Dharma Documentaries

Dharma. Culture. Ecology.

Menu
  • Dharma
  • Culture
  • Ecology
  • Archives
  • About
Menu

The Khmer Empire, Fall of the God Kings

Posted on August 28, 2020August 28, 2020 by Dharma Documentaries
A look at how the Khmer Empire rose, flourished and fell in this exceptionally well told story.

XXX

This is the fifth part of the Fall of Civilizations podcast by Paul Cooper in which he looks at how the Khmer Empire arose in the 9th century, developed into one of the great civilisations of the world, and eventually collapsed around the 15th century.

It is an exceptionally well made documentary on the subject, thoroughly researched and presented with well filmed scenes of life in the country, reconstructions of Khmer life in the Middle Ages and many photographs of the architectural remains and the reliefs that decorate them.

Paul Cooper has a knack of story telling, given that this is basically a podcast, or narrative retelling of the story, without interviews, or other “breaks” in the flow, and yet he manages to hold one’s attention for the more than one and a half hours it takes to tell the story.

We learn of the founding of the kingdom under Jayavarman II (the first Jayavarman was the head of the Champa Empire); its expansion, especially under Yashovarman and how attained its peak under the Buddhist king Jayavarman VII.

We also learn about its international relationships, its hydraulic civilization, and we are presented with several theories of why it eventually collapsed and almost vanished for several centuries.

I don’t agree with his idea about the effect of Theravāda Buddhism, which he seems to think undermined the God-King theory and helped precipitate the collapse, but that is a small thing given how much we do learn from this well told story.

I would really like to see another film of the sort telling of the rise and fall of the Mauryan Empire perhaps, or one of the medieval Chinese Empires, like that of the Mongols. And perhaps something around the rise of the Thai kingdoms and, not its collapse exactly, but its contraction in the 19th century.

 

if this video is no longer available please leave a comment so I can update the page
(the comment is not published)

 

to see an album of stills click here

 

TAGS:
Culture, Cambodia, Hindu Sites, History, Vietnam

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Subscriptions

Follow our Facebook Page Follow our Tweets Subscribe by Email Subscribe to our Feed

Shortlink and QR

https://dharma-documentaries.net/b/4Dk

Donations

This site has taken 10 years to build, and has 700+ documentaries on it. If you would like to support the expenses involved, you can do so here. Even small amounts help.

choose amount:  

Copyright

If anyone has any copyright claims please contact me at dharmadocus@gmail.com and the posts and films will be immediately removed.

Top Ten Tags

Theravada
Mahayana
Vajrayana

India
Silk Road
China
Tibet

Arts
Lectures
Rights

Popular Posts

  • The Freedom of being a Buddhist Nun
  • Bright and Shining Mind in a Disabled Body
  • The Leshan Giant Buddha Statue
  • The Silk Road Series 7/16: Khotan-Oasis of Silk and Jade
  • David Eckel: Buddhism 3-4 of 24
  • The Tibetan Oracles
  • Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar: The Untold Truth
  • The Mountain Yogi, Lama Govinda
  • Indian Roots of Tibetan Buddhism
  • The Journey of Xuanzang: An Introduction

Recent Posts

  • A Young Shaman’s Quest Across Mongolia
  • Himalaya, Land of Women
  • Urgan, Child of the Himalaya
  • The Mystery of Bezeklik
  • Hermits, Modern Chinese Practitioners
  • Our Only Home, a Climate Change Film
  • The Kingdom of Nature (in Cambodia)
  • Fire in the Blood
  • Sowers of Joy (Nuns Travel across India)
  • Life Beyond 2, The Museum of Alien Life

Random Posts

  • The Life of the Buddha Animation Film
  • Gravity Glue, Rock Balancing by Michael Grab
  • Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei
  • A Bright Moon, the Life of Hong-yi
  • The Silk Road Series 2/16: A Thousand Kilometres Beyond The Yellow River
  • The Crow Birth (told by Margo McLoughlin)
  • David Eckel: Buddhism 13-14 of 24
  • Gyeong Ju, South Korea (Expoza)
  • Cambodia: Forests Water Life
  • To the Last Drop

Related Posts

  • Nectar in Stone (Cham and Khmer civilisations)
  • Archives of the Planet: Far East Expeditions to Empires
  • Gandhara Civilisation
  • Vietnam and Vietnamese Buddhism
  • Khmer Mystery, Fou-nan (The Lost City)
  • Angkor, Cambodia (Expoza)
  • Danino 6, India and its Interactions with the Eastern World
  • Artefact by Kyle Hopkins
  • Khmer Cruise From Angkor to Phnom Penh
  • Koh Ker, the Lost City of Khmer Empire
© 2021 Dharma Documentaries | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme