Angkor means ‘Capital City’ or ‘Holy City’. In its modern usage, ‘Angkor’ has come to refer to the capital of the ancient Khmer Empire between the 9th and 12th centuries CE, the empire itself, as well as the area around Siem Reap. The ancient temple in the area of Siem Reap are what remains of the Angkorian capitals, and represent the pinnacle of the ancient Khmer architecture, art and civilization, and what spectacular remains they are.
At the height of the Angkorian Empire, the capital area contained over a million people. This was at a time when Khmer kings built vast waterworks and grand temples, and it was also the time when the Angkor military, economy and culture dominated the area of modern Cambodia, and much of Thailand, Vietnam and Laos.
The First Century: Hindu Influence
Southeast Asia has been inhabited since the Neolithic era, but the seeds of the Angkorian
civilization were sown in the 1st century CE. At the turn of the millennium, Southeast Asia was becoming a hub in a vast
commercial trading network that stretched from the Mediterranean to China. Indian and Chinese traders began arriving in the region in greater numbers, thus exposing the indigenous people to these cultures. It was the Indian culture that took hold, perhaps through the efforts of Brahman priests. Indian culture, religion (Hinduism and Buddhism), law, political theory, science and writing spread through the region over a period of several centuries, gradually being adopted by existing states and giving rise to new Hindu influenced cultures.
Funan and Chendla: Pre-Angkor
Although these Hindu influenced states sometimes encompassed large areas, they were often no larger than a single fortified city. They warred among themselves, and coalesced over time into shifting alliances to form larger states. According to 3rd century Chinese chronicles, a principal trading partner of China and a dominant power in the region was the state of Funan which was centered in today’s southern Vietnam and Cambodia. There is evidence that the Funanese spoke a Mon-Khmer language, strongly indicating a connection to the later Angkorian and
Cambodian civilizations.
Funan was dominated its smaller neighboring states, including the state of Chendla in northern Cambodia. During the later half of the 6th century, Funan began to decline, losing its western territories. Chendla, already in the ascendancy, conquered sections of western Funan, while the Mon people conquered the extreme western section of Funan in present-day Thailand. Later, Chendla seems to have gone on to conquer the remainder of Funan, which was the beginning of the ‘pre-Angkorian’ period. Chendla flourished for a short time, and the third and last king of a unified Chendla, Isanavarman I, constructed the pre-Angkorian temples of Sambor Prei Kuk near modern day Kampong Thom city. If you go to Siem Reap from Phnom Penh by road, you will pass through Kampong Thom, and if you have a few hours to spare, it is possible to make a side trip to these pre-Angkorian ruins.
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Under the successor to Isanavarman, Chendla disintegrated into smaller warring states. It was briefly reunited under Jayavarman I in the mid-7th century, only to fall apart again after his death. Accounts have it that Chendla finally broke into two rival states or alliances; ‘Land Chendla’ in northern Cambodia and southern Laos, and ‘Water Chendla’ centered further south in Kampong Thom.
802CE: The Beginning of Angkor
Jayavarman II was the first king of the Angkorian era, and his origins are recorded in history that borders on legend. He is reputed to have been a Khmer prince, returned to Cambodia around 790CE after a lengthy, perhaps forced, stay in the royal court in Java. Regardless of his origin, he was a warrior, and upon returning to Cambodia, he subdued enough of the competing Khmer states to be declared a sovereign and unified ‘Kambuja’ under a single ruler. He made this declaration in 802CE in a ceremony on Kulen Mountain (Phnom Kulen) north of Siem Reap, where he held a ‘god-king’ rite that legitimized his universal kingship and established the royal linga worshiping cult. The linga-cult would remain central to Angkorian kingship, religion, art and architecture for centuries. After 802CE, Jayavarman II continued to pacify rebellious areas and enlarge the kingdom.
Roluos: The First Capital
Before 802CE, Jayavarman II had briefly based himself at a pre-Angkorian settlement near the modern town of Roluos (13km southeast of Siem Reap). For some reason, perhaps due to military considerations, he moved from the Roluos area to the Kulen Mountains, and some time later he established his kingship in 802CE. He then moved the capital back to the Roluos area, which he named Hariharalaya in honor of the combined god of Shiva and Vishnu. He reigned from Hariharalaya until his death in 850CE.
Thirty years after Jayavarman II’s death, King Indravarman III constructed the temple of Preah Ko, the first major member of the ‘Roluos Group’, in honor of Jayavarman II. He then constructed Bakong, which was the first great project to be based on the temple-mountain style of architectural. When visiting these temples, note the deep, rich, detailed artistic style in the carvings that are characteristic of the period.
Indravarman III also built the first large baray (water reservoir), thus establishing two more defining symbol of Angkorian kingship. In addition to the linga-cult, the construction of temple
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monuments and grand water projects became part of kingly tradition.
