The Water Engineers of Angkor: Canals, Barays, and Collapse

Angkor was the largest pre-industrial city in the world, and its entire existence depended on one thing: water. This episode dives into the hydraulic system that made the Khmer Empire possible — the massive baray reservoirs, the intricate canal networks, and the agricultural surplus that fed hundreds of thousands. We follow the evolution from simple earthworks under Jayavarman II to the colossal West Baray under Suryavarman I, and explore how the system eventually became a liability. New lidar data from the Greater Angkor Project reveals how deforestation and over-engineering may have triggered the empire's slow-motion collapse. We also discuss the controversial theory that the water system was a tool of political control, not just irrigation. No kings, no battles — just the silent infrastructure that held it all together and then helped tear it apart. #KhmerEmpire #Angkor #HydraulicEngineering #Baray #GreaterAngkorProject #LidarArchaeology #WaterManagement #JayavarmanII #SuryavarmanI #WestBaray #EastBaray #TonleSap #Deforestation #Collapse #IndravarmanI #Roluos #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo