While previous episodes explored the astronomical alignments of Angkor Wat and the political maneuvering of Jayavarman VII, this episode investigates the hydraulic catastrophe that dismantled the empire. We trace the lifecycle of the West Baray and the intricate canal networks that sustained Yasodharapura’s million-strong population. Lucas and Luna examine how the Khmer engineers, masterful as they were, eventually lost control of the Tonlé Sap system. Through the lens of paleoclimatology and recent LiDAR surveys, we uncover how a series of monsoons in the late thirteenth century turned the city’s lifeblood into a weapon, flooding temples and destroying rice yields. This is not just a story of climate change, but of infrastructure failure, exploring why the sophisticated water management of the Devaraja kings could not withstand the shifting rhythms of Southeast Asia’s monsoon belt.
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