Historians call this period of Cambodian history the Angkor period , after the empire's most well-known capital, Angkor. The Khmer Empire ruled or vassalised most of Mainland Southeast Asia [ 3 ] and stretched as far north as southern China. The beginning of the Khmer Empire is conventionally dated to , when Khmer prince Jayavarman II declared himself chakravartin lit. Although the end of the Khmer Empire has traditionally been marked with the fall of Angkor to the Siamese Ayutthaya Kingdom in , the reasons for the empire's collapse are still debated amongst scholars.
Variability between droughts and flooding was also a problem, which may have caused residents to migrate southward and away from the empire's major cities. The site of Angkor is perhaps the empire's most notable legacy, as it was the capital during the empire's zenith.
The majestic monuments of Angkor, such as Angkor Wat and the Bayon , bear testimony to the Khmer Empire's immense power and wealth, impressive art and culture, architectural technique, aesthetic achievements, and variety of belief systems that it patronized over time. Satellite imaging has revealed that Angkor, during its peak in the 11th to the 13th centuries, was the most extensive pre-industrial urban complex in the world.
No written records of the Angkor period have survived other than stone inscriptions. Current knowledge of the historical Khmer civilization is derived primarily from:. In he became king of an empire called Kambuja by the Khmer.
Historians generally agree that this period of Cambodian history began in , when Jayavarman II conducted a grandiose consecration ritual on the sacred Mount Mahendraparvata, now known as Phnom Kulen. Historians debate whether "Java" means the Indonesian island of Java , Champa or a different location. According to an older established interpretation, Jayavarman II was a prince who lived at the court of Sailendra in Java and brought back to Cambodia the art and culture of the Javanese Sailendran court such as the concept of a devaraja.
