The great medieval metropolis of Angkor (formerly Yasopdharapura) on the Indochinese Peninsula in modern-day Cambodia was a significant trade capital of the Middle Ages and the New York City of its day. At that time, it was the most populous city in the world–a million inhabitants strong– sitting at a cultural crossroads. The city was built during the 600-year reign of the Khmer Empire, which saw the conversion of the state religion from Hinduism to Buddhism.
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Sign up for freeAngkor was prominent during which period of world history?
In what modern-day country was the Khmer largely located?
What two religions were most influential in the Khmer Empire's history?
What was the name of the famous capital of the Khmer empire?
What was the name of the Khmer empire's famous religious site, the largest in the world?
Angkor was prominent during which period of world history?
In what modern-day country was the Khmer largely located?
What two religions were most influential in the Khmer Empire's history?
What was the name of the famous capital of the Khmer empire?
What was the name of the Khmer empire's famous religious site, the largest in the world?
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But what was life in Angkor like? What were its farmers, traders, and merchants dealing in as a trade hub? What sort of goods could you find there? Most of us have seen the picture-postcard views of the massive temple complex at the city's heart, Angkor Wat, an astounding stone complex deep in the jungle. Let's look beyond that and learn more about this compelling bucket-list destination soaked in history.
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In its late-medieval period heyday, Angkor was a significant center of trade along the Indian Ocean routes and the largest city in the world when many of its considerable capitals were mere hamlets. This burgeoning metropolis housed countless landmarks, hospitals, and residences. It is located north of the central Tonlé Sap Lake on the Mekong River.
The stone temples at Angkor Wat are the main surviving structures here, so vast–400 acres–that residents considered the site a city within the city of Angkor. Angkor, translated means "temple city." Its original name, Yasopdharapura, means "glory-bearing city."
When Angkorian society began, Paris and London were not much more than elaborate villages. Europe was crawling with Barbarians, and here were the Khmer engineering sophisticated irrigation systems and constructing the biggest temple in the world.3
- Author Kim Fay
Trade during the Khmer (or Angkorian) empire centered around the Mekong River, the seventh largest river in the world. Much of the history of Angkor is rooted in Indian Ocean Trade via access points of the Andaman Sea and the southern Strait of Malacca. This influence expressed itself through India's culture, goods, and religion and showed its traces in the many Hindu reliefs found at Angkor Wat.
Relief (noun) or bas-relief - stone carvings found in medieval walls that are three-dimensional and stick out from the walls themselves. The image below shows a drawing made from a Khmer bas-relief.
Fig. 1 - Drawing (left) made from bas-relief (right)
Reflecting this multiculturalism, the Khmer Empire was an efficient and highly religious state that vacillated between Hinduism and Buddhism. The Khmer people that inhabited the empire were an Austroasiatic ethnic group. The Khmer spoke what is also known as the Khmer language.
Origin stories tell the tale of an Indian Brahmin priest who fell for a Naga princess. According to legend, the two married, and the girl's father led them to the Cambodian kingdom. Historians date the first Khmer migration from Southern China into Northern India into Cambodia at about 2000 BCE.
In reality, the Khmer Empire was founded by Jayavarman ll (ca. 802-850 CE), its first proper emperor, in 802 CE, and lasted a good six centuries before falling in 1431 CE. As the Medieval period fell between the fifth and fifteenth centuries CE, Angkor qualifies as a genuinely Medieval city, reaching its height just as European maritime empires were preparing to launch themselves onto the world stage.
Angkor was a complex, king-based society. Rice farmers were an integral part of the population, as they were responsible for building the temples and feeding the upper classes. Khmer builders were second to none, and their engineering methods continue to astonish even now. The Khmer used ancient farming techniques that have little changed over the centuries. Khmer feats of engineering included reservoirs and perfectly straight roads. They were also highly skilled in creating stone and wood art. The walls of Angkor boast stunning bas-reliefs depicting the Champa, the chief foe of the Khmer, attacking.
Around the same time in the twelfth century, a new king was crowned by the name of Jayavarman Vll (ca. 1122-1218). He had visited the old city, as the capital had moved to another location before his rule. He then decided to rebuild the city walls at Angkor and place his Temple Mount, Bayon, right at its center (Refer to fig. 4).
Fig. 2 - Temples at Angkor Wat
Fun fact: Did you know Cambodia is the only country to picture a "ruin" on its flag? The temple complex of Angkor Wat has been on every Cambodian flag since it gained independence from France in 1953.
The figure below depicts the major trade routes of Southeast Asia. The map shows the Khmer Empire in pink in what is today in Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, and Southern Vietnam. The map shows the River Mekong, the main artery of Angkor, as a thin red line bisecting this landscape, flowing from Angkor into the South China Sea. The great river covers about 5,000 miles and six countries: Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, China, and Vietnam.
Goods traded among the Khmer were mostly natural resources culled from the forest, including tusks, feathers, spices, silk, gold, and wax. Chinese goods were also in high demand in Khmer marketplaces. Traces of pottery found by archaeologists have helped them chart relationships among the Khmer elites and international clientele.
Fig. 3 -trade routes of SE Asia
Now let's take a closer look at Angkor itself.
The figure below shows the great city Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat within that, almost a city with its massive stone temples and labyrinthine design deep within the jungle. The cluster of structures in the middle of Angkor Thom features Bayon, the Temple Mount of Jayavarman Vll.
Fig 4 - Angkor Map
Did you know that the temple at Angkor Wat, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is considered one of the world's seven wonders?
Apart from harboring a wealth of natural resources for the Chinese, the Khmer also specialized in the trade of certain goods that were important for this market. At the top of the list of these goods were silver and ceramics. When the area became a French protectorate in the 19th century, the French unearthed chunks of pottery fashioned from both. These archaeological artifacts became crucial in tracing the relationships of the Khmer with the great web of trade networks in Southeast Asia.
They do not produce gold or silver in Cambodia, I believe, and so they hold Chinese gold and silver in the highest regard. Next they value items made of fine, double-threaded silk in various colors. Next after that, they value such things as pewter ware from Zhenzhou, lacquer dished from Wenzhou, and celadon ware from Quanzhou and Chuzhou, as well as mercury, cinnabar, writing paper, sulfur, saltpeter, sandalwood, lovage, angelica, musk, hemp, yellow grasscloth, umbrellas, iron pots, copper dishes, glass balls, tung tree oil, fine-toothed combs, wooden combs, and needles – and of the ordinary heavier items, mats from Mingzhou. Beans are what are particularly sought after, but they cannot be taken there.2
- Author Zhou Daguan
protectorate (noun) - a country that receives protection from–and is therefore controlled by–another.
As you can see in Figure 3, the temple at Angkor Wat is positioned on the south side of a massive complex in one of the world's most recognizable religious sites. Below you will find a list of facts about this sacred location to which pilgrims of multiple faiths have flocked for centuries.
Fig. 5 - Vishnu and his avatars
Vishnu is one of the major gods in Hinduism. He has six arms and up to ten avatars, including Rama and Krishna. Vishnu may take many forms while fighting to defend dharma, but his avatars may not always fight for good–they are occasionally destructive.
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What did the Angkor Empire trade?
The Angkor empire traded mostly forest-based natural resources: tusks, feathers, spices, silk, wax, and gold to name a few.
What kinds of Chinese goods were the Khmer interested in trading in Angkor?
Mostly silver and ceramic items. Also gold, silk, pewter, pots, dishes, oils, and assorted tableware.
What did the people of Angkor grow?
Rice.
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