Angkor and the Khmer Civilization

The ancient city of Angkor has fascinated Westerners since its rediscovery in the mid-nineteenth century.

A great deal is now known about the brilliant Khmer civilization that flourished among the monsoon forests and rice paddies of mainland Southeast Asia, thanks to the pioneering work of French scholars and the application of modern archaeological techniques such as remote sensing from the space shuttle.

The classic-period Khmer kings ruled over their part-Hindu and part-Buddhist empire fro...