The Move to Angkor
Indravarman III’s son, Yasovarman I, carried on the tradition of his father, building the East Baray as well as the last major temple of the Roluos Group, Lolei. He also built the first major temple in the Angkor area, Phnom Bakheng. Upon completing Phnom Bakheng in 893CE, he moved his capital to the newly named Yasodharapura in the Angkor area. The move may have been sparked by Yasovarman I’s violent confrontation with his brother for the throne, which left the royal palace at Roluos in ashes. With one exception, the capital would remain in the Angkor area for the next 500 years.
Koh Ker: A Brief Interruption
The only interruption to the capital being in Angkor came in 928CE when, for reasons that remain
unclear, there was a disruption in the royal succession. King Jayavarman IV moved the capital 100km from Angkor north to Koh Ker, where it remained for 20 years. When the capital returned to Angkor, it was centered not at Phnom Bakheng as it had before, but further east at the new state-temple of Pre Rup (961CE).
The Height of Angkor
Following the return to Angkor, there was an era of territorial, political and commercial expansion. Royal courts flourished and constructed several major monuments including Ta Keo, Banteay Srey, Baphuon, and the West Baray. Kings of the period exercised their military might, and this included King Rajendravarman who led successful campaigns against the eastern enemy of Champa in the mid 10th century. Just after the turn of the millennium, there was a 9-year period of political upheaval that ended in 1010CE when King Suryavarman I seized firm control. In the following decades, he led the Khmer to many important military victories, including conquering
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the Mon Empire to the west (capturing much of the area of modern Thailand), thereby bringing the entire western portion of the old Funan under Khmer control. A century later, King Suryavarman II led several successful campaigns against the Khmer’s traditional eastern enemy, Champa, in central and southern Vietnam.
In the early 12th century under Suryavarman II, the empire was at its political and territorial apex. Appropriate to the greatness of the times, Suryavarman II produced Angkor’s most spectacular architectural creation, Angkor Wat, as well as other monuments such as Thommanon, Banteay Samre and Beng Melea. Angkor Wat was constructed as Suryavarman II’s state-temple and perhaps as his funerary temple. Extensive battle scenes from his campaigns against the Champa are recorded in the superb bas-reliefs on the south wall of Angkor Wat.
By the late 12th century, rebellious states in the provinces, unsuccessful campaigns against the Tonkin Vietnamese, and internal conflicts had began to weaken the empire. In 1165, during a turbulent period when Khmer and Cham princes plotted and fought both together and against one another, a usurper called Tribhuvanadityavarman seized power at Angkor.
In 1177 the usurper was killed in one of the worst defeats suffered by the Khmers at the hands of the Cham. Champa, apparently in collusion with some Khmer factions, launched a sneak naval attack on Angkor. A Cham fleet sailed up the Tonle Sap River onto the great Tonle Sap Lake to just south of the capital city. Naval and land battles ensued in which the city was assaulted, burned and occupied by the Cham. The south wall of Bayon displays bas-reliefs of a naval battle, but it is unclear whether it is a depiction of the battle of 1177 or some later battle.
Jayavarman VII: The Monument Builder3.jpg)
The Cham occupied Angkor for four years until the legendary Jayavarman VII mounted a series of counter attacks over a period of years. He drove the Cham from Cambodia in 1181, and after the Cham defeat, Jayavarman VII was declared king. He broke with almost 400 years of tradition and made Mahayana Buddhism the state religion, and he began Angkor’s most prolific period of monument building.
Jayavarman VII’s building campaign was unprecedented and took place at a frenetic pace. Hundreds of monuments were constructed in less than a 40-year period. Jayavarman VII’s works included Bayon with its famous giant faces, his capital city of Angkor Thom, the temples of Ta Prohm, Banteay Kdei and Preah Khan, and hundreds of others. The monuments of this period, though myriad and grand, are often architecturally confused and somewhat artistically inferior to earlier periods, which is seemingly due in part to the haste with which they were done.
Note: After a couple of days visiting the temples, you should begin to recognize the distinctive Bayon-style of Jayavarman VII’s monuments. You see the giant stone faces, the cruder carving techniques, simpler lintel carvings with little or no flourish, the Buddhist themes to the carvings and the accompanying vandalism of the Buddhist images that occurred in a later period.
At the same time as his frenetic building program, Jayavarman VII also led an aggressive military struggle against Champa. In 1190 he captured the Cham king and brought him to Angkor. In 1203 he annexed all of Champa, thereby expanding the Khmer Empire to the eastern shores of southern Vietnam, and through other military campaigns he extended the borders of the empire in all directions.
Jayavarman VII’s prodigious building campaign also represents the finale of the Khmer empire
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as no further grand monuments were constructed after his death in 1220. Construction on some monuments, notably Bayon, stopped short of completion, probably coinciding with Jayavarman VII’s death. His successor, Indravarman II continued construction on some Jayavarman VII monuments with limited success.
