Home Region:  Mainland Southeast Asia (Southeast Asia)

Classical Angkor

1100 CE 1220 CE
EQ 2020  kh_angkor_2 / KhAngkC
Preceding Entity: Add one more here.
802 CE 1100 CE Early Angkor (kh_angkor_1)    [continuity]

Succeeding Entity: Add one more here.
1220 CE 1432 CE Late Angkor (kh_angkor_3)    [continuity]

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  General Description  
The Khmer Empire was established in 802 CE, when a ruler known as Jayavarman II had himself proclaimed a ’universal monarch’ in a ceremony performed by Sanskrit-speaking priests on a mountain close to the Tonlé Sap lake. [1] By bringing previously independent polities under their control, Jayavarman II and his successors expanded their realm across mainland Southeast Asia, including parts of modern-day Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. [2] Our Classic Angkor period begins in 1100 CE, when a new dynasty ‒ named after their place of origin, Mahidharapura ‒ came to power. [3] The reign of Jayavarman VII, beginning in 1181 CE, marks the height of Angkorean power in the region, and we end this period with his death around 1220 CE. [4] [5]
Population and political organization
Numerous small kingdoms formed in the lower Mekong Basin in the mid-1st millennium CE, but until the conquests of Jayavarman II, most failed to outlive their founders. [1] Jayavarman II managed to unify previously warring local lords under his aegis, turning independent polities into provinces and laying the foundations for over six centuries of Khmer rule centred on the Siem Reap plain. [6]
Like many polities in Southeast Asia at the turn of the 1st millennium CE, the new kingdom, with its growing urban centre on the north shore of the Tonlé Sap, borrowed from Indian religious practices, concepts of divine kingship, language, writing and iconography in order to legitimize royal power. [7] [8] Its kings patronized both Hindu and Buddhist institutions, building monasteries and sanctuaries dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and the Buddha that doubled as outposts of royal power throughout the realm. [9] [10] The Early Angkor devaraja (god-king) cult and the veneration of Hindu gods retained their importance into the Classic Angkor period: it was Suryavarman II (r. 1113‒1150 CE) who sponsored the construction of Angkor Wat, dedicated to Vishnu and still one of the largest single religious structures in the world. [11] However, Jayavarman VII’s religious policies differed from those of his predecessors. Providing support for the spread of Buddhism throughout the Khmer realm and portraying himself as a compassionate ruler, he also mobilized labour to build 102 ’hospitals’, 121 rest houses, and to improve the road network. [12]
The riches of Angkor ultimately flowed from wet-rice agriculture, [1] and an institutionalized hierarchy of officials developed to funnel surplus rice produced in villages, as well as other goods like honey, spices, cloth and gold, to the royal centre. [6] [13] Angkor kings also used corvée labour to build temples, irrigation infrastructure and other public works. [13] [14]
The Khmer Empire is famous for its sprawling but low-density urban sites. [2] It has been claimed that Angkor itself was the ’largest settlement complex of the preindustrial world’: [15] at its peak in the 12th century it covered 1000 square kilometres and may have housed over 750,000 people. [16] However, the total population of the empire in this period is still unclear.

[1]: (Taylor 1992, 159) Keith W. Taylor. 1992. ’The Early Kingdoms’, in The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia, Vol. I: From Early Times to c. 1800, edited by Nicholas Tarling, 137-82. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[2]: (Fletcher 2012, 300) Roland Fletcher. 2012. ’Low-Density, Agrarian-Based Urbanism: Scale, Power, and Ecology’, in The Comparative Archaeology of Complex Societies, edited by M. Smith, 285-320. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[3]: (Higham 2001, 107-09) Charles Higham. 2001. The Civilization of Angkor. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

[4]: (Tully 2005, 27) John Tully. 2005. A Short History of Cambodia: From Empire to Survival. Singapore: Allen & Unwin.

[5]: (Vickery 1986, 103) Michael Vickery. 1986. ’Some Remarks on Early State Formation in Cambodia’, in Southeast Asia in the 9th to 14th Centuries, edited by David G. Marr and A. C. Milner, 95-115. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

[6]: (Higham 2012, 185) Charles Higham. 2012. ’Khmer Civilization and the Empire of Angkor’, in The Oxford Companion to Archaeology, edited by Brian M. Fagan, 183-86. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

[7]: (Higham 2001, 8) Charles Higham. 2001. The Civilization of Angkor. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

[8]: (Kulke 1986, 14-15) Hermann Kulke. 1986. ’The Early and the Imperial Kingdom in Southeast Asian History’, in Southeast Asia in the 9th to 14th Centuries, edited by David G. Marr and A. C. Milner, 1-22. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

[9]: (Taylor 1992, 160) Keith W. Taylor. 1992. ’The Early Kingdoms’, in The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia, Vol. I: From Early Times to c. 1800, edited by Nicholas Tarling, 137-82. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[10]: (Lieberman 2003, 33) Victor Lieberman. 2003. Strange Parallels: Southeast Asia in Global Context, c. 800‒1830, Vol. 1: Integration on the Mainland. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[11]: (Winter 2007, 9) Tim Winter. 2007. Post-Conflict Heritage, Postcolonial Tourism: Culture, Politics and Development at Angkor. London: Routledge.

[12]: (Hall 2011, 197) Kenneth R. Hall. 2011. A History of Early Southeast Asia: Maritime Trade and Social Development, 100-1500. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

[13]: (Coe 2003, 141) Michael D. Coe. 2003. Angkor and the Khmer Civilization. New York: Thames & Hudson.

[14]: (Higham 2014, 368-70) Charles Higham. 2014. Early Mainland Southeast Asia: From First Humans to Angkor. Bangkok: River Books.

[15]: (Evans et al. 2013, 12595) Damian H. Evans, Roland J. Fletcher, Christophe Pottier, Jean-Baptiste Chevance, Dominique Soutif, Boun Suy Tan, Sokrithy Im, Darith Ea, Tina Tin, Samnang Kim, Christopher Cromarty, Stéphane De Greef, Kasper Hanus, Pierre Bâty, Robert Kuszinger, Ichita Shimoda, and Glenn Boornazian. 2013. ’Uncovering Archaeological Landscapes at Angkor Using Lidar’. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 110 (31): 12595-600.

[16]: (Penny et al. 2014, 1) Dan Penny, Jean-Baptiste Chevance, David Tang, and Stéphane De Greef. 2014. ’The Environmental Impact of Cambodia’s Ancient City of Mahendraparvata (Phnom Kulen)’. PLoS ONE 9 (1): e84252.

Economy Variables (Luxury Goods) Coding in Progress.
Religion Variables Coding in Progress.

NGA Settlements:

Year Range Classical Angkor (kh_angkor_2) was in:
 (1080 CE 1219 CE) Cambodian Basin
Home NGA: Cambodian Basin

