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The Post-Angkor Period: Cambodia's Dark Age After the Fall
Description
After the fall of Angkor in 1431, many assume Khmer civilization simply vanished. But what happened next? This episode explores the so-called 'Dark Age' of Cambodia — the chaotic centuries after the Thai sack of Angkor. We trace the flight of the Khmer court southward to Phnom Penh, the rise of the Lovek era, and the constant pressure from Ayutthaya and later the Vietnamese. We meet King Satha I, who tried to ally with the Spanish and Portuguese against his enemies. We examine cultural survival: how Theravada Buddhism, the Reamker (the Khmer Ramayana), and the Mekong river trade kept Khmer identity alive. And we ask: was it truly a dark age, or a period of reinvention? Using Portuguese and Spanish sources, Cambodian chronicles, and archaeological evidence, we shed light on Cambodia's forgotten centuries.