Product Description
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 from AD 802 for more than five centuries. This period saw the construction of many architectural masterpieces, including the huge capital city of Angkor, with the awe-inspiring Angkor Wat, the world's largest religious structure. Numerous other provincial centers, bound together by an impressive imperial road system, were scattered across the Cambodian Plain, northeast Thailand, southern Laos, and the Delta of southern Vietnam. Khmer civilization by no means disappeared with the gradual abandonment of Angkor that began in the fourteenth century, and the book's final chapter describes the conversion of the Khmer to a different kind of Buddhism, the move of the capital downriver to the Phnom Penh area, and the reorientation of the Khmer state to maritime trade.

Angkor and the Khmer Civilization presents a concise but complete picture of Khmer cultural history from the Stone Age until the establishment of the French Protectorate in 1863, and is lavishly illustrated with maps, plans, drawings, and photographs. Drawing on the latest archaeological research, Michael D. Coe brings to life Angkor's extraordinary society and culture. 130 illustrations, 22 in color. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

A painstaking review of all the archeological studies of Angkor
Coe does a great job of creating the scaffolding for an understanding of the miraculous art of Angkor.He describes, era by era, the evolution of the brilliant sculpture and wall carvings that pulse with life in Angkor.For this reader, ignorant of everything Khmer before visiting Angkor, this work has gone a long way to fill in the gaps in my understanding.

Read this before your trip to Angkor
This is essentially a history textbook, but written much better than any text I had to read in school. I read it on the flight over to Cambodia and I was glad I did - it truly enriched my experience there with a deep understanding of the history and religion of the builders of Angkor temples.Highly recommended for visitors to Angkor and anyone interested in the Khmer history!

The original and greatest Southeast Asian Empire
With the experience of growing up watching the Vietnam War on color television, seeing the movie Apocalypse Now, seeing the movie The Killing Fields and always an admirer of the Angkor Wat architecture, this book seemed to BE the book I needed.It is.Looking at the high mannered architecture of Anghor Wat inspired me to select a book that provided enough history and background of the civilization that produced such an awe inspiring work of architecture.Again this book accomplished what I needed to know.The pages are of a high quality glossy paper that enables text, drawings, maps and photographs to be clearly read.I would have preferred the hard cover but it appears to not be in print at this time.The book is only 240 pages thick but that is deceiving.The content is compact but readable.The book is a nice balance of scholarly work, yet readable for the novice.

In terms of the content, the following are some of information that I found from this book.

-The zenith of the Khmer Empire known as the Classic Period (as defined by the author) 802-1327 lasted for five centuries and encompassed most of continental Southeast Asia.
-The Khmer Empire located between the great empires of India and China, chose India to model its empire.Specifically it chose Hinduism as its civilization model.China was not chosen most likely due to its all or nothing conquest policy.
-The Khmer Empire was simultaneously tolerant of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism.
-The geographical site of the Khmer Empire capitol city of Anghor was selected due to its location of its quarry (Kulen) and the Siem Reap River.Phnom Kulen being the Hindu version of Mahendraparvata, the Mountain of Indra, the King of Gods and the Siem Reap River whose source is Phnom Kulen being the Hindu equivalent of the Ganges.Phnom Kulen was a very holy place.
-During the Post-Classic period, the Thai Empire to the north expanded into the Khmer Empire and the Vietnamese expanded into the rich fertile Mekong delta.Thus Cambodia is a mere shadow of its Classic Period glory.
-Anghor Wat is a large temple complex in itself; part of the massive city of Anghor (Glory-Bearing City).The Khmer Empire built extensive Master Works of architecture in present day Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Laos.

If you are looking for a balanced book to cover the Khmer Empire through all periods, then this book is for you.

The author, Michael D. Coe includes many references to other books for further exploration into Southeast Asia.

From the Khmer proverbs, "Standing erect it is empty; prostrate, it bears seed."

A good read
This is good read and the author does a great job of explaining the history of this area and the people, the pictures are great along with the quality of the publishing. I gave it four stars as it inspired me to go to angkor and see this magnificent place.

