the constant Thai military campaigns. They are recorded to have attacked Angkor in 1369, 1389, and in 1431, but there were most likely many other attacks as well. Plague may also play this part, as well as deteriorating infrastructure and changes in climate. This led to the center of power being drawn southwards, to the vicinity of Phnom Penh, and changed the economy from one based on intensive rice farming to one based more on trade. Following the decline of Angkor, the so-called Dark Ages of Cambodia begin. For over 200 years, there is not a single contemporary record of even a king's name, and with a brief exception in the 1500s, the country would never regain its dominant position. Thus, the mighty empire that had lasted for over half a millennia slowly faded away. But even so, left in the jungles of Southeast Asia, the overgrown ruins of its great cities and temples remained, and continue to serve as reminders of its former greatness.