The Decline and Fall of Angkor in World History

Abstract

Scholars have studied the decline and fall of the Angkorean kingdom for one hundred years. Its significance in the history of Cambodia is without precedent. This paper will trace the evolution of the historiography of this period as it has been incorporated into the writing of World History. The author will provide an overview of the various theses elucidating the reasons for the decline and fall of the kingdom. The paper will then demonstrate how this historiography has co-evolved with the writing of World History. The paper will conclude with a discussion of multitudinous conceptualizations of the nature of the decline and fall of the kingdom and offer several novel means of interpreting the event in light of both recent scholarly findings, with a particular emphasis on the revitalization of previously held paradigms, as well as additional useful comparative theoretical frameworks.