Angkor's Water Wars: The Battle for Tonle Sap

The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History · Sep 10, 2026 · 5m · transcript

We often think of Angkor as a city of stone, but its true power lay in the water. This episode explores the strategic importance of the Tonlé Sap lake and the Siem Reap River system during the reign of Jayavarman VII. Following the devastating Cham invasion of 1177, which arrived by ship on the very waters that fed the empire, Jayavarman VII didn't just rebuild temples; he re-engineered the landscape to prevent future naval attacks. We look at how he fortified the riverbanks, expanded the barays, and used hydraulic engineering as a defensive weapon. Through the accounts of Zhou Daguan…