page_title: Khmer Empire
section_title: Conversion of faith
hierarchical_section_title: Khmer Empire / History / Decline / Conversion of faith
caption_attribution_description: head of Buddha. Sandstone
context_page_description: The Khmer Empire, also known as the Angkor Empire, the predecessor state to modern Cambodia, was a Hindu-Buddhist empire in Southeast Asia. The empire, which grew out of the former kingdoms of Funan and Chenla, at times ruled over and/or vassalised most of mainland Southeast Asia and parts of Southern China, stretching from the tip of the Indochinese Peninsula northward to modern Yunnan province, China, and from Vietnam westward to Myanmar.
  Its greatest legacy is Angkor, in present-day Cambodia, which was the site of the capital city during the empire's zenith. The majestic monuments of Angkor, such as Angkor Wat and Bayon, bear testimony to the Khmer Empire's immense power and wealth, impressive art and culture, architectural technique, aesthetics achievements, and the variety of belief systems that it patronised over time. Satellite imaging has revealed that Angkor, during its peak in the 11th to 13th centuries, was the largest pre-industrial urban centre in the world.
  The beginning of the era of the Khmer Empire is conventionally dated to 802 when King Jayavarman II declared himself chakravartin on Phnom Kulen. The empire ended with the fall of Angkor in the 15th century.
context_section_description: The last Sanskrit inscription is dated 1327 and describes the succession of Indrajayavarman by Jayavarmadiparamesvara. Historians suspect a connection with the kings' adoption of Theravada Buddhism: they were therefore no longer considered "devarajas", and there was no need to erect huge temples to them, or rather to the gods under whose protection they stood. The retreat from the concept of the devaraja may also have led to a loss of royal authority and thereby to a lack of workers. The water-management apparatus also degenerated, meaning that harvests were reduced by floods or drought. While previously three rice harvests per year were possible – a substantial contribution to the prosperity and power of Kambuja – the declining harvests further weakened the empire.
  Looking at the archaeological record, however, archaeologists noticed that not only were the structures ceasing to be built, but the Khmer's historical inscription was also lacking from the perion of 1300–1600. With this lack of historical content, there is unfortunately very limited archaeological evidence to work with. Archaeologists have been able to determine that the sites were abandoned and then reoccupied later by different people.
caption: 11th-century Cambodian sculpture of the Buddha
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