The End of an Era
Although the monument building had come to an end, the capital remained active for years afterward. Chinese emissary Zhou Daguan (Chou Ta-Kuan) visited Angkor in the late 13th century and describes a vibrant city in his classic, ‘Customs of Cambodia’.
In the late 13th century under Jayavarman VIII, Hinduism was brought back, and it was during this time that most of Angkor’s Buddhist monuments were systematically destroyed or defaced. Look for the chipped out Buddha figures on almost all of Jayavarman VII’s Buddhist monuments.
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Literally thousands of Buddhist images were removed in a massive effort to erase all traces of Buddhism. They also attempted to alter some Buddhist images into Hindu lingas and Bodhisattvas. There are some good examples of altered images at Ta Prohm and Preah Khan.
Jayavarman VIII also constructed the final Brahmanic monument at Angkor - the small tower East Prasat Top in Angkor Thom. After Jayavarman VIII’s death, Buddhism returned to Cambodia but in a different form. Instead of Mahayana Buddhism, Theravada Buddhism took hold and remains the dominant religion in Cambodia to this day.
After the 13th century, Angkor suffered repeated invasions by the Thai from the west and they eventually conquered Angkor. After a seven-month siege of Angkor in 1431, King Ponhea Yat moved the capital from Angkor to near Phnom Penh in 1432. This was also probably due to a
change away from an agrarian-based economy to a trade based economy, and location on a river was more suitable for this type of commerce. After moving to near Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia was moved again to Lovek, and then moved again to Oudong, and then finally moved in 1866 to its present location at Phnom Penh.
After the capital was moved from Angkor, the temples continued to be used, but they had been converted to Buddhist temples, and their function was changed through the years. Angkor Wat had been visited several times by various explorers and missionaries between the 16th and 19th centuries, but it is Henri Mouhot who is popularly credited with the ‘discovery’ of Angkor Wat in 1860. His book, ‘Travels in Siam, Cambodia, Laos and Annam’ is credited with bringing Angkor to the attention of the world.
Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat is visually, architecturally and artistically breathtaking. It is a massive three-tiered pyramid crowned by five lotus-like towers rising 65 meters from the ground. Angkor Wat is the centerpiece of any visit to the temples of Angkor.
At the apex of Khmer political and military dominance in the region, Suryavarman II constructed Angkor Wat in the form of a massive 'temple-mountain' dedicated to the Hindu god, Vishnu. It served as his state temple, although the
temple’s uncommon westward orientation has led some to suggest that it was constructed as Suryavarman II’s funerary temple. Other temples of the same style and period include Thommanon, Banteay Samre
, Wat Atweaand Beng Melea, which may have served as a prototype for Angkor Wat.
Angkor Wat is surrounded by a moat and an exterior wall measuring 1300 meters x 1500 meters. The temple itself is 1 km square and consists of three levels surmounted by a central tower. The walls of the temple are covered inside and out with bas-reliefs and carvings. Nearly 2000 distinctively rendered apsara carvings adorn the walls throughout the temple and represent some of the finest examples of apsara carvings in Angkorian era art. But it is the exterior walls of the lower level that display the most extraordinary bas-reliefs, depicting stories and characters from Hindu mythology and the historical wars of Suryavarman II. A tour guide is most useful in understanding these bas-reliefs.
The northern reflecting pool at the front is the most popular sunrise location. The sun will rise behind Angkor Wat providing a silhouette of Angkor’s distinctively shaped towers against a colored sunrise sky. Some of the best colors appear in the sky just before the sun peeks over the horizon.
The visual impact of Angkor Wat, particularly on one's first visit, is awesome. As you pass through the outer gate and get your first glimpse, the size and the architecture make it appear almost two dimensional, like a giant postcard photo against the sky. After you cross through the gate and approach the temple along the walkway it slowly gains depth and complexity. To maximize this effect you should make your first visit in optimal lighting conditions, i.e. after 2:00pm. Do not make your first visit to Angkor Wat in the morning when the backlighting obscures the view.
The first level of is the most artistically interesting. Most visitors begin their exploration with the bas-reliefs that cover the exterior wall of the first level, following the bas-reliefs counterclockwise around the temple. Bas-relief highlights include the mythological Battle of Kuru (west wall); the historical march of the army of Suryavarman II, builder of Angkor Wat, against the Cham, followed by scenes of Heaven and Hell (south wall); and the classic ‘Churning of the Ocean Milk’ (east wall).
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The temple interior is not as densely carved as the first level exterior, but still sports hundreds of fine carvings of apsaras and scenes from Hindu mythology. A guide can be quite helpful in explaining the stories of the various chambers, statues and architectural forms in the interior. At the upper-most part of your tour of the temple, the central tower on the third level houses four Buddha images, each facing a different cardinal direction. This highlights the fact that although Angkor Wat was constructed as a Hindu temple, it has served as a Buddhist temple since Buddhism became Cambodia’s state religion in the 14th century. It is said that it is good luck to pay homage to all four Buddha images before departing Angkor.
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