Jayavarman VII's Great Queen and the Fall of Angkor

In this episode, we explore the life and influence of Queen Indradevi, the great queen of King Jayavarman VII, and her role in the Khmer Empire's final golden age. Indradevi was not just a royal consort but a scholar, diplomat, and religious patron who helped shape Jayavarman VII's massive building program, including the temples of Ta Prohm and Preah Khan. We delve into how her death, alongside Jayavarman VII's, led to a crisis of succession and a shift away from Mahayana Buddhism, weakening the devaraja cult and setting the stage for the empire's decline. New evidence from inscriptions and archaeological surveys sheds light on her political savvy and her efforts to stabilize the realm after the Cham invasion. We also discuss how her legacy was deliberately erased by later Theravada kings, and what that tells us about the empire's unraveling. #Indradevi #JayavarmanVII #TaProhm #PreahKhan #KhmerEmpire #Angkor #MahayanaBuddhism #TheravadaBuddhism #devaraja #ChamInvasion #QueenConsort #FemalePower #Inscriptions #Archaeology #SuccessionCrisis #SoutheastAsia #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo