The Downfall of a Civilisation
Angkor is the scene of one of the greatest vanishing acts of all time. While there are thousands of inscriptions adorning the site's stones walls, none of them explain the kingdom's collapse. Many theories as to why this vast civilisation died out have been put forward by scholars over the years, but it is generally agreed that there seems to have been a combination of significant factors.
Continual attacks on the city over the centuries from Champa to the east, and the formidable kingdom of Ayutthaya to the west, would certainly have been one contributing factor. Inscriptions at the Khmer city indicate that the temple towers were clad in gold, which would have made it a very rich prize to an envious rival. Thai history claims that Ayutthaya took Angkor in 1431, which was close to the time when it is evident that there was no further construction or expansion in the region.
The changing religious beliefs of the people may have also been important in the loss of control the rulers had over their people. Religion was central to daily life in Angkor and it is evident that Buddhism gradually eclipsed Hinduism in the 13th and 14th centuries. With this change it is believed that the kings, who had always been champions of the Hindu faith, lost a significant hold on their constituents, who had embraced this new, egalitarian belief system. The 300,000 plus farm labourers, priests, dancers and temple workers who were required to maintain the city, shifted allegiances and became more focused on social equality. This would have definitely eroded royal authority.
With the emergence of maritime trade routes in South East Asia, the inland city would have found itself increasingly falling behind the rest of the world. The Khmer centre of power would have been forced to slowly move closer to the Mekong River, located near Cambodia's present day capital, Phnom Penh. This move would have enabled easier access to the South China Sea and the developing Chinese trade route.
Of all these elements, it is perhaps the basic lack of water which drove the residents away from their spiritual home. Evidence has been found that the sophisticated network of canals and large reservoirs called Barays, ran dry for a period in the 13th century. These seemingly drought proof feats of engineering were unequalled in size by any other civilisation of the time. They harnessed the monsoon tide that flowed from the hills and the Mekong River, which reverses its flow in the wet season. Factors showing that the reservoirs were empty include the discovery of traces of certain species of plant life, which prefer marsh or dry land, in the middle of the West Baray. Centuries old trees in the region also prove quite telling. Sets of constricted growth rings between 1350 and 1440 indicated a very severe drought occurred throughout that period.
It is thought that the phenomenon known as the "Little Ice Age", which was well documented throughout Europe in the 1300s, appears to have resulted in a similar climatic upheaval in South East Asia around the same time. As the Mekong's tributaries come from the Tibetan glaciers, the flow of water would have been all but nil in the extremely low temperatures. Unfortunately, even the outstanding engineers who created the hydraulic system at Angkor, could not have predicted such a severe weather anomaly.
