That’s What Destroyed the Largest Ancient City

Have you ever heard about Angkor, the capital city of the Khmer Empire? It was a flourishing metropolis, and more than 750,000 people happily lived there for almost 6 centuries. It was situated on the territory of modern-day Cambodia, which is a popular tourist destination nowadays. Sadly, if you visit this place today, you’ll be greeted by ruins lost in the jungle. There are just a few remaining temples, but they will still take your breath away! Nothing will hint at the fact that you’re standing in the place where there was once the most sprawling city on Earth. This kingdom came to life at the beginning of the 9th century and collapsed dramatically in the middle of the 15th century. The reasons for this tragedy have remained a mystery until recently. Do you wanna find out what conclusions new studies have reached? Then watch our new video!

SUMMARY:

– The Khmer Empire was one of the largest empires ever to exist in Southeast Asia. It was situated on the territory of modern-day Cambodia, which is a popular tourist destination nowadays. – You’d consider Angkor, the capital of the Khmer Empire, a truly huge city even today. Zhou Daguan was a Chinese diplomat who arrived in Angkor in 1296 and spent more than a year in this place, and he wrote that the city was rich and beautiful. It was developed like no other city of the time. – In total, the metropolis covered an area of approximately 400 square miles. This is a much larger area than modern Paris occupies! In the 12th century, in its golden age, the city was home to hundreds of thousands of people. – The scientists are sure that Angkor was most likely abandoned by its inhabitants…because the water supply system of the city broke down. – Historical chronicles state that in the middle of the 14th century, the area suffered from 2 severe natural disasters. One was 2 periods of terrifying drought that lasted for several decades each; the other was an unprecedented monsoon. – According to Brendan Buckley, a climate scientist from Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in New York, a 30-year drought was the last straw in the downfall of the empire. At that time, Angkor had some political and social problems, and the change in the environment pushed the city over the edge. – Australian researchers figured out that the water supply system started to collapse in the regions closest to the river. The system was breaking like dominoes, tier by tier, and the inhabitants of Angkor had neither the time nor the technology to stop the destruction or repair the system. – A huge, thriving city was destroyed because the plumbing system turned out to be too complicated. Old buildings had to exist together with cutting-edge technologies and machines; builders ignored old maps while constructing new channels; the whole water supply network was vulnerable. – Only a few temples remain intact nowadays, and they are still religious sites of great significance.