The Fall of Angkor: Climate Collapse and the End of an Empire

The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History · May 6, 2026 · 5m · transcript

For centuries, the Khmer Empire thrived at the heart of Southeast Asia, its monumental temples and vast waterworks a testament to its power. But by the 14th century, Angkor began to unravel—not at the hands of invaders, but under the weight of its own success. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the dramatic collapse of the Khmer Empire, a story of over-engineering, climate extremes, and a civilization pushed to its breaking point. Drawing on tree-ring data, LIDAR scans, and inscriptions, they piece together how decades of drought followed by torrential monsoons turned Angkor's…