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Read more: C1 to C19 Early history Angkor Wat 
Kings Kings and overlords throughout Cambodian history often included in their reign-names the suffix "varman" which originally meant "armour" and came to mean "protection". The kings sought supernatural protection and they became the source of protection for their people. They were revered as the absolute ruler, the god-king. Angkor Empire The Angkor Empire was at its peak in the 14th century. On the east, its borders encompassed southern Vietnam and the Mekong delta. To the north, it included southern Laos as far as Luang Prabang and touched China. To the west it included Thailand, parts of Burma and extended southeast down to the isthmus of Kra (where Thailand joins Malaysia). Irrigation The wealth of the Cambodian kingdom depended on mastering the extreme monsoon climate that alternated between flood and drought. During the reign of Indravarman (877 - 889), large-scale irrigation of the Mekong River began. The flood protection and irrigation network of tanks, dams and reservoirs were revolutionary in their time. Between the 9th and 14th centuries, the kingdom developed and extended its irrigation system, creating a settled agricultural society. It irrigated around 5.2 million hectares of rice fields and included reclaimed land that had been swamps or covered by jungle scrub. Temples In later centuries, ongoing invasions by Thailand created the need to divert people and resources into defence. This disrupted irrigation and agriculture and also eventually stopped the upkeep of the Angkor temples. During the 15th century nearly all of Angkor was abandoned. Forests gradually covered the temples and they remained largely hidden away for centuries. Only Buddhist pilgrims continued to visit Angkor Wat as a shrine. French naturalist and explorer Henri Mouhot rediscovered the ancient temples during his travels through Thailand, Cambodia and Laos between 1858 and 1861.
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copyright worldvision 2003
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