Superb Research but Where are the Mayas?
Strange that Michael Coe, one of the world's primary authorities on Maya culture, should devote this methodical and insightful research to the great Khmer capital of Angkor in Southeast Asia, without reviewing as well its astonishing architectural and cosmogonic parallels with the Maya of Mexico and Central America. ... Read more

Product Description
iv PREFACE deliver these lectures an invitation, which I consider to be a high distinction and a great privilege. I would also like to offer cordial thanks to my esteemed friend Prof. K. A. Nilakanta Sastri M. A., who presided over these lectures, and whose company and hospitality I enjoyed in ample measure during my stay at Madras, 4 BEPIN PAL ROAD KALIGHAT, CALCUTTA, V R. C. MAJUMDAR. MAY 8, 1943. ABBREVIATIONS. 1. AymonierLe Cambodge by E. Aymonier, 3 Vols. Paris, 1900-1903. 2. BCAI. nBulletin de la Commission Archeologique de Flndo-chine. 3. BEFEO. iBulletin de 1 Ecole Franchise d 4 Extreme-Orient. 4. Champa Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East, Vol. I, Champa by Dr. R. C. Majumdar, Lahore, 1927. 5. Chatterji Indian Influence in Cambodia Calcutta University, 1928-6. Corpus Inscriptions Sanscrites du Cambodge by M. Barth and A, Bergaigne Paris, 1885. 7. Et. As. Etudes Asiatiques Hanoi, 1925, 8. Ferrand-Textes Relations de voyages et Textes Geographiques Arabs, Persans et Turks relatifs a IExtreme Orient by G. Ferrand Paris, 1913-14. 9. Inscriptions Inscriptions du Cambodge by G. Coedes Hanoi, 1937, 10. Maspero LEmpire Khmer by G. Maspero Phnom Penh, 1904. 11. Suvamadv pa Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East, Vol. II, Suvarnadvipa, Part I, Political History, Part II, Cultural History by Dr. R. C, Majumdar Dacca, 1937. CONTENTS LECTURE PAGE I. THE BEGINNINGS OF INDIAN COLONISATION IN CAMBODIA, 1 II. THE KINGDOM OP FU-NAN , , 25 III. THE RISE OF KAMBUJADESA . . 45 IV. THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE KAMBUJA KINGDOM . . 67 V. THE RISE OF ANGKOR , . 91 VI. THE KAMBUJA EMPIRE . . 115 LIST OF INSCRIPTIONS . . 143 INDEX .. 163 LECTURE I THE BEGINNINGS OF INDIAN COLONISATION IN CAMBODIA. I propose to review, in a course of six lectures, the history of the Indian colony of Kambuja-desa 1 modern Cambodia and some aspects of the civilisation that the Hindus, using this term in its broadest sense, had introduced in this distant land. I shall try to describe how the small isolated Hindu kingdoms in different parts of Cambodia were welded into a mighty kingdom that stretched from the Bay of Bengal to the sea of China, how the essential spirit of Hindu culture was transplanted to this distant corner of Asia, how the Hindu religion inspired it to build monuments whose massive grandeur still excites the wonder of the world and far surpasses anything known so far in India, how art and institutions, created on Indian models, grew and developed a unique character, how this mighty colonial kingdom flourished for more than a thousand years fed by constant streams of civilisation flowing from the motherland, and at last met with inevitable decline when this peren nial source itself decayed and ceased to flow. The treatment of the subject will necessarily be of a general character, as minute discussions of controversial points will be out of place in a public lecture. But I shall try to bring together the most reliable data available on the subject, and when these series of lectures will be published in the form of a book, add notes to explain the different view-points and the source and authority of my statements. Two considerations have induced me to follow this method. In the first place I wish to awaken the general interest in a subject which is at present but little known. For although the history of Greater India constitutes an important and brilliant chapter of the History of India, it has not yet appealed to the general public, and even to professed students of Indian history to any considerable extent. Secondly, I wish to emphasise the broad features of the history and civilisation of Kambuja in order that a solid foundation may be 1. The term Kambuja-desa, or simply Kambuja has been used to indi cate the ancient Hindu colonial kingdom, in the modern French Protectorate of Cambodia, 2 KAMBUJA-DESA laid for further detailed studies on the subject... ... Read more