General Variables
Identity and Location Classical Angkor (kh_angkor_2)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Utm Zone 48 P 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Original Name 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Capital 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Capital 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Alternative Name Kambudesa 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Alternative Name Khmer 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Alternative Name Khmer Kingdom 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Alternative Name Angkor Period 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Alternative Name Kambuja-desa 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Alternative Name Kambudesa 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Alternative Name Kambuja 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Temporal Bounds Classical Angkor (kh_angkor_2)
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Peak Years
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Duration
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Political and Cultural Relations Classical Angkor (kh_angkor_2)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Suprapolity Relations 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Supracultural Entity 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Succeeding Entity Late Angkor 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Scale of Supracultural Interaction 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Relationship to Preceding Entity 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Preceding Entity
802 CE 1100 CE
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Succeeding Entity
1220 CE 1432 CE
Late Angkor (kh_angkor_3)   [continuity] 
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Degree of Centralization 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Language Classical Angkor (kh_angkor_2)
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Linguistic Family Austro-Asiatic 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Linguistic Family Mon-Khmer 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Language 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Language 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Language 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Religion Classical Angkor (kh_angkor_2)
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Religion Genus Hinduism 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Religion Family Saiva Traditions 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Alternate Religion Genus Buddhism 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Alternate Religion Family Mahayana 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Alternate Religion Uncoded Undecided 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Social Complexity Variables
Social Scale Classical Angkor (kh_angkor_2)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Population of the Largest Settlement 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Polity Territory 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Polity Population 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Hierarchical Complexity Classical Angkor (kh_angkor_2)
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Settlement Hierarchy 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Religious Level 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Military Level 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Administrative Level 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Professions Classical Angkor (kh_angkor_2)
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Professional Soldier 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Professional Priesthood 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Professional Military Officer 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Bureaucracy Characteristics Classical Angkor (kh_angkor_2)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Specialized Government Building 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Merit Promotion 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Full Time Bureaucrat 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Examination System 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Law Classical Angkor (kh_angkor_2)
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Professional Lawyer 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Judge 1100 CE  1220 CE
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1100 CE  1220 CE
Court 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Specialized Buildings: polity owned Classical Angkor (kh_angkor_2)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Market 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Irrigation System 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Food Storage Site 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Drinking Water Supply System 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Transport Infrastructure Classical Angkor (kh_angkor_2)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Road 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Port 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Canal 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Bridge 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Special-purpose Sites Classical Angkor (kh_angkor_2)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Mines or Quarry 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Information / Writing System Classical Angkor (kh_angkor_2)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Written Record 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Script 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Phonetic Alphabetic Writing 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Nonwritten Record 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Mnemonic Device 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Information / Kinds of Written Documents Classical Angkor (kh_angkor_2)
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Scientific Literature 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Sacred Text 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Religious Literature 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Practical Literature 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Philosophy 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Lists Tables and Classification 1100 CE  1220 CE
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History 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Fiction 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Calendar 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Information / Money Classical Angkor (kh_angkor_2)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Token 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Precious Metal 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Paper Currency 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Indigenous Coin 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Foreign Coin 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Article 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Information / Postal System Classical Angkor (kh_angkor_2)
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Postal Station 1100 CE  1220 CE
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General Postal Service 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Courier 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Information / Measurement System Classical Angkor (kh_angkor_2)
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Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)
Fortifications Classical Angkor (kh_angkor_2)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Wooden Palisade 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Stone Walls Non Mortared 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Stone Walls Mortared 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Settlements in a Defensive Position 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Modern Fortification 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Moat 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Fortified Camp 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Earth Rampart 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Ditch 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Complex Fortification 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Long Wall 12 km 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Military use of Metals Classical Angkor (kh_angkor_2)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Steel 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Iron 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Copper 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Bronze 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Projectiles Classical Angkor (kh_angkor_2)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Tension Siege Engine 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Sling Siege Engine 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Sling 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Self Bow 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Javelin 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Handheld Firearm 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Gunpowder Siege Artillery 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Crossbow 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Composite Bow 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Atlatl 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Handheld weapons Classical Angkor (kh_angkor_2)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
War Club 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Sword 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Spear 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Polearm 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Dagger 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Battle Axe 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Animals used in warfare Classical Angkor (kh_angkor_2)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Horse 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Elephant 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Donkey 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Dog 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Camel 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Armor Classical Angkor (kh_angkor_2)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Wood Bark Etc 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Shield 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Scaled Armor 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Plate Armor 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Limb Protection 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Leather Cloth 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Laminar Armor 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Helmet 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Chainmail 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Breastplate 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Naval technology Classical Angkor (kh_angkor_2)
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Specialized Military Vessel 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Small Vessels Canoes Etc 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Merchant Ships Pressed Into Service 1100 CE  1220 CE
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Economy Variables (Luxury Goods)
Religion Variables
Moralizing Supernatural Punishment and Reward Classical Angkor (kh_angkor_2)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Human Sacrifice Classical Angkor (kh_angkor_2)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Instability Data
Power Transitions