A panoramic tour of Cambodian history traces its rediscovery in the mid-nineteenth century and what the latest findings have revealed about Khmer civilization, documenting such periods as the five-century part-Hindu, part-Buddhist empire, the gradual abandonment of Angkor, and the move of the capital downriver to the Phnom Penh area. Reprint.

The first chapter of the book sets out the historical framework of the Khmer empire and explores the various aspects of its civilisation, from the Indian-influenced court to the people of the rice paddies. It describes the Khmer's religious concepts, most important myths, and the structure of society, dominated by the powerful figure of the sovereign who, being at the centre of the water-management system, guaranteed the survival of his people. The book continues with details concerning the everyday life of the people, their houses, customs, traditions, and most important ceremonies. An ample section of text is dedicated to archaeological excursions. ILLUSTRATIONS: 406 photographs

"The Civilization of Angkor is remarkable and unique in that it delves into the prehistoric roots of the civilization. Higham is THE international authority on southeast Asian archaeology, and presents an up-to-date and provocative synthesis of Angkor."--Brian Fagan, author of Floods, Famines, and Emperors: El Nino and the Fate of Civilizations, and co-editor of The Oxford Companion to Archaeology. "In blending archaeological and documentary data to chronicle the rise of this important Southeast Asian state, Higham's rich history of Angkor effectively refutes traditional models of state development in the Mekong region and offers insights regarding the nature of Angkor and the processes that led to its emergence."--Miriam Stark, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Hawai'i and editor of The Archaeology of Social Boundaries

In this lively survey, Guy D. Middleton critically examines our ideas about collapse - how we explain it and how we have constructed potentially misleading myths around collapses - showing how and why collapse of societies was a much more complex phenomenon than is often admitted.

Since Cambodia's reopening to the world in the past dozen years, following its genocidal civil war, there has been a burgeoning interest in its history, art and architectural relics. In parallel with this growing popular interest has been a renewal of international scholarly work and corresponding publication on the Khmers. However, virtually without exception, these either have been aimed at the casual tourist, or alternately, have consisted of more or less esoteric monographs, highly focused on specific aspects of Khmer culture. A comprehensive survey of the Khmers, broad enough in its scope to provide an overall view, both temporal and geographic, of Khmer civilization, while sufficiently in-depth to satisfy the serious reader, has not been attempted in any language in the past half century, until now. In "Angkor: Before and After," Professor David Snellgrove has provided a new cultural history of the Khmers covering the period from its very beginning in the 5th century right up to the present day, and dealing not only with Angkor, but with the whole range of Khmer achievements throughout the South East Asian mainland. Professor Snellgrove further enhances this history with new translations of several of the most significant surviving Khmer stone inscriptions, in Sanskrit and ancient Khmer, thus providing the reader with direct views into Khmer civilization. Deeply acquainted with Brahmanical and Buddhist religious traditions, Professor Snellgrove also provides unique new insights into the complex interplay of the two at times competing traditions and the impact of this interplay on Khmer culture and architecture of the period. He further clarifies the religious evolution thatresulted in the eventual replacement of Brahmanical as well as earlier Khmer Mahayana Buddhist practices by the Theravada tradition that eventually predominates in Cambodia today. With detailed descriptions, complemented by rich illustration, of many Khmer sites, including both well known and many rarely visited or previously described, this book is essential reading for all who wish to further their understanding of this fascinating and highly developed medieval civilization.

At its height, the Khmer Empire stretched from Angkor as far west as Muang Singh on the border with present-day Burma and Thailand and as far north as Wat Phu on the banks of the Mekong river. Following on from the great success of Angkor: Cities and Temples , the renowned scholar and epigraphist, Claude Jacques, explores the achievements and developments of the Khmer people from the 5th to the 13th century. Beginning with the early pre-Angkorean site of Funan and ending with the reign of the great Khmer king, Jayavarman VII, the author journies behind the well-known temples of Angkor Wat, to reveal the marvels of many temples hitherto inaccessible to visitors. Thus the reader is taken a virtual tour of sites as varied as Preah Vihear perched on a steep cliff overlooking the Cambodian plain, the mysterious and extensive site of Preah Khan of Kompong Svay and the exquisitely carved temple in the forest of Beng Mealea, to mention but a few. The author speculates as to the origins and reasons behind each site and how the Khmer empire functioned over many hundreds of years. Superbly photographed by Philippe Lafond, the book includes site plans, old photographs, aerial shots of the ancient cities as well as detailed photographs showing the reliefs and other magnificent carvings. Never before has the richness and diversity of the Khmer Empire been captured so evocatively.