Shows / The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Khmer Empire, which dominated Southeast Asia from the 9th to the 15th centuries, left behind the sprawling temple complex of Angkor Wat—but its story is far more than stone and sandstone. Hosts Lucas and Luna guide listeners through the rise of the empire under King Jayavarman II in 802 CE, the construction of Angkor Wat by Suryavarman II, and the reign of Jayavarman VII, who built the walled city of Angkor Thom and the enigmatic Bayon with its 216 smiling faces. Along the way, they explore…
Episodes
The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo HistoryThe Elephant Corps of Angkor: War and Majesty
When you picture Angkor, you might think of temple spires and stone faces. But behind the grandeur stood an animal that carried kings, crushed enemies, and…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Lost City of Angkor: Collapse and Survival
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the forgotten history of Angkor's final centuries. The great Khmer capital, once the largest city in the medieval…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Hidden City of Angkor: Life Beyond the Temples
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the everyday world of Angkor beyond its famous stone temples. They discuss the wooden houses on stilts, the markets…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Temple That Turned to Stone: Angkor Wat's Hidden History
Angkor Wat is the largest religious monument on Earth, but its story goes far beyond its famous silhouette. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Sugar Palm and the Sweetness of Angkor's Everyday Life
In this episode of Fexingo History, Lucas and Luna explore the humble sugar palm (Borassus flabellifer), a tree that sweetened the Khmer Empire and shaped its…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Churning of the Sea: Angkor's Cosmic Creation Myth
In this episode, Lucas and Luna dive deep into one of Angkor's most iconic and enigmatic scenes: the churning of the sea of milk, a Hindu creation myth…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Chams Who Toppled Angkor: 1177's Forgotten Invaders
In 1177, the unthinkable happened: Angkor fell, not to a rival Khmer faction, but to a naval armada of Chams sailing up the Mekong and across the Tonlé Sap…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
Angkor's Broken Promise: The Water Crisis That Ended an Empire
For centuries, Angkor thrived on an ingenious network of canals and reservoirs that tamed the monsoon. But when climate turned brutal in the 1300s, that same…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
Angkor's Bronze Age: The Metallurgy That Built an Empire
Before the sandstone temples, before the great barays, the Khmer Empire was forged in fire and bronze. This episode digs into the metallurgical roots of Angkor…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Chariot Moat of Angkor: The Battle of Tonlé Sap
In 1177, the Cham launched a daring naval raid up the Tonlé Sap river, sacking Angkor and ending the rule of King Tribhuvanaditya. The city was left in ruins…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Woman Who Ran Angkor: Indradevi's Hidden Power
This episode of Fexingo History turns to one of the most overlooked figures in Khmer history: Indradevi, the scholarly queen of Jayavarman VII. While her…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Poisoned Crown: Angkor's Assassination and the Rise of Jayavarman VIII
In 1260 AD, the Khmer court was shaken by a shocking assassination that changed the course of Angkor's history. King Jayavarman VIII, a devout Shaivite…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Great Lake: Tonlé Sap and the Pulse of Angkor
This episode of Fexingo History dives into the Tonlé Sap, the vast lake that anchored the Khmer Empire. Lucas and Luna explore how the lake's…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Canal That Built Angkor: Waterways of an Empire
Lucas and Luna explore the hidden arteries of the Khmer Empire—the canals and waterways that connected Angkor to the Tonlé Sap and beyond. From the ancient…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
Angkor's Last Great King: Jayavarman VII's Final Chapters
In this episode, we trace the final years of Jayavarman VII, the Khmer king who built Angkor Thom, the Bayon, and Ta Prohm. After decades of monumental…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
Angkor's Sandstone: The Quarries That Built an Empire
In this episode, Lucas and Luna dig into the stone beneath Angkor's glory — the vast sandstone quarries of Phnom Kulen that supplied the temples'…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Khmer Empire's Last King: Suryavarman II's Final Years
In the dying decades of the Khmer Empire, one king tried to hold it all together. Suryavarman II, best known for building Angkor Wat, spent his reign fighting…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
Angkor's Nightlife: The City After Dark
Most histories of Angkor show a city of stone temples and rice fields under a blazing sun. But what happened when the sun went down? In this episode, Lucas and…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Khmer Empire's Highways: The Roads That Bound Angkor
Before the motorcades and the asphalt, the Khmer Empire built a network of highways that stretched from Angkor to the edges of its domain. This episode follows…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Khmer Empire's Forgotten Capital: Yasodharapura's Rise
Before Angkor Thom, before the Bayon, there was Yasodharapura—the city that King Yasovarman I carved out of the jungle in the late 9th century. This episode…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Rice That Built Angkor: A Grain's Hidden History
Before Angkor Wat rose from the jungle, a humble grain made it possible. In this episode, Lucas and Luna trace the story of Khmer rice — from the floating…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Khmer Empire's Living Gods: Bronze & Stone Devata
In this episode of Fexingo History, Lucas and Luna explore the role of devata — the celestial goddesses carved across Angkor's temples. From the apsaras…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Sugar Palm and the Sweetness of Angkor's Everyday Life
In this episode of The Khmer Empire, Lucas and Luna explore the humble sugar palm, the tree that sweetened daily life in Angkor and shaped its economy. From…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Khmer Empire's Water System: How Angkor Mastered the Monsoon
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the engineering marvels behind Angkor's rise: the intricate baray reservoirs, canals, and embankments that…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Khmer Empire's Lost City: Banteay Prei Nokor's Stone Secrets
Before Angkor rose, the Khmer Empire's earliest capital hummed with life at Banteay Prei Nokor, a sprawling stone city hidden in the jungles of Kompong…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Koh Ker Pyramid: A Forgotten Khmer Capital
In 921 CE, a Khmer king named Jayavarman IV abandoned Angkor and built a new capital deep in the jungle: Koh Ker. For two decades, this remote site was the…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Khmer Empire's Salt Industry: Mining Angkor's 'White Gold'
Long before Angkor Wat rose from the jungle, salt was the foundation of the Khmer Empire's economy and power. In this episode, Lucas and Luna dig into the…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
Khmer Empire Inscriptions: Decoding Angkor's Stone Records
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Khmer Empire through its stone inscriptions — the primary historical sources that survived the tropical climate…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
Jayavarman VIII: The King Who Unmade Angkor's Buddhist Gods
After the devout Buddhist king Jayavarman VII died, his successor Jayavarman VIII — a staunch Shaivite — launched a sweeping iconoclastic campaign across the…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Cham Sack of Angkor and the Rise of Jayavarman VII
In 1177, a Cham fleet sailed up the Mekong and Tonlé Sap, catching the Khmer capital by surprise. The city of Angkor was sacked, its temples looted, and the…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
Angkor Wat Bas-Reliefs: History Carved in Stone
Step inside the first gallery of Angkor Wat, where the walls are covered in the world's longest continuous stone bas-reliefs. This episode takes you panel…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
Queen Indradevi: Scholar, Queen, and Teacher of Angkor
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the life of Queen Indradevi, one of the most remarkable figures of the Khmer Empire. A scholar, teacher, and queen…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
Preah Vihear: The Cliffside Temple of the Khmer Empire
Perched on the edge of a 500-meter cliff in the Dangrek Mountains, Preah Vihear is one of the most dramatic and spiritually significant temples of the Khmer…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Bayon: Jayavarman VII's Temple of a Thousand Faces
Step inside the Bayon, the enigmatic state temple at the heart of Angkor Thom, built by King Jayavarman VII in the late 12th century. Unlike Angkor Wat's…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
Khmer Empire and the Mongols: Diplomacy Under the Shadow of the Steppe
When Kublai Khan's envoys arrived at Angkor in 1283, King Jayavarman VIII faced an impossible choice: submit to the Mongol Empire or risk annihilation…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Baphuon: Angkor's Mountain of Bronze Puzzle
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Baphuon, an 11th-century temple mountain at Angkor built by King Udayadityavarman II. Once among the grandest…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
Tonlé Sap: The Inland Ocean That Fed Angkor
The Tonlé Sap, Southeast Asia's largest freshwater lake, was the beating heart of the Khmer Empire. This episode explores how its unique seasonal flood…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Lost City of Mahendraparvata: Jayavarman II's Hidden Capital
Deep in the Cambodian jungle on Phnom Kulen mountain, a lost city lay hidden for centuries. Mahendraparvata, founded by Jayavarman II in 802 CE, was the first…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
Angkor Wat: Suryavarman II's Temple That Faces West
We explore the origins of Angkor Wat, the world's largest religious monument, built by King Suryavarman II in the 12th century. Unlike other Khmer…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Fall of Angkor: Climate, Neglect and the Abandonment of a City
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the final decline of the Khmer Empire after the 13th century. They discuss how the breakdown of the water management…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
Chandragupta Maurya: From Peacock Whisperer to Emperor
In this episode of Fexingo History, Lucas and Luna explore the unlikely rise of Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of the Maurya Empire. We start with the legend…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Khmer Empire's Banteay Chhmar: Angkor's Forgotten Megalith
Banteay Chhmar, a colossal temple complex in northwestern Cambodia, is often called 'Angkor's forgotten megalith.' Built largely under…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
Jayavarman VII's Royal Hospitals: The Khmer Empire's Healthcare Network
In this episode of The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat, Lucas and Luna explore Jayavarman VII's ambitious network of 102 state-run…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Leper King: Yasovarman I and Angkor's Enigmatic Statue
This episode dives into the mystery of the Leper King statue at Angkor Thom. Lucas and Luna explore the identity of the figure depicted, whether it represents…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Silk Roads of Angkor: Khmer Empire's Overland Trade
When we think of the Khmer Empire, we picture Angkor Wat rising from the jungle, or the stone faces of the Bayon. But behind those monuments was a vast…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Khmer Empire's Elephant Corps: War and Logistics
Lucas and Luna explore the Khmer Empire's use of war elephants, from the Cham invasion of 1177 to the battle of Angkor in 1431. They discuss how elephants…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
Indravarman I and the Baray: Engineering Angkor's Water Empire
Before Angkor Wat, before Jayavarman VII's vast hospitals, there was Indravarman I — a 9th-century king who transformed Khmer agriculture and laid the…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Megalithic Jars of the Khmer Empire's Uplands
Angkor's sandstone temples are world-famous, but deep in the Cardamom Mountains and along the Mekong's upper tributaries, Khmer builders left behind…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Abandonment of Angkor: Climate, War and the Fall of a City
For centuries historians assumed Angkor was sacked and abandoned in a single catastrophic event — but the truth is far more complex. In this episode, Lucas and…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Leper King Statue Mystery and Angkor's Hidden Beliefs
In this episode of The Khmer Empire, we revisit the Terrace of the Leper King in Angkor Thom to explore one of Angkor's strangest artifacts: a nude…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
Suryavarman I's Conquest of the Menam Valley and the Rise of Angkor
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the reign of Suryavarman I (r. 1006–1050), the ambitious Khmer king who expanded the empire westward into the Menam…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Khmer Navy: Angkor's Forgotten River War Against Champa
When we imagine the Khmer Empire, we think of stone temples and rice paddies, not warships. But in the 12th century, Angkor fought a decades-long naval…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Sdok Kak Thom Inscription: Khmer Empire's Founding Text
In this episode, Lucas and Luna dive into one of the most important documents from the Khmer Empire: the Sdok Kak Thom inscription, a 1052 CE stone slab that…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Cham Invasion of 1177: Angkor's Greatest Defeat
In 1177, the Khmer Empire suffered its most devastating military defeat when a Cham fleet sailed up the Mekong and Tonlé Sap rivers, sacked the capital…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
Jayavarman VIII's Anti-Buddhist Purge and the Fall of Mahayana at Angkor
In the late 13th century, the Khmer Empire underwent a violent religious upheaval. King Jayavarman VIII, a fervent Hindu, launched a systematic campaign to…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Leper King: Angkor's Strangest Statue and Its Secret
Who was the Leper King? For centuries, a mysterious statue at Angkor Thom has puzzled historians and visitors alike. This episode peels back the layers of…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Priest Who Defied Angkor: The 13th-Century Buddhist Schism
In late 13th-century Angkor, a Theravada Buddhist monk named Suo Du arrived from Sri Lanka and sparked a religious revolution. His teachings challenged the…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Leper King: Angkor's Strangest Statue and Its Secret
In this episode of The Khmer Empire, Lucas and Luna explore one of Angkor's most mysterious figures: the Leper King. They discuss the enigmatic statue at…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Cham Invasion of 1177: Angkor's Greatest Defeat
In 1177, the Khmer Empire suffered its most humiliating defeat when a Cham fleet sailed up the Mekong and Tonlé Sap rivers, sacked the capital Yasodharapura…
- The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History
The Preah Khan Inscription: Jayavarman VII's Lost Foundation Text
Episode 158 of The Khmer Empire podcast deciphers the Preah Khan inscription, the longest and most detailed foundation text from Angkor. Discovered by French…