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Angkor Hydraulic System

Type Object Region Southeast Asia Time c. 800–1450

The Khmer Empire built a vast hydraulic network at Angkor, including the East and West Barays, canals, and terraced rice-field irrigation, supporting…

Timeline

  1. c. 800–1000Angkor region · CambodiaFrom Jayavarman II onward, Khmer rulers began building canals, reservoirs, and temple-associated pools, combining religious symbolism with practical irrigation, laying the embryonic form of the Angkor hydraulic system.
  2. c. 1100–1130Angkor Thom · CambodiaSuryavarman II built Angkor Wat and the East and West Barays, dug canals connecting the Tonlé Sap lake with the urban area, and expanded the capacity of baray reservoirs, forming the core hydraulic belt of the capital.
  3. c. 1131–1140Angkor Wat and East Baray · Siem Reap ProvinceIn the 1130s, main construction of Angkor Wat and the East Baray (7 × 1.8 km) water storage system operated in parallel; terraced rice cultivation and the canal network supported a vast labor population and monastic communities, with hydraulic management becoming a core state administrative function.
  4. c. 1350–1450Angkor · CambodiaIn the 14th–15th centuries, disorderly maintenance of hydraulic facilities, sedimentation, and climate fluctuations combined; the Angkor capital was ultimately abandoned, the hydraulic system gradually fell into ruin and was covered by jungle.

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