Khmer Empire
802–1431 empire in Southeast Asia
The Khmer Empire was an empire in mainland Southeast Asia, centred on hydraulic cities in what is now northern Cambodia. Known as Kambuja (Old Khmer: កម្វុជ; Khmer: កម្ពុជ) by its inhabitants, it grew out of the former civilisation of Chenla and lasted from 802 to 1431 AD. 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 and stretched as far north as southern China.
The beginning of the Khmer Empire is conventionally dated to 802 AD, when Khmer prince Jayavarman II declared himself chakravartin (lit. 'universal ruler', a title equivalent to 'emperor') in the Phnom Kulen mountains. Although the end of the Khmer Empire has traditionally been marked with the fall of Angkor to the Siamese Ayutthaya Kingdom in 1431 AD, the reasons for the empire's collapse are still debated amongst scholars. Researchers have determined that a period of strong monsoon rains was followed by a severe drought in the region, which caused damage to the empire's hydraulic infrastructure. 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 patronised over time. Satellite imaging has revealed that Angkor's elaborate water management network, during its peak in the 11th to the 13th centuries, was the most extensive pre-industrial urban complex in the world.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Khmer Empire” as 802–1431 empire in Southeast Asia. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the history & society register because the source frames it as 802–1431 empire in Southeast Asia. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Chronology, provenance and viewpoint should be read together before a broad social or political interpretation is accepted. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q201705. Authority coordinates are 13.433, 103.833. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1431.
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This entry incorporates text from “Khmer Empire” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.