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The Leper King: Skin Disease That Shattered an Empire
Season 2
Episode 53
Published 2 months, 2 weeks ago
Description
This episode digs into the life and mysterious death of Yasovarman I, the Leper King of Angkor. But more than a biography, we explore how a single disease—likely leprosy or psoriasis—may have triggered the unraveling of the devaraja cult and the Khmer Empire's eventual collapse. Lucas and Luna examine the medical evidence from the Terrace of the Leper King, the statue's unique iconography, and how a king's visible affliction could delegitimize the god-king ideology. They also consider alternative theories, including Zhou Daguan's 13th-century account and recent DNA analysis of the statue. A focused, medical-historical look at how one sick king shook a civilization.