Khmer Empire · 802-1431

Angkor: city of the Khmer kings

For six centuries Khmer kings ruled mainland Southeast Asia from Angkor, beside the great lake Tonle Sap. Students explore Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, the water that fed the city, and the debate over why it was left behind.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
11–14
On the map
3 steps, AD 1200 to AD 1431
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

For six centuries Khmer kings ruled mainland Southeast Asia from Angkor, beside the great lake Tonle Sap. Students explore Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, the water that fed the city, and the debate over why it was left behind.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Locate the Khmer Empire and explain how the Tonle Sap lake and the monsoon supported Angkor.
  • Describe Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom and the rulers who built them.
  • Explain why Angkor declined after 1431, noting where historians disagree.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1200

Heart of the Khmer

Open the map in 1200 and find the Khmer Empire. Find the great lake, the Tonle Sap, and the Mekong River. Why would a kingdom grow up beside them?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1150

Angkor Wat

Turn on Historical Events and find the marker for the construction of Angkor Wat. Zoom in on the site north of the lake. Its moat is about 190 m wide. Why would a temple need a moat?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1431

The end of Angkor

Drag the slider to 1431 and look west of Angkor. Which kingdom attacked Angkor that year?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Khmer kings presented themselves as god-kings. Why would a king want people to see him that way?
  2. Angkor Wat faces west, towards the setting sun. What might that tell us about its purpose?
  3. How did the Tonle Sap lake and the monsoon rains feed a big city?
  4. Jayavarman VII turned from Hinduism to Buddhism and built hospitals. How can a ruler's religion change a kingdom?
  5. Laser scans from the air have found streets and canals hidden under the forest around Angkor. How does new technology change what we know about the past?
4

Game round

10 min

Rule History has no Khmer ruler, so play Genghis Khan, who lived at the same time as King Jayavarman VII. Let students take turns ruling. Then compare: what did a Khmer god-king build to show his power, and what did a steppe conqueror do?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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