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Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat is a complex temple monument discovered by a French Environmentalist in

1860 in the Cambodian forest. The discovery of the religious monument and unearthing of the

rich architectural materials and artifacts is attributed to the combined efforts of archaeologists,

technological scientists, and culture experts like Professor Higham (YouTube, 00:02:20-

00:45:05). The massive buildings that survived around 900 years since the last habitation

inclusive of the largest religious monument is quite entrancing and surprising. The diverse

cultural and religious heritage of the ancient inhabitants of the Angkor Thom city as evinced by

the mausoleum and temples evokes a lot of curious.

The convoluted carvings and paintings on walls and monuments offer a multitude of

knowledge on the culture, political, and religious background of the people. The kings who were

powerful and consequently crowned and worshiped initially built Angkor Wat as a Hindu

temple. Jaya Varmit and his descendants ruled in Angkor after him as gods with each building

his monument as the conquered the surrounding kingdoms (YouTube, 00:50:10-00:30:13). It is

also surprising that the Hinduism may have originated from Angkor where Hinduism was

intensely practiced.
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It is also surprising that the kings had an intricate system of providing services to people

which parallels today’s society like a complex water system and apt judicial system. Khmer

Empire is currently situated in Cambodia which is a country in South Asia. This makes Angkor

civilization to fit in the Eurasian social and political development. As it can be seen, other

empires were deeply shrouded in religious paradigms. For example, painted Buddhas which are

Chinese religious emblems were founded in Angkor Wat (YouTube, 00:00:16-00:20:20). The

Empire was destroyed by the Thai Siam Kingdom and eventually absorbed by the jungle.

Accordingly, Cambodia and its ancient Khmer Empire fit appropriately in the Eurasian social

and political development since the medieval times

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Works cited

Timeline-World History Documentaries. “Angkor Wat: City Of The God-Kings (Ancient

Civilizations Documentary).” YouTube, 15 July 2017,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsDGDzwuQ-I