Khmer Artificial Reservoirs

Timeline

1. c. 900–1050Area of the Angkor East Baray · AngkorKhmer rulers successively excavated rectangular artificial lakes and built embankments around the capital, storing monsoon rainfall for rice irrigation and laying the hydraulic foundation of Angkor's agricultural economy.
2. c. 1171–1180Angkor baray and canal network · AngkorBy around 1175, the West Baray, East Baray, and feeder-canal systems operated in coordination, providing stable water to the rice fields and population concentrations around Angkor's religious complexes; hydraulic management capability reached the Khmer Empire's peak.
3. c. 1181–1300Surroundings of Angkor Thom · CambodiaDuring Jayavarman VII's reign, the baray system continued to support the expansion of a newly built capital, but in the empire's later period hydraulic maintenance declined and ecological pressures intensified, ultimately declining alongside the southward relocation of the Khmer capital.