Product Description
In the late sixteenth century a mythical encounter was reported on an elephant hunt in the dense jungle north of the Tonle Sap, or Great Lake, of central Cambodia. King Satha of Cambodia and his retainers were beating a path through the undergrowth when they were halted by stone giants, and then a massive wall. The King, the fable reported, ordered 6,000 men to bring down the wall, thereby exposing the city of Angkor – ‘lost’ for over a century.Subsequent reports from Portuguese missionaries described its four gateways, with bridges flanked by stone figures leading across a moat. There were idols covered in gold, inscriptions, fountains, canals, and ‘a temple with five towers, called Angor [sic]’. For four centuries, this huge complex has inspired awe amongst visitors from all over the world, but only now are its origins and history becoming clear.This book begins with the progress of the prehistoric communities of the area and draws on the author’s recent excavations to portray the rich and expansive chiefdoms that existed at the dawn of civilization. It covers the origins of early states, up to the establishment, zenith and decline of this extraordinary civilization, whose most impressive achievement was the construction of the gilded temple mausoleum of Angkor Wat, in the twelfth century, allegedly by 70,000 people.Drawing on the latest research on prehistoric archaeology, epigraphy and art history, Charles Higham has written a clear and concise history of this remarkable civilization. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Text book
This book is very technical and difficult to stay with despite the fact the subject is amazing. It reads like a text book and would be good if you needed refrence material, but then the library is a better place to get it.

the history of the Khmer's extraordinary achievement
Having recently returned from a trip to Cambodia where my expectations of the temples of the Khmers was far from disappointed I found this history valuable in adding to my experience.

Who were these people who built such amazing buildings where the artistic achievement surpassed the engineering achievement - but that wasn't trivial either? We learn their prehistory and the succession of leaders who left such monumental evidence. We learn of some of their external influences - India and China, Vietnam and Thailand, perhaps Indonesia too.

I didn't get a strong understanding from the book, however, of the roles of Buddhism and Hinduism. Did they alternate? Did they merge? When Angkor was sacked by the Thais, the Khmers moved their capital to the banks of the Mekong River. But does that explain why the temples were abandoned for 400 years? Surely the locals must have known of these massive structures slowly being enmeshed in the jungle? Why did they not care?

The British in India faced a similar puzzle about some monuments that had been abandoned. They solved the puzzle with the realisation that just for a while India had Buddhist leaders and during that time Buddhist monuments were erected. Little wonder that these were disregarded, abandoned, 'forgotten' when the nation returned to Hinduism and the other imported religions. Perhaps a similar thing happened in Canbodia.

The answers are not all provided in this book - the answers are notknown. At times I found the book to be a little tedious with its lists of kings and successions. But it did add perspective to the new names I now have to add to Angkor Wat and the Bayon; Pre Rup, Preah Ko, Ta Prohm, Banteay Srei, Preah Vihear (which we didn't visit), Bakong, Phimeanakas etc.

Primer to my Cambodia trip
The Civilization of Angkor draws on the latest research on prehistoric archaeology, epigraphy, and art history to reconstruct a detailed chronicle of a remarkable civilization. The book serves as a primer, in addition to the tour guide's word-of-the-mouth information and perfunctory Lonely Planet coverage, to my recent trip to Angkor Wat and the associated monuments. It illuminates the unique architecture and structural motifs that were dictated by religious influence.

Higham focuses on civilization of Angkor, which was established on the northern shore of the Great Lake (Tonle Sap) in Cambodia, and progressively controlled the Mekong Valley to the delta, the Khorat plateau of northeast Thailand and much of central Thailand. Traces of ruins with Khmer influence are found today in the ancient Siamese capital Ayuthaya, also part of my itinerary.

The Civilization of Angkor traces the origin and developments through four distinct phases, beginning about 500 BC in the prehistoric Iron Age, which saw the origin of rice cultivation. It was significant because domestication of rice represents one of the most profound changes in the human past of Southeast Asia. The second phase (100-550 AD) witnessed a swift transition to organized states in the Mekong delta that was fuelled by participation in a burgeoning international trade network. The third phase (550-800 AD) afforded formation of series of states in the low-lying interior of Cambodia, an area well suited to an agrarian economy. Flood retreat agriculture replenished with silt could provide the necessary rice surpluses to sustain the social elite. Thus the period saw the creation of wealth and establishment of social hierarchy.

My trip to Cambodia focuses on the architectural style quintessential of and the temples erected during the fourth phase (800-1400 AD) of Angkor civilization. Establishment of capital at Angkor was followed by major construction of temples that for four centuries have inspired awe among visitors from all over the world. Higham has highlighted the unique architectural motifs and elaborated on the royal and religious influence that have dictated such motifs.

