Khmer or Angkor Civilization in Cambodia

The Khmer or Angkor Civilization came into subsistence very early. The time was during the period from 802 to 1431 A.D. The civilization stretched as far as the modern Thailand-Burma Border in the West direction and in the North direction there is Wat Phou of Laos. The country has a beautiful and calm look that attracts a lot of people. As a matter of fact its emergence lies that the olden Khmer rulers followed a right political doctrine of its time. This eventually implements the unity among people. They had developed an irrigation system just to control the water of the Mekong River for agriculture. This helps in the enhancement of its prosperity. The Khmer Civilization had long been passed away over 5 centuries ago. But we can see some of the marvelous monuments such as numerous unique sculptures like Apsara and also the great Khmer temples of Angkor Wat and Bayon.

We can see that ‘Angkor’ is derived from a Sanskrit word ‘Nagara’ and that means ‘City’. Sanskrit is an ancient Indian language. So, the literal meaning of Angkor Wat is ‘City of Temple’ and Angkor Thom is ‘The Magnificent City’.

There is no doubt about the fact that the ancient Khmers were famous for their stone carving. The instances are scattered everywhere in the country, e.g. various Angkor temples lying on the sies of Siemreap and also in the border to the Phnomrung and Phimai in Thailand, Preah Vihear at Dangrek Mountain, and Wat Phu in Laos. The ancient Khmers created these unexceptionally good craftings in successive centuries. It can be assumed that this art contradict with the ordinary and easy-going life of the local Khmer people of that time. But they took the effort and thus marked their art as uniquely memorable. The glorious creatures are really worth visiting.