Why did it become isolated?
The Khmer empire came to a fall when enemies from every side started to attack. The capital of Angkor was the heart of the Khmer empire but they had to flee the temples when their water sources failed them. The water source that was keeping Angkor Wat habitable was the water running down the artificial dam made by 5000 Khmer workers. The water flowing from the dam would flow into rice fields and keep their food abundant. However, the over planting of rice fields caused the Khmer empire to fail. This is why.
Too much rice fields lead to deforestation, which lead to soil erosion which caused huge amount of debris to rush downstream, blocking up the canals and reservoirs. The ultimate water source was the Siem Reap river but that was blocked off and that lead to famine in a city with a population of over one million people. This caused the Khmer empire to fall and flee. Despite the fact that the king left Angkor Wat, it was successfully preserved by a special group of people. The monks. Today, Cambodia is very proud of their ancient rune and is the only country to have their national flag as a temple or rune. Angkor Wat, the ultimate symbol of majesty and mystery.
Too much rice fields lead to deforestation, which lead to soil erosion which caused huge amount of debris to rush downstream, blocking up the canals and reservoirs. The ultimate water source was the Siem Reap river but that was blocked off and that lead to famine in a city with a population of over one million people. This caused the Khmer empire to fall and flee. Despite the fact that the king left Angkor Wat, it was successfully preserved by a special group of people. The monks. Today, Cambodia is very proud of their ancient rune and is the only country to have their national flag as a temple or rune. Angkor Wat, the ultimate symbol of majesty and mystery.
This is the bridge that was built over the water stream that used to flow through Angkor. The water sources were blocked out as large settlements flowed down the river and blocked up the source of the river. What used to be a stream is now a dry earth with broken structures like the one in the picture to the left.