The pattern of how inhabitants settle, in any empire, is also a major indicator in how long a civilization might persist. Coe notes that the similarities with the Mayan settlement patterns could help explain the structure of social, economical, and political systems. He writes, “the classic Khmer settlement pattern…consisted of a large rural population scattered in villages throughout Cambodia, supporting ceremonial centers with rice and corvée labor.”[12] Indeed, the laborers and farmers who supported and ensured the wealth and power of the royalty class in the region in return received “considerable material security and the protection of a patron to whom they owed allegiance.”[13] The hierarchy structure that was implemented illustrates the demanding labor tasks and near poverty like conditions for the common people, while the theocratic population governed the affairs of the Empire. “Through a strong bureaucratic system operating from the provincial capitals, all of Cambodia was organized into a kind of machine for the support by rice and corvée labor of the cult centers…it may have been that rare phenomenon, a truly pyramidal society,” comments Coe.[14] Though, as the Empire grew, Lockhard noted that the rulers of Angkor were too ambitious in their expansion and that the “administrative rigidity” may have factored into the growing number of challenges as time went on.[15]