How Water Built and Destroyed This Powerful Empire
Transcript
Angkor was once a thriving ancient Khmer empire in Cambodia.
The empire was founded in the 9th century and met its demise in the early 15th century.
Researchers attribute Angkor’s demise to a series of catastrophic events: severe drought followed by intense flooding.
Water was central to the development of Angkor.
Channels and reservoirs were constructed to collect and store water for agricultural use.
The control of water also played a religious role in Angkor society.
At the Kbal Spean headwaters, various symbols are carved into the riverbed to sanctify the water flowing into Angkor.
In the 1300s, Angkor began suffering from a persistent drought, followed by several years of unusually strong monsoon rains.
The city’s water management system couldn’t cope with the intense flooding … and it’s infrastructure suffered intense damage.
Evidence of the destruction is seen in these remains of this bridge in Angkor Thom.
Angkor eventually collapsed … its ruins remained unknown to the West until the 1860s.
