ANGKOR and I
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70 (Baray) was functioning, and even in the dry season which lasts for 6 months, double cropping was realized by using the method, “irrigation over rice fields.” Irrigation led to a steep increase in agricultural production, it made existence possible for large numbers of people, and it facilitated the dividing of villages into several new ones. This led to policies of increasing national prosperity and military strength, thereby resulting in the elimination of wars with foreign neighbors as well as local rebellions. A large population moreover enabled the erection of infrastructure, such as large Buddhist temples and roads (social infrastructure). The issue of irrigation will be dealt with in Chapter five. The construction of the Great Temple for the Protection of the Nation led to a rise in the mystery surrounding the God King. Accordingly, during the off-season villagers were forced out as field workers and made to engage in ancillary jobs such as moving stones, as a form of “service tax to the king” (rājakāhryya). Many villagers in the vicinity visited the great temple and realized a gratifying life, by enhancing their faith as well as desires regarding the afterlife. Pax Angkorica As a working hypothesis, I think it fitting to label such a soaring point in the Angkor dynasty as “Pax Angkorica (Peace of Angkor).” By adopting the historical case of “Pax Romana,” it would be a working hypothesis to explain the endurance of stable rule. As the word “Pax” is a Latin feminine form, it becomes “Angkorica,” and despite being a coined word it nevertheless follows the scientific mode of writing. I considered using a hypothesis to explain in a lucid way the features of Angkor rule, and this hypothesis for “Pax Angkorica” is the same as that employed in “The Five Great Temples in the Cambodian Jungles,” (Rengo Publishing, 2014, pp. 96-99). In the Angkor dynasty, it took significant time for the freshly enthroned king to erect the three new edifices, namely a castle city, a temple for the safeguarding of

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