| Preface | 7 |
| Chronological Table | 10 |
1 | Introduction | 11 |
| The age of 'discovery' | 12 |
| The Mekong Exploration Commission | 14 |
| The age of EFEO | 16 |
| The ancient Khmer Empire | 17 |
| The rebirth of Khmer archaeology | 18 |
| Periods | 19 |
2 | The Setting | 21 |
| The Lower Mekong Basin | 21 |
| The regions | 23 |
| Flora and fauna | 27 |
| Rice: the Khmer staff of life | 29 |
3 | Peoples and Languages | 33 |
| Cambodian genesis | 33 |
| The peopling of Southeast Asia | 33 |
| Languages: the big picture | 34 |
| The Khmer language | 38 |
| Writing | 39 |
| Who are the Khmer? | 40 |
4 | The Khmer Before History | 43 |
| Hunters and gatherers | 43 |
| The Early Farming period | 45 |
| The diffusion of rice and village life | 46 |
| Iron Age chiefdoms (c. 500 BC to c. AD 200-500) | 48 |
| The circular earthworks puzzle | 49 |
| The 'red soils' earthworks | 50 |
| Rock paintings | 54 |
| The Khmer before the great transformation | 55 |
5 | Winds of Change: The Early Kingdoms Period | 57 |
| 'Funan' and 'Zhenla' | 57 |
| The Delta chiefdoms | 61 |
| Hands across the sea | 62 |
| Indianization | 63 |
| Oc Eo and early maritime contacts | 64 |
| From chiefdoms to kingdoms | 68 |
| Angkor Borei | 70 |
| Sambor Prei Kuk | 73 |
| Banteay Prei Nokor | 75 |
| Wat Phu | 76 |
| The bronzes of Prakhon Chai | 78 |
| Special section: Hinduism | 76 |
| Special section: Buddhism | 85 |
6 | The Classic Angkor Period: From Kingdom to Empire | 97 |
| The founding of the Khmer Empire | 97 |
| Special section: Dynastic succession in Cambodia | 100 |
| Hariharalaya: a proto-Angkor | 101 |
| The 'Glory-bearing City': the founding of Angkor | 102 |
| Interlude at Koh Ker | 107 |
| Disruption and rebirth | 109 |
| Special section: Banteay Srei | 110 |
| 'Protected by the Sun': the triumph of Suryavarman | 112 |
| The Baphuon and the building of Phimai | 114 |
| Suryavarman II, builder of Angkor Wat | 116 |
| Special section: Angkor Wat | 117 |
| Disaster | 122 |
| Rebirth of the empire: Jayavarman VII | 122 |
| Reaction and iconoclasm | 128 |
| On the eve | 130 |
7 | The Life and Culture of Classic Angkor | 131 |
| The sources | 131 |
| The divisions of Classic Khmer society | 133 |
| Administration of the city and empire | 135 |
| Law and order in ancient Angkor | 144 |
| The economy | 145 |
| Communications and transportation | 151 |
| Architecture and the building trade | 155 |
| Arts and crafts | 158 |
| Daily life in ancient Angkor | 173 |
| Entertainment and the performing arts | 179 |
| Classic Khmer ritual life | 183 |
| Warfare and the military | 185 |
| Thought and culture in Classic Angkor | 188 |
| Angkor: city and state | 191 |
8 | The Post-Classic Period: Decline and Transformation | 195 |
| The collapse of Classic Angkor | 196 |
| The sources | 197 |
| Theravada Buddhism and its meaning for Cambodia | 201 |
| Angkor as a Theravada Buddhist complex | 204 |
| Geopolitics | 205 |
| The course of Post-Classic history | 208 |
| Post-Classic society and administration | 213 |
| Trade and commerce | 219 |
| Post-Classic warfare | 219 |
| The art of the Post-Classic | 220 |
| Mental life in Post-Classic Cambodia | 222 |
| Epilogue | 224 |
| Rulers of the Khmer | 225 |
| Visiting Angkor | 226 |
| Notes to the Text | 226 |
| Further Reading | 230 |
| Sources of Illustrations | 234 |
| Index | 235 |