paddy_bb
faded wealth
Angkor, Cambodia, 2013
From about 900 to 1200 AD, Angkor was home to 300.000 to 1.000.000 people (information, facts and scientific guesses vary wildly). Wealth and power of Angkor at least partly derived from an intricatly designed waterway and water storage system, where a river was rerouted over 20 or so kilometers to allow several rice harvests per year. Angkor Wat is well known, though there must be about 80 temples around in the Angkor area. The size of some of those temples is amazing. To my understandig, it is not clear what caused the downfall of this civilazation. Possibly, they were unable to even mainenance the water system (less water, less harvest, less money, less power) or the change of religion from hinduism to buddism (one aspect of the latter is a less hierarchic set of beliefs) caused the end of the Khmer reign over South East Asia. End of wealth, end of story....
faded wealth
Angkor, Cambodia, 2013
From about 900 to 1200 AD, Angkor was home to 300.000 to 1.000.000 people (information, facts and scientific guesses vary wildly). Wealth and power of Angkor at least partly derived from an intricatly designed waterway and water storage system, where a river was rerouted over 20 or so kilometers to allow several rice harvests per year. Angkor Wat is well known, though there must be about 80 temples around in the Angkor area. The size of some of those temples is amazing. To my understandig, it is not clear what caused the downfall of this civilazation. Possibly, they were unable to even mainenance the water system (less water, less harvest, less money, less power) or the change of religion from hinduism to buddism (one aspect of the latter is a less hierarchic set of beliefs) caused the end of the Khmer reign over South East Asia. End of wealth, end of story....