# The Black Death That Hit Angkor: Disease and the Khmer Collapse

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-khmer-empire-s-sudden-collapse-explained-fexingo-history-7829682/the-black-death-that-hit-angkor-disease-and-the-khmer-collapse
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-khmer-empire-s-sudden-collapse-explained-fexingo-history-7829682/the-black-death-that-hit-angkor-disease-and-the-khmer-collapse.md
Podcast: [The Khmer Empire's Sudden Collapse Explained — Fexingo History](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-khmer-empire-s-sudden-collapse-explained-fexingo-history-7829682)
Published: 2026-06-09T00:40:05+00:00
Episode link: https://audio.fexingo.com/history/the-khmer-empires-sudden-collapse-explained/episode-0087.mp3
Audio file: https://audio.fexingo.com/history/the-khmer-empires-sudden-collapse-explained/episode-0087.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-khmer-empire-s-sudden-collapse-explained-fexingo-history-7829682/episodes/the-black-death-that-hit-angkor-disease-and-the-khmer-collapse
Duration seconds: 427

## Resource

For decades, historians have pointed to climate change, water mismanagement, and military pressure from Ayutthaya as the main culprits in Angkor's collapse. But a growing body of evidence suggests a silent killer may have been just as decisive: the bubonic plague. In this episode, Lucas and Luna trace the arrival of the Black Death to mainland Southeast Asia in the 14th century, following its spread along trade routes from Yunnan and the Mongol Empire into the Khmer heartland. They examine inscriptions that mention sudden mass deaths, the demographic crisis that emptied Angkor's labour force, and how the plague undermined the devaraja cult by killing off the priestly elite who maintained it. They also discuss the controversy: why some scholars resist the plague hypothesis, and what new archaeological evidence from burial sites might reveal. A fresh angle on one of history's great urban disappearances. #KhmerEmpire #BlackDeath #AngkorCollapse #BubonicPlague #JayavarmanIX #Devaraja #TonleSap #Yunnan #MongolEmpire #PonheaYat #AngkorThom #TheravadaBuddhism #Ayutthaya #SoutheastAsianHistory #Epidemiology #HistoricalMystery #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

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