The Australian
But planners are not making the same mistakes, except in NSW
EXPLAINING one of history's great mysteries, University of Sydney archeologists, reported in The Australian yesterday, say the ancient Cambodian city of Angkor collapsed because it grew too big and was overwhelmed by extreme weather. Its fate, they say, has implications for modern cities. Indeed it does, but not the ones that enemies of the great Australian backyard will claim. Rather than expanding, perhaps Angkor's problem was that it was run by ancient equivalents of the NSW state government. Angkor's administrators did not adapt their infrastructure to changing circumstances. They let their city expand but did not maintain services to support it.
Sound familiar? It will to anybody who lives in the northwestern suburbs of Sydney, where a repeatedly promised and much-needed suburban railway has not been built and the roads are utterly inadequate. But the damage done by official incompetence is not the message inner city activists will draw from Angkor's fate.
This sort of research is easily misused by deep green ideologues who dislike people because they believe our presence pollutes the natural environment, activists who use Jared Diamond's theory of what happened when the people of Easter Island over-used their resources as a metaphor for the modern world. Such arguments suggest we are doomed to repeat Angkor's experience, that we cannot repair infrastructure and do not know how to use engineering to address climate change, that we must not allow people to live where they like. Of course they are wrong ... apart, of course, from NSW.
EXPLAINING one of history's great mysteries, University of Sydney archeologists, reported in The Australian yesterday, say the ancient Cambodian city of Angkor collapsed because it grew too big and was overwhelmed by extreme weather. Its fate, they say, has implications for modern cities. Indeed it does, but not the ones that enemies of the great Australian backyard will claim. Rather than expanding, perhaps Angkor's problem was that it was run by ancient equivalents of the NSW state government. Angkor's administrators did not adapt their infrastructure to changing circumstances. They let their city expand but did not maintain services to support it.
Sound familiar? It will to anybody who lives in the northwestern suburbs of Sydney, where a repeatedly promised and much-needed suburban railway has not been built and the roads are utterly inadequate. But the damage done by official incompetence is not the message inner city activists will draw from Angkor's fate.
This sort of research is easily misused by deep green ideologues who dislike people because they believe our presence pollutes the natural environment, activists who use Jared Diamond's theory of what happened when the people of Easter Island over-used their resources as a metaphor for the modern world. Such arguments suggest we are doomed to repeat Angkor's experience, that we cannot repair infrastructure and do not know how to use engineering to address climate change, that we must not allow people to live where they like. Of course they are wrong ... apart, of course, from NSW.
7 comments:
Dear all Khmers, descendants of Angkor builders,
The collapse and the abandon of Angkor Wat were caused by:
1-Religious war of almost 100 years
among Varman dysnaty royal families of Hinduist sect against Buddhist sect. This war was starting right after king Jayavarman VII's death around 1221. The evidence, the Thai vassal state proclaimed independence in 1236 under the reign of king Indravarman II, son of Jayavarman VII. The religious war prevented Angkor king to march against the rebellious Thais at Sokho They.
Thais disguised as rebellious troops successed in stealing the Emerald Buddha from Angkor, a gift from Sri Lankan king to Jayavarman VII including Preah Trai Bidaka, and accompanied by a high rank Lankan monk named Nagasen Moha Thera. Jayavarman VII had built the shrine of Banteay Nokor Ba Chey in Kampong Cham for that Lankan monk to stay for Cham Vossa, and as an easy access to the sea when the monk returned back to Lanka. The inscription on the doorway of Prasat Wat Nokor did scribed about that event, but nobody made a researche on that.
2-This prolonged religious war had caused the lacking of maintenance of Capital infrastrutures such as Irrigation canal systems.
3-The long drought during that religious war was another curse to the collapse of Angkor capital.
4- The new Cucumber Dynasty (A.D 1308) was lacking of knowledges to rule the country, and did not understand well the Administrative structures of Varman dynasty.
I will publish my reserches on that Angkor administrative systems
in a couple of year in two languages, English and Khmer.
One former researcher team from Battambang (1968-1975)
yes, from my own research and learning of khmer history, it was true that all of these small, different occurences had contributed to the decline of the once great khmer civilization of angkor. it is good to understand this and not say just one thing only that caused the decline. i think further researching into the theory is needed, however, scholars can't disregard these so-called trivial clues as well. thank you. and also don't forget to mention the death of the great, powerful, god-kings of angkor was also a contributor to its decline to some degree as well. chronological history of khmer has shown again and again that following the death of the god-kings, there's always chaos and infighting going on that contributed to it further decline.
Gentleman
Thank you for efforts in those researches on other areas caused Angkor era collapsed after the great king.
Religious war, as claimed was the culprit resulted in civil conflict,as well as interference from Thais.
What we learn from this that we ought to be open-minded and learning to know the differences.
In view of our ancestor,high monk Chuon Nath,accepted Hindu and Buddhism complement one another.
Currently we can't split these two.
In short,Buddhism is physical, psychologial and ultimately Wisdom.
Cause and affects are the scientific keys.
Where Hindu focuses on soul and spirits( self and external spirits).
Understanding is the open door,and accept those common grounds.
I believe give us that means of understanding.
Praise for good deeds.
Neang SA
correct:
I believe mathematics give us that means of understanding.
Thank you
with my respect for other people's views posted above - can i say that Angkor's collapse is inevitable when the entire society's economic surplus is extracted from innocent villagers and used for the construction of unproductive but extremely costly edifices like Angkor? what do those who built the magnificent temples got anything out of them? more rain? more rice? more water? diddly squat i reckon, and all because of this crazy irrational superstition called brahmanism.
2:15 AM
I understand your bullshit about your researche, your maine point will drop death to point #4- The new Cucumber Dynasty (A.D 1308) was lacking of knowledges to rule the country, and did not understand well the Administrative structures of Varman dynasty.
Thai did not steal the Emerald Buddha from Angkor, but, khmer itself destroyed the Emerald Buddha in Angkor during the Religious war. And khmer did not
abandon of Angkor Wat as you have stated. Khmer had lost the war to Thai, when Thai occupied Angkor City khmer ran southward and established many cities away from Thai superpower.
Reach Bondit Phnom Penh,
Reach Bandit Chang Vang Kanthor S'dach Viet Cong.
This S'dach is a Viet Rubber Stamp, enjoys Viet Kai Loeung, Sings, dances, sits on monkey throne and masturbate himself that's all. His Khmer subjects suffered too much because of Vietnamisation of Cambodia!!!!!
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