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The Khmer Siege of Angkor That Never Was — A New Theory
Description
For decades, historians believed Angkor fell to a brutal Siamese siege in 1431. But in this episode, Lucas and Luna examine a radical reinterpretation: the city wasn't sacked — it was quietly abandoned over decades as climate change, fading royal authority, and a religious revolution made the old capital untenable. Drawing on tree-ring data, the K. 1050 stele, and recent LiDAR surveys from the Greater Angkor Project, they explore how a shift to Theravada Buddhism eroded the devaraja cult's legitimacy, why the canals silted up, and why the last Khmer king, Ponhea Yat, may have left Angkor not as a refugee but as a pragmatist. They also discuss the role of the Ayutthaya kingdom under Borommaracha II, the Ming shi lu's ambiguous account, and the real evidence — or lack thereof — for the famous 'sack'. A story of collapse, but not the one we thought we knew.