KHMER

• The origins of Khmer civilization spanned from 802 to 1431 CE, also known as the 9th Century - 15th Century.
• The Thai kingdom of Ayutthaya took Angkor in 1431 CE, which constitutes the end of the Khmer empire.
• Khmer civilization was centered in present-day Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.
• The Mekong River Delta and Tonle Sap River and Lake system were important parts of Khmer civilization.
• The capital city of Khmer civilization was Angkor.
• Khmer civilization practiced bureaucracy.
• Khmer civilization was based on agricultural rice farming communities with a hierarchy.
• The king and his officials were in charge of irrigation management and water distribution in Khmer civilization.
• Small villages were clustered around regional centers, which in turn sent their goods to large cities like Angkor in return for other goods, such as pottery and foreign trade items.
• Hinduism was the main state religion in Khmer civilization, with Vishu and Shiva as the most respected deities.
• Rituals were performed by Hindu priests called Brahmins, usually held only for the nobles and higher class in Khmer civilization.
• Khmer civilization was inspired by India's Caste System.
• Other sources of protein included pigs, cattle, and poultry, which were kept under the farmers' houses, elevated on stilts to protect them from flooding.
• Fish are the main source of protein for fisheries near rivers.
• The two main staples of the Khmer empire were rice and fish.
• The Khmer empire had close cultural, political, and economic trade relationships with Java and Srivijaya, which are in modern-day Indonesia and Malaysia.
• Fish were dried, steamed, or roasted in a banana leaf, a process known as prahok.
• The people from Khmer were great builders, having built nearly one thousand temples all over Southeast Asia and being famous for hydraulic infrastructures like Angkor Wat.
• Some kingdoms in the Khmer empire had constant warfare due to religion or territorial expansion.
• The marketplace of Angkor was an open square where traders sat on the ground on woven straw mats and sold their wares.
• The economy of the Khmer empire was heavily influenced by India with trade.
• Traders who occupy a space in the Angkor marketplace were taxed.
• Jayavarman VII was a Buddhist Khmer leader.
• The trade and economy in the Angkor marketplace were mainly run by women.
• Notable leaders in Khmer civilization include Suryavarman II, who built the Angkor Wat, and Jayavarman VII, a Buddhist leader who changed the capital from Angkor to Angkor Thom and expelled the Chams who took Angkor, restoring the realm from anarchy, and then invaded Champa, a kingdom from Chams.
• Khmer civilization heavily relied on rice farming, with farmers being the majority of the kingdom's population.
• Khmer civilization used hydraulics infrastructures, such as canals, moats, and massive reservoirs.
• Sugar palm trees, fruit trees, and vegetables were grown in the orchards by the villages, providing other sources of agricultural products such as palm sugar, palm wine, coconut, various tropical fruits, and vegetables in Khmer civilization.
• Khmer civilization engaged in fishing.