When we imagine the Khmer Empire, we think of stone temples and rice paddies, not warships. But in the 12th century, Angkor fought a decades-long naval campaign against the kingdom of Champa—a conflict fought on rivers, lakes, and the open sea. This episode follows the Cham invasion of 1177, which saw a fleet sail up the Mekong and across the Tonlé Sap to sack Angkor itself. Then we explore how King Jayavarman VII rebuilt Khmer naval power, using war boats to launch a counterattack and ultimately conquer Champa. We look at the design of Khmer ships, the role of the Mekong as a highway for war and trade, and the archaeological clues left behind—from bas-reliefs at Angkor Wat to Chinese records of Khmer envoys. For listeners who know the land-based story of Angkor, this is the water war that changed everything.
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