A Perspective on the Khmer Empire
Even at its height under the reign of Jayavarman VII, the Khmer state was a textbook example of a hegemonic empire. Yet this was no loose confederacy, as Angkor's powerful army, assisted by an advanced road network, could swiftly quell any instance of insurrection or non-payment of taxes, produce, and corvee labor in the most remote corners of the empire.
And it should be emphasized that this empire endured for six centuries, as long as late Republican and imperial Rome. Its legacy was rich and profound: for centuries after Khmer power had waned, their art, architecture, court life, ceremonies, and music and dance continued to exert a profound influence on the burgeoning non-Khmer polities of mainland Southeast Asia, in particular Siam. If contemporary visitors to Bangkok's Royal Palace look behind the renowned Temple of the Emerald Buddha, they will find a replica model of Angkor Wat: the ancient Khmer Empire's most glorious monument still giving legitimacy to the modern Thai state.Bibliography
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