For over six hundred years, the Angkor Empire stood as one of the world's most sophisticated civilizations. Centered in present-day Cambodia, it created architectural wonders that still stand today and developed urban systems that supported hundreds of thousands of people.
At its height, Angkor was one of the largest cities in the preindustrial world. Unlike modern cities with their dense downtown cores, Angkor spread across roughly 400 square kilometers. This vast urban landscape was made possible by an ingenious water-management system. Khmer engineers built massive reservoirs called barays and intricate networks of canals that collected monsoon rains, irrigated rice fields, and supplied the city year-round. Recent archaeological research using laser technology has revealed just how extensive this hydraulic civilization was, with neighborhoods, roads, and water systems stretching far beyond the famous temple complexes.
The temples themselves remain Angkor's most visible legacy. Khmer kings patronized both Hindu and Buddhist traditions, commissioning monuments that expressed their power and devotion. Angkor Wat, built in the early 1100s, remains the world's largest religious monument. Its five towers represent the sacred Mount Meru from Hindu cosmology, while its walls are covered with detailed carvings showing everything from epic battles to courtly processions. The Bayon temple, with its massive stone faces gazing in all directions, demonstrates the artistic and engineering skill that made Angkor famous across Southeast Asia.
Angkor was more than temples. It was a working city where artisans created distinctive bronze sculptures, farmers tended rice paddies fed by the canal system, and traders connected Cambodia to networks stretching from China to India. The civilization's influence spread across much of mainland Southeast Asia.
By the mid-1400s, Angkor's power had declined and Cambodia's political center shifted to Phnom Penh. The temples, gradually reclaimed by jungle, were never entirely forgotten, but their full scale and sophistication have only recently been understood. Today, Angkor stands as evidence of Cambodian civilization's deep roots and remarkable achievements: innovations in engineering, art, and urban planning that continue to inspire cultural pride and preservation efforts across the region.