Angkor Wat's Fall: The Ayutthaya Siege of 1431

After centuries of glory, Angkor fell not to climate change or internal collapse, but to a military campaign by the rising Siamese kingdom of Ayutthaya. In 1431, King Borommaracha II led a siege that breached the walls of Angkor Thom, forcing the Khmer king Ponhea Yat to abandon the capital. This episode explores the political landscape of 15th-century mainland Southeast Asia, where the Khmer Empire, weakened by succession disputes and loss of trade routes, faced a determined enemy. We delve into the siege tactics, the role of Chinese Ming dynasty records, and the aftermath: the move of the capital to Phnom Penh, the gradual abandonment of Angkor, and the lingering mystery of why such a vast religious complex was left to the jungle. Lucas and Luna discuss the last stand of Khmer power, the rise of Ayutthaya, and how the memory of Angkor was preserved in Buddhist chronicles and Portuguese accounts centuries later. #Ayutthaya #AngkorWat #KhmerEmpire #PonheaYat #BorommarachaII #1431 #SiegeOfAngkor #PhnomPenh #Siam #SoutheastAsia #CambodiaHistory #MingDynasty #ZhengHe #TradeRoutes #AbandonmentOfAngkor #History #FexingoHistory #MedievalHistory #SuryavarmanII #JayavarmanVII Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo