Angkor's Merchant Guilds: The Trade Networks That Shaped an Empire

Long before Angkor fell, its economy was sustained by powerful merchant guilds that connected the Khmer heartland to China, India, and the Malay world. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the role of these trading associations — known as śreṇi in Sanskrit — that managed everything from salt and rice to luxury goods like silk and spices. Drawing on Zhou Daguan's 13th-century eyewitness account and recent archaeological findings from the Tonle Sap region, they uncover how these guilds operated, who controlled them, and why their decline may have contributed to the empire's unraveling. Lucas explains how the shift from state-controlled trade to private networks under Theravada Buddhism undermined the devaraja's authority, while Luna asks whether the rise of Ayutthaya as a trade hub simply outcompeted Angkor. Featuring insights from inscriptions at Preah Khan and the port of Sre Ambel, this episode offers a fresh economic lens on a familiar story. #KhmerEmpire #Angkor #MerchantGuilds #Sreni #Trade #ZhouDaguan #TonleSap #PreahKhan #SreAmbel #Ayutthaya #TheravadaBuddhism #Devaraja #SoutheastAsia #EconomicHistory #History #FexingoHistory #Cambodia #AncientTrade Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo