Home Region:  Mainland Southeast Asia (Southeast Asia)

Late Angkor

1220 CE 1432 CE
EQ 2020  kh_angkor_3 / KhAngkL
Preceding Entity: Add one more here.
1100 CE 1220 CE Classical Angkor (kh_angkor_2)    [continuity]

Succeeding Entity: Add one more here.
1432 CE 1594 CE Khmer Kingdom (kh_khmer_k)    [continuity]


  General Description  
The Khmer Empire was established in 802 CE, when a ruler known as Jayavarman II had himself proclaimed a ’universal monarch’ in a ceremony performed by Sanskrit-speaking priests on a mountain close to the Tonlé Sap lake. [1] By bringing previously independent polities under their control, Jayavarman II and his successors expanded their realm across mainland Southeast Asia, including parts of modern-day Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. [2] Our Late Angkor period begins with the death of King Jayavarman VII around 1200 CE. [3] In contrast to the burgeoning growth of the Khmer Empire during the Classic period, the Late Angkor period was characterized by political and economic decline, culminating in the sack of the city of Angkor by the Thai Kingdom of Ayutthaya in 1431. [4]
The reign of Jayavarman VII marked the high point of Angkorean monument-building, and subsequent rulers did not carry out major construction projects at the ancient capital. [5] Chinese diplomat Zhou Daguan visited Angkor in the late 13th century and saw temples capped in gold and copper, sumptuous religious festivals, thousands of slaves and servants, and a lively trade in Chinese goods. [6] [7] However, this grandeur concealed the fundamental instability of the state, and the Khmer administrative system with its centre at Angkor eventually disintegrated in the mid-15th century CE. [8] Warfare became ’endemic’, [9] and after the Ayyuthaya attacks in 1431, the rulers of Angkor moved to south-eastern Cambodia and founded a new capital at Phnom Penh. [8] [10]
Population and political organization
Numerous small kingdoms formed in the lower Mekong Basin in the mid-1st millennium CE, but until the conquests of Jayavarman II, most failed to outlive their founders. [1] Jayavarman II managed to unify previously warring local lords under his aegis, turning independent polities into provinces and laying the foundations for over six centuries of Khmer rule centred on the Siem Reap plain. [11]
Like many polities in Southeast Asia at the turn of the 1st millennium CE, the new kingdom, with its growing urban centre on the north shore of the Tonlé Sap, borrowed from Indian religious practices, concepts of divine kingship, language, writing and iconography in order to legitimize royal power. [12] [13] Its kings patronized both Hindu and Buddhist institutions, building monasteries and sanctuaries dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and the Buddha that doubled as outposts of royal power throughout the realm. [14] [15]
However, the Late Angkor period saw a decline in the importance of the Hindu devaraja (god-king) cult, while Theravada Buddhism gained an increasingly stronger foothold among both the people and their rulers. [16] [17] This is reflected in the scarcity of Sanskrit inscriptions referencing Hindu gods ‒ the last known Angkor inscription to use this language dates to 1327 [9] ‒ and the increasing importance of Pali scriptures. [18] While some scholars suggest that this religious shift contributed to the loosening of centralized Khmer power, [8] the causes for imperial decline during this period remain a topic of intense scholarly debate. [19]
The riches of Angkor at the height of its power had always flowed from wet-rice agriculture, [1] and an institutionalized hierarchy of officials developed to funnel surplus rice produced in villages, as well as other goods like honey, spices, cloth and gold, to the royal centre. [11] [20] Angkor kings also used corvée labour to build temples, irrigation infrastructure and other public works. [20] [21] In this period, however, rice agriculture decreased in importance in favour of trade and commerce, potentially undermining the traditional power base of the Angkor kings. [22]
The Khmer Empire is famous for its sprawling but low-density urban sites. [2] It has been claimed that Angkor itself was the ’largest settlement complex of the preindustrial world’: [23] at its peak in the 12th century (before this period) it covered 1000 square kilometres and may have housed over 750,000 people. [24] However, the total population of the empire in this period is still unclear.

[1]: (Taylor 1992, 159) Keith W. Taylor. 1992. ’The Early Kingdoms’, in The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia, Vol. I: From Early Times to c. 1800, edited by Nicholas Tarling, 137-82. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[2]: (Fletcher 2012, 300) Roland Fletcher. 2012. ’Low-Density, Agrarian-Based Urbanism: Scale, Power, and Ecology’, in The Comparative Archaeology of Complex Societies, edited by M. Smith, 285-320. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[3]: (Vickery 1986, 103) Michael Vickery. 1986. ’Some Remarks on Early State Formation in Cambodia’, in Southeast Asia in the 9th to 14th Centuries, edited by David G. Marr and A. C. Milner, 95-115. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

[4]: (Stark 2006, 146, 164) Miriam T. Stark. 2006. ’From Funan to Angkor: Collapse and Regeneration in Ancient Cambodia’, in After Collapse: The Regeneration of Complex Societies, edited by Glenn M. Schwartz and John J. Nichols, 144-67. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press.

[5]: (Higham 2014, 390) Charles Higham. 2014. Early Mainland Southeast Asia: From First Humans to Angkor. Bangkok: River Books.

[6]: (Higham 2014, 390-91) Charles Higham. 2014. Early Mainland Southeast Asia: From First Humans to Angkor. Bangkok: River Books.

[7]: (Higham 2001, 135-56) Charles Higham. 2001. The Civilization of Angkor. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

[8]: (Higham 2014, 391) Charles Higham. 2014. Early Mainland Southeast Asia: From First Humans to Angkor. Bangkok: River Books.

[9]: (Higham 2001, 140) Charles Higham. 2001. The Civilization of Angkor. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

[10]: (Buckley et al. 2010, 6750) Brendan M. Buckley, Kevin J. Anchukaitisa, Daniel Penny, Roland Fletcher, Edward R. Cook, Masaki Sano, Le Canh Nam, Aroonrut Wichienkeeo, Ton That Minh and Truong Mai Hong. 2010. ’Climate as a Contributing Factor in the Demise of Angkor, Cambodia’. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107 (15): 6748-51.

[11]: (Higham 2012, 185) Charles Higham. 2012. ’Khmer Civilization and the Empire of Angkor’, in The Oxford Companion to Archaeology, edited by Brian M. Fagan, 183-86. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

[12]: (Higham 2001, 8) Charles Higham. 2001. The Civilization of Angkor. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

[13]: (Kulke 1986, 14-15) Hermann Kulke. 1986. ’The Early and the Imperial Kingdom in Southeast Asian History’, in Southeast Asia in the 9th to 14th Centuries, edited by David G. Marr and A. C. Milner, 1-22. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

[14]: (Taylor 1992, 160) Keith W. Taylor. 1992. ’The Early Kingdoms’, in The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia, Vol. I: From Early Times to c. 1800, edited by Nicholas Tarling, 137-82. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[15]: (Lieberman 2003, 33) Victor Lieberman. 2003. Strange Parallels: Southeast Asia in Global Context, c. 800‒1830, Vol. 1: Integration on the Mainland. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[16]: (Hall 2011, 197) Kenneth R. Hall. 2011. A History of Early Southeast Asia: Maritime Trade and Social Development, 100-1500. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

[17]: (Stark 2006, 164) Miriam T. Stark. 2006. ’From Funan to Angkor: Collapse and Regeneration in Ancient Cambodia’, in After Collapse: The Regeneration of Complex Societies, edited by Glenn M. Schwartz and John J. Nichols, 144-67. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press.

[18]: (Taylor 1992, 162-63) Keith W. Taylor. 1992. ’The Early Kingdoms’, in The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia, Vol. I: From Early Times to c. 1800, edited by Nicholas Tarling, 137-82. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[19]: (Evans 2016, 165) Damian Evans. 2016. ’Airborne Laser Scanning as a Method for Exploring Long-Term Socio-Ecological Dynamics in Cambodia’. Journal of Archaeological Science 74: 164-75. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2016.05.009.

[20]: (Coe 2003, 141) Michael D. Coe. 2003. Angkor and the Khmer Civilization. New York: Thames & Hudson.

[21]: (Higham 2014, 368-70) Charles Higham. 2014. Early Mainland Southeast Asia: From First Humans to Angkor. Bangkok: River Books.

[22]: (Taylor 1992, 163) Keith W. Taylor. 1992. ’The Early Kingdoms’, in The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia, Vol. I: From Early Times to c. 1800, edited by Nicholas Tarling, 137-82. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[23]: (Evans et al. 2013, 12595) Damian H. Evans, Roland J. Fletcher, Christophe Pottier, Jean-Baptiste Chevance, Dominique Soutif, Boun Suy Tan, Sokrithy Im, Darith Ea, Tina Tin, Samnang Kim, Christopher Cromarty, Stéphane De Greef, Kasper Hanus, Pierre Bâty, Robert Kuszinger, Ichita Shimoda, and Glenn Boornazian. 2013. ’Uncovering Archaeological Landscapes at Angkor Using Lidar’. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 110 (31): 12595-600.

[24]: (Penny et al. 2014, 1) Dan Penny, Jean-Baptiste Chevance, David Tang, and Stéphane De Greef. 2014. ’The Environmental Impact of Cambodia’s Ancient City of Mahendraparvata (Phnom Kulen)’. PLoS ONE 9 (1): e84252.

Economy Variables (Luxury Goods) Coding in Progress.
Religion Variables Coding in Progress.

NGA Settlements:

Year Range Late Angkor (kh_angkor_3) was in:
 (1220 CE 1431 CE) Cambodian Basin
Home NGA: Cambodian Basin

General Variables
Identity and Location Late Angkor (kh_angkor_3)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Utm Zone 48 P 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Original Name 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Capital 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Alternative Name Kambudesa 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Alternative Name Late Angkor 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Alternative Name Khmer 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Alternative Name Khmer Kingdom 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Alternative Name Angkor Period 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Alternative Name Kambuja-desa 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Alternative Name Kambudesa 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Alternative Name Kambuja 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Temporal Bounds Late Angkor (kh_angkor_3)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Peak Years
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Duration [1220 CE ➜ 1432 CE]
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Political and Cultural Relations Late Angkor (kh_angkor_3)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Suprapolity Relations 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Supracultural Entity 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Succeeding Entity Khmer Kingdom 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Scale of Supracultural Interaction 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Relationship to Preceding Entity continuity 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Succeeding Entity
1432 CE 1594 CE
Khmer Kingdom (kh_khmer_k)   [continuity] 
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Preceding Entity
1100 CE 1220 CE
Classical Angkor (kh_angkor_2)   [continuity] 
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Degree of Centralization 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Language Late Angkor (kh_angkor_3)
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Linguistic Family Austro-Asiatic 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Linguistic Family Mon-Khmer 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Language 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Religion Late Angkor (kh_angkor_3)
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Religion Genus Hinduism 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Religion Genus Buddhism 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Religion Family Saiva Traditions 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Religion Family Theravada 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Alternate Religion Genus Buddhism 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Alternate Religion Genus Hinduism 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Alternate Religion Family Mahayana 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Alternate Religion Family Saiva Traditions 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Alternate Religion Uncoded Undecided 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Social Complexity Variables
Social Scale Late Angkor (kh_angkor_3)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Population of the Largest Settlement 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Polity Territory 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Polity Population 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Hierarchical Complexity Late Angkor (kh_angkor_3)
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Settlement Hierarchy 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Religious Level 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Military Level 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Administrative Level 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Professions Late Angkor (kh_angkor_3)
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Professional Soldier 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Professional Priesthood 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Professional Military Officer 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Bureaucracy Characteristics Late Angkor (kh_angkor_3)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Specialized Government Building 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Merit Promotion 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Full Time Bureaucrat 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Examination System 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Law Late Angkor (kh_angkor_3)
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Professional Lawyer 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Judge 1220 CE  1432 CE
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1220 CE  1432 CE
Court 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Specialized Buildings: polity owned Late Angkor (kh_angkor_3)
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Market 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Irrigation System 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Food Storage Site 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Drinking Water Supply System 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Transport Infrastructure Late Angkor (kh_angkor_3)
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Road 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Port 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Canal 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Bridge 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Special-purpose Sites Late Angkor (kh_angkor_3)
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Mines or Quarry 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Information / Writing System Late Angkor (kh_angkor_3)
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Written Record 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Script 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Phonetic Alphabetic Writing 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Nonwritten Record 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Mnemonic Device 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Information / Kinds of Written Documents Late Angkor (kh_angkor_3)
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Scientific Literature 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Sacred Text 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Religious Literature 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Practical Literature 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Philosophy 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Lists Tables and Classification 1220 CE  1432 CE
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History 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Fiction 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Calendar 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Information / Money Late Angkor (kh_angkor_3)
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Token 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Precious Metal 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Paper Currency 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Indigenous Coin 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Foreign Coin 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Article 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Information / Postal System Late Angkor (kh_angkor_3)
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Postal Station 1220 CE  1432 CE
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General Postal Service 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Courier 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Information / Measurement System Late Angkor (kh_angkor_3)
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Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)
Fortifications Late Angkor (kh_angkor_3)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Wooden Palisade 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Stone Walls Non Mortared 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Stone Walls Mortared 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Settlements in a Defensive Position 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Modern Fortification 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Moat 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Fortified Camp 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Earth Rampart 1250 CE 1383 CE
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Earth Rampart 1383 CE 1432 CE
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Ditch 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Complex Fortification 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Long Wall 12 km 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Military use of Metals Late Angkor (kh_angkor_3)
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Steel 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Iron 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Copper 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Bronze 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Projectiles Late Angkor (kh_angkor_3)
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Tension Siege Engine 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Sling Siege Engine 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Sling 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Self Bow 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Javelin 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Handheld Firearm 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Gunpowder Siege Artillery 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Crossbow 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Composite Bow 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Atlatl 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Handheld weapons Late Angkor (kh_angkor_3)
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War Club 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Sword 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Spear 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Polearm 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Dagger 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Battle Axe 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Animals used in warfare Late Angkor (kh_angkor_3)
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Horse 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Elephant 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Donkey 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Dog 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Camel 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Armor Late Angkor (kh_angkor_3)
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Wood Bark Etc 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Shield 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Scaled Armor 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Plate Armor 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Limb Protection 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Leather Cloth 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Laminar Armor 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Helmet 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Chainmail 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Breastplate 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Naval technology Late Angkor (kh_angkor_3)
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Specialized Military Vessel 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Small Vessels Canoes Etc 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Merchant Ships Pressed Into Service 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Economy Variables (Luxury Goods)
Religion Variables
Moralizing Supernatural Punishment and Reward Late Angkor (kh_angkor_3)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Moralizing Enforcement is Broad 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Moralizing Supernatural Concern is Primary 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement is Agentic 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement in This Life 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Moralizing Supernatural Punishment And Reward 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Moralizing Religion Adopted by Commoners 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement is Targeted 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement in Afterlife 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Moralizing Religion Adopted by Elites 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement of Rulers 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement is Certain 1220 CE  1432 CE
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Human Sacrifice Late Angkor (kh_angkor_3)
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Instability Data
Power Transitions