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The Khmer Empire's Lost Copper Mines and Trade Collapse
Description
This episode explores a little-known factor in the Khmer Empire's decline: the depletion and loss of its copper and tin mines. Lucas and Luna discuss how the empire's bronze industry, essential for tools, weapons, and ritual objects, depended on ore from sites like Phnom Dek and the Mun River valley. They trace the impact of dwindling local supplies, the shift to costly imports from the Malay Peninsula and Yunnan, and how competition from Ayutthaya and Dai Viet disrupted these trade routes. The conversation also touches on the broader economic strain—how the cost of metal affected everything from agriculture to warfare—and how this resource crisis may have accelerated the empire's fragmentation. Specific figures mentioned: Jayavarman VII, Borommaracha II, Ponhea Yat. Specific sites: Phnom Dek, Mun River, Angkor Thom. The episode draws on archaeological evidence from the Greater Angkor Project and Chinese records like the Zhufan Zhi.