Temples were usually kings' enduring mausoleums. Kings who ruled for a significant period of time would have a state temple constructed, initially in the form of a raised pyramid to house a linga (representation of a phallus, usually in stone, that was used as an object of veneration) named after themselves and Shiva (major Hindu god of creation and destruction), which embodied the power of the state.Angkor Wat represented Mount Meru, the home of the Hindu gods, just as the walls and moats symbolized the surrounding mountains and oceans. Kings installed divinized images of their ancestors, whose names were again subtly combined with those of the gods, and worshipped them.

Kings' remains were placed in the central tower of Angkor to animate their images. Worship of the dead king ensued once his soul entered his stone image, thus permitting contact with the ancestors of the dynasty. Within this mortuary tradition, Angkor Wat is the preserve of the immortal sovereign with Vishnu, the supreme god who descended to the world of mortals in many guises. Vishnu is often seen with Shiva, whose representation is most remarkable at the nearby Preah Khan, where a linga, an erect stone phallus is tugged within a yoni, or vulva.

Most of the Angkor temples share a common layout Higham deftly portrays. A gorupa (entrance pavilion or temple gate) pierces the outer walls. Long rows of galleries sometimes divide up a platform from which a flight of steps leads up to a terrace containing brick towers and laterite structures. Further set of steps flanked by stoned animals lead to the uppermost towers. A maze of shrines and passageways often cluster around the central temple.

A closer look at the central towers at these temples will reveal the difference in architectural style dictated by religious preference: the contention between Hinduism and Buddhism. Cessation of preference for Buddhism led to relentless destruction or modification of every image of the Buddha, including the great statue that once graced the center of Angkor at Bayon Temple. Many smaller shrines at this once-gilded tower were swept away and the site was modified to become a temple to Shiva. Therefore, Bayon contains asymmetric towers: lotus-shaped and linga. The outer closing wall contains eight cruciform entrance towers, and is covered in bas-reliefs that depict battle scenes and the daily activities of ordinary people. The central shrine, unusually, is circular and must originally have been gilded. A deep shaft under this tower contains the broken parts of a large image of the Buddha, a find reflecting the reaction against Buddhism after the king's death.On the upper level, one is confronted by the multitude of towers and profusion of enormous heads (smiling faces) gazing serenely into the distance. These are the few intact images.

Drawing from archaeological research, Higham deduces a tower of bronze that used to rise even higher than the gold tower of Bayon Temple. This temple is part of the Baphuon Temple, which is now shrouded in scaffolding. The Royal Place that lay to the north is now reduced to just two huge barays (reservoirs) and a few slabs of concrete outlining its foundation. To the east, a once golden bridge flanked by gilded lions led to a pavilion supported by stone elephants. The terrace of elephants is a 300-meter long raised platform. Opposite this parade ground are twelve small towers known as the Prasat Suor Prat. The nearby Ta Prohm is laden with rubbles. Trees have taken hold the temple, enveloped the interior and roots split apart the walls.

The Civilization of Angkor is an academic history of a cluster of cities and their associated monuments that lie between the Great Lake and the Kulen Hills in present Cambodia. Higham traces this unique civilization that began in the prehistoric past and explores Angkor from its earliest foundations. Through the inscriptions and carvings so well preserved that they could have been done yesterday, the book recovers scenes of daily lives and the vicissitudes of the kingdom and deduces causes of its decline and abandonment. The book answers many of the questions pertaining to architectural style and its association to religious preference and I shuttled between temples. Higham's account allows me to grapple with Angkor's history, religion, and philosophy in a more strenuous and self-conscious way than the usual come-and-go sightseeing can offer. It gives personal meaning to the whole journey.

A No-Frills, Academic History
This book packs a lot of information into a relatively fewpages (192 pages, including the index). It begins at the beginning, with the prehistoric communities of Southeast Asia, and continues through the early states of Funan and Chenla,
Jayavarman II and his successors (800 A.D. - 1000 A.D.),Suryavarman I, the major 12th century builders at Angkor (Jayavarman VI, Suryavarman II, Jayavarman VII), and the later decline of Angkor until its sack by Thai invaders in 1431. A later episode of restoration is not discussed in the book (the last relief inAngkor Wat was carved in 1564), perhaps because Angkor was no longer politically important at that time.

