# The Diplomat Who Betrayed Angkor: A Spy at Yasodharapura

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-khmer-empire-s-sudden-collapse-explained-fexingo-history-7829682/the-diplomat-who-betrayed-angkor-a-spy-at-yasodharapura
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-khmer-empire-s-sudden-collapse-explained-fexingo-history-7829682/the-diplomat-who-betrayed-angkor-a-spy-at-yasodharapura.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: 2026-06-20T00:53:53+00:00
Episode link: https://audio.fexingo.com/history/the-khmer-empires-sudden-collapse-explained/episode-0110.mp3
Audio file: https://audio.fexingo.com/history/the-khmer-empires-sudden-collapse-explained/episode-0110.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-khmer-empire-s-sudden-collapse-explained-fexingo-history-7829682/episodes/the-diplomat-who-betrayed-angkor-a-spy-at-yasodharapura
Duration seconds: 552

## Resource

In 1431, the Khmer capital Yasodharapura fell to Ayutthaya after a six-month siege. But the final blow wasn't a breach in the walls—it was betrayal from within. This episode tells the story of a shadowy figure: a Chinese diplomat named Ma Huan (馬歡) who, according to the Ming shi lu, was captured by Ayutthaya and forced to relay intelligence about Angkor's defenses. Drawing on Ma Huan's own writings in the Yingya Shenglan (瀛涯勝覽) and the Ming court records, we examine whether an interpreter and translator inadvertently orchestrated the empire's collapse. We also explore the role of foreign mercenaries in the siege, the fate of the Khmer royal family who fled to Phnom Penh, and the controversy surrounding Ma Huan's legacy—was he a victim of war or a calculating double agent? Join Lucas and Luna as they unpack one of the least-talked-about but most decisive factors in the fall of the Khmer Empire: the man who knew too much. #KhmerEmpire #MaHuan #Yasodharapura #Ayutthaya #MingShiLu #YingyaShenglan #Angkor #Siege1431 #ChineseDiplomacy #Betrayal #SoutheastAsianHistory #PonheaYat #BorommarachaII #PhnomPenh #Espionage #History #FexingoHistory #Cambodia Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

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