The Chakravartin Who Built Angkor Thom

Jayavarman VII is often remembered as the Buddhist king who transformed Angkor, but his rise to power was as dramatic as his monuments. This episode explores the 12th-century civil war that nearly tore the Khmer Empire apart, the Cham invasion of 1177 that left Angkor in ashes, and how a prince in his sixties—once exiled, once a scholar—seized the throne and rebuilt an empire. We trace Jayavarman VII's path from the Cham sack of Angkor to the construction of Angkor Thom, the Bayon, and the vast hospital network that marked his reign. Along the way, we examine the controversial evidence for a usurper king, the brutal symbolism of the Bayon's stone faces, and the unresolved mystery of why the Khmer Empire abandoned its greatest city. Featuring insights from the Sdok Kak Thom inscription, Zhou Daguan's travelogue, and recent LIDAR surveys, this episode paints a portrait of a ruler who remade a civilization in his own image—and the cracks that appeared even in his golden age. #JayavarmanVII #AngkorThom #Bayon #KhmerEmpire #ChamInvasion #AngkorWat #Cambodia #SoutheastAsia #BuddhistKing #CivilWar #SdokKakThom #ZhouDaguan #LIDAR #12thCentury #MedievalHistory #AsianHistory #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo