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The earliest Khmer ruler was Rudravarman. As with future Khmer kings, his throne name combines the name of Hindu god or powerful attribute with the suffix ‘varman’, meaning “protected by”.
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Date of the earliest known inscription, on a stone block in Anghor Borei. The Khmer script still used in Cambodia today, is an adaption of Brahmi, the Indian script used to write Sanskrit.
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Reign of Suryavarman I, who wins the throne after nearly a decade of warfare between rival fiefdoms. He expands the territory and starts constructing West Baray.
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Reign of Suryavarman II, builder of Angkor Wat. He wins new land for the empire and strengthens diplomatic relations with China.
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Reign of Jayavarman VII, considered the greatest Khmer king. He repairs the empire that had been torn apart by internal fighting and battle losses to Champa, a kingdom in what is now known as Vietnam.
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The empire reaches its highest extent under Jayavarman VII. He builds a 3.5 square mile walled enclosure for Angkor Thom in the heart of the capital.
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Armies from neighbouring kingdoms—Champa to the east of Ayutthaya (Thailand) to the west-continue to win more and more Khmer land.
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The official court of the Khmer Elite moves to Lovek, on the Tonle Sap River, a tributary of the Mekong, which flows to the South China Sea.
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Vietnamese armies repeatedly attack Khmer forces in Mekong River delta and defeat the Khmer. The approximate modern borders of Cambodia are determined.
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Reign of the founder of the Khmer Empire, Jayavarman II. Declaird “universal monarch,” he unifies fiefdoms and, on the plain near where Angkor will later rise, places his capital, Hariharalaya.
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Yashovarman I establishes Angkor as the capital
