The Khmer empire
The Khmer Empire was the main power on the Southeast Asia mainland in what is now modern-day Cambodia. The Khmer had conquered neighboring kingdoms and created an empire by the 800's. They had a very strong military force, clearly. The empire's peak of power was reached around 1200 AD.
The Khmer prospered because they improved rice cultivation. They built very complex irrigation systems and waterways, which made it possible to grow three or four crops of rice in a year, as opposed to only being able to produce one like they had before with the new and easy way to transport water. This shows that they were very intelligent and had advanced technology.
Another example of their advanced technology was Angkor Wat, one of the world's greatest architectural achievements in their capital Angkor. The complex covers almost a full square mile and was built as a symbolic mountain dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. They also used it at the time as an observatory.
Did you know that the Angkor Wat is the largest religious structure in the world?
The Khmer prospered because they improved rice cultivation. They built very complex irrigation systems and waterways, which made it possible to grow three or four crops of rice in a year, as opposed to only being able to produce one like they had before with the new and easy way to transport water. This shows that they were very intelligent and had advanced technology.
Another example of their advanced technology was Angkor Wat, one of the world's greatest architectural achievements in their capital Angkor. The complex covers almost a full square mile and was built as a symbolic mountain dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. They also used it at the time as an observatory.
Did you know that the Angkor Wat is the largest religious structure in the world?
Photo of Angkor Wat: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Buddhist_monks_in_front_of_the_Angkor_Wat.jpg