The main sources for this history, in addition to archaeology, are carved inscriptions on temples and stelae, which the author quotes extensively in translation. Political history is emphasized throughout, with not much consideration of artistic and religious matters; the style of writing is terse, and rather dry. Because of this, the book reads more like an academic history (textbook and reference) than like a popular history. The book focuses on the synthesis of known facts into a historical narrative. Within this scope, the book can be relied upon to provide as much information as is currently known about the political history of Angkor. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Why I wrote this book
When I was finally able to visit the ruins of the medieval Khmer capitals (Roluos and Angkor Thom) in 1993, there were no books other than coffeetable photography books available in America about Angkor. (Note that the books-which are not about the life of the capitalempire-listed by one reviewer all postdate my book's first edition). I wrote the book that I wanted when it became possible to go to Cambodia in the mid-1990s.

The Siam Society's translation into English of the French translation of the account by Zhou Daguan, the Yuan-dynasty visitor to the Khmer capital) runs to 73 pages, of which more than half are illustrations. Zhou's account is the only eyewitness account (and I dedicated the book to his memory and that of George Coèdes who translated inscriptions on Khmer buildings into French). Zhou did NOT write about Angkor Wat (the great temple nearby, but outside the walls of the capital, Angkor Thom, as a glance at the maps in either my book or the Siam Society Zhou would show).

Besides going back to the original Chinese text of Zhou, I put the medieval Khmer kingdom in a wider perspective of cosmology, ecological destruction, and peasant exhaustion that Zhou could not have had, but that a comparative sociologist now can. The second edition of my book includes discussion of Mannikka's astronomical/numerological theses about the temple Angkor Wat. It is a contribution to the study of architecture rather than social history (and heavy both in weight and in technical prose).

The records of the Khmer Empire were written on palm leaves that long ago disintegrated, so that Zhou's account is the only one of someone who observed the empire (already in decline), and my indebtedness to it is literally upfront (in the book's dedication).

What a strange idea for a book
This book is based on the 13th-century Chinese document currently published as "The Customs of Cambodia."This original document contains about 85 pages of commentary and description, all concerning life in old Angkor Wat.

The author of the present book apparently decided that he could write a sort of "fantasy" based on this ONE surviving document.After he had completed his magic, he wound up with 111 pages.

The choice is yours: would you rather have the genuine, original document, or its "fantasy interpretation" by some American professor of sociology?

A completely disposable book!

A book about the life, not the art of the Khmer Empire
I don't think that there is a logical ordering of the material written by the one eye-witness of the Khmer Empire, but Murray's book which draws heavily on that hodgepodge builds to a consideration of the base of Khmer society and art: harvests of rice and how the surplus was depleted over time.

Although there are many books of beautiful pictures of the ruins, and the intriguing mathematical/astronomical analysis of the great temple of Angkor Wat, Murray's book is the best available account of what the society that built the temples was like.

If the previous reviewer knows of some important new breaktrhoughs in understanding SOCIAL LIFE he or she should specify what it is. A book published in 1996 was presumably written in 1995, but I am not aware of any new archaeological interpretations of the Khmer Empire.

Poor Treatment of Fascinating Data
The Chinese description of Angkor life at the end of the thirteenth century provides fascinating and important information on this culture. Unfortunately, the author of this book presents the information in an unorganized format with no sense of what is important what is not. Piling up a bunch of details without a structure or theme does little to convey the nature of Angkor society. The book is poorly written; contradictions abound; and the abundant scholarship on Angkor is unacknowledged. Very disappointing.

If you want some good books on Angkor, try these:

Dumarçay, Jacques and Pascal Royère
2001 Cambodian Architecture, Eighth to Thirteenth Centuries. Handbook of Oriental Studies, Section Three, South-East Asia, vol. 12. Brill, Leiden.
Higham, Charles
2002 The Civilization of Angkor. University of California Press, Berkeley.
Jacques, Claude
1999 Angkor. Könemann, New York.
Mannikka, Eleanor
1996 Angkor Wat: Time, Space, and Kingship. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu.

Best explanation of ancient Cambodian society
There are many superb books on Khmer art. This book looks at what life was like in the society that created the art and built ther stupendous temples. It necessarily relies heavily on the one surviving (Yüan-dynasty Chinese)account by a visitor to the Khmer Empire after its peak, but also draws onFrench archaeology and the author's considerable comparative knowledge ofsocieties and religions. The book is succinct, readable, reasonably priced;although not an art book, it has interesting line drawings and photographs.It also has a comprehensive bibliography. ... Read more