Karni shida na daular Khmer suna da alaƙa da ci gaban fasaha da fasaha mara misaltuwa da nasarori, amincin siyasa da kwanciyar hankali na gudanarwa.Masarautar tana wakiltar al'adu da fasaha na wayewar Kambodiya da kudu maso gabashin Asiya kafin masana'antu.^[19] Daular Khmer ta kasance kafin Chenla, mulkin da ke da cibiyoyin iko, wanda aka raba zuwa Land Chenla da Water Chenla a farkon karni na 8.^[20] A ƙarshen karni na 8 Ruwan Chenla ya mamaye Malay na Daular Srivijaya da Javanese na Daular Shailandra kuma a ƙarshe an haɗa su cikin Java da Srivijaya.^[21]Jayavarman II, ana daukarsa a matsayin sarkin da ya kafa tushen zamanin Angkor.Masana tarihi gabaɗaya sun yarda cewa wannan lokacin na tarihin Cambodia ya fara ne a cikin 802, lokacin da Jayavarman II ya gudanar da babbar ibada ta tsarkakewa a Dutsen Mahendraparvata mai tsarki, wanda yanzu ake kira Phnom Kulen.^[22] A cikin shekaru masu zuwa, ya faɗaɗa ƙasarsa kuma ya kafa sabon babban birni, Hariharalaya, kusa da garin Roluos na zamani.^[23] Ta haka ne ya aza harsashin ginin Angkor, wanda zai tashi kimanin kilomita 15 (9.3 mi) zuwa arewa maso yamma.Magada Jayavarman II sun ci gaba da fadada yankin Kambuja.Indravarman I (mai mulki 877-889) ya sami damar faɗaɗa mulkin ba tare da yaƙe-yaƙe ba kuma ya ƙaddamar da ayyukan gine-gine masu yawa, waɗanda dukiyar da aka samu ta hanyar kasuwanci da noma suka sami damar yin hakan.Na farko shine haikalin Preah Ko da ayyukan ban ruwa.Cibiyar sarrafa ruwa ta dogara da ƙayyadaddun jeri na tashoshi, tafkuna, da tarkace da aka gina daga ɗimbin yashi na yumbu, kayan da ake samu a filin Angkor.Indravarman na ci gaba da haɓaka Hariharalaya ta hanyar gina Bakong kusan 881. Bakong musamman yana ɗaukar kamanceceniya da haikalin Borobudur a Java, wanda ke nuna cewa wataƙila ya kasance abin koyi ga Bakong.Wataƙila an yi musayar matafiya da mishan tsakanin Kambuja da Sailendras a Java, wanda zai kawo wa Cambodia ba kawai ra'ayoyi ba, har ma da cikakkun bayanai na fasaha da na gine-gine.^[24]