In 1177, the Cham fleet stormed Angkor and burned it to the ground. But out of that catastrophe rose King Jayavarman VII, who transformed a shattered kingdom into the greatest city of its time. This episode digs into the aftermath of that devastating sack—how the Khmer capital was retaken, how the king rebuilt not just temples but an entire state, and how the trauma of 1177 reshaped Khmer identity. We explore the military campaigns against Champa, the construction of Angkor Thom and its stunning Bayon temple, and the deeper cultural shift from a Hindu to a Buddhist worldview. Through inscriptions and the accounts of the Chinese envoy Zhou Daguan, we piece together how an empire rose from its own ashes. What does it take to rebuild a civilization? And what do we sacrifice in the name of recovery?
Podden och tillhörande omslagsbild på den här sidan tillhör
Fexingo. Innehållet i podden är skapat av Fexingo och inte av,
eller tillsammans med, Poddtoppen.
