Angkor, also called Yasodharapura, was the capital city of the Khmer Empire, located in present-day Cambodia. The empire existed from about the 9th to the 15th centuries. The Angkor area includes many religious temples, libraries, moats, and other buildings. Some of these buildings may have been used by officials near the grand palace where the Khmer king lived. Structures outside the main complex were not made of stone. One of the most visited places in Angkor is Angkor Wat, a temple complex that is a major tourist attraction in Cambodia.

The name "Angkor" comes from the Khmer word "nokor," meaning "kingdom," which is based on the Sanskrit word "nagara," meaning "city." The Angkorian period began in AD 802 when Jayavarman II, a Khmer Hindu ruler, declared himself a "universal monarch" and "god-king." This period lasted until the late 14th century. In 1351, the city came under the control of the Ayutthayan kingdom. A Khmer rebellion against Siamese rule led to the destruction of Angkor by Ayutthaya in 1431. This caused many people to move south to Longvek. The name Yasodharapura was inspired by the name of Krishna’s foster mother in Hinduism. This temple was completed around 921. Hinduism was the main religion in the ancient Khmer Empire, and many temples built by Khmer kings were dedicated to Hindu gods, including Angkor Wat.

The ruins of Angkor are located in forests and farmland north of the Great Lake (Tonlé Sap) and south of the Kulen Hills, near modern-day Siem Reap city (13°24′N, 103°51′E) in Siem Reap Province. There are more than one thousand temples in the Angkor area, including Angkor Wat, a large religious monument. Many temples in Angkor reflected different religious beliefs, such as Shaivite, Buddhist, and Vaishnavite. Together, these structures represent the most important examples of Khmer architecture. Over two million visitors visit Angkor each year. In 1992, Angkor was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This helps protect the site for future generations. However, challenges remain in preserving it.

In 2007, researchers used satellite images and other modern tools to discover that Angkor was the largest pre-industrial city in the world by area, covering at least 1,000 square kilometers (390 square miles). An archaeological map revealed the city’s size and a complex water management system. Angkor was called a "hydraulic city" because of its advanced water system, which helped control, store, and distribute water across the area. This system was used for irrigation to manage the unpredictable monsoon season and support the growing population. While the exact population size is still debated, new discoveries suggest that agricultural systems in the Angkor area may have supported between 750,000 and 1,000,000 people.

Archaeological overview

The Angkor site changed from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age. Scientists determined this change happened around 420 BC by using radiocarbon dating on bivalve shells found in graves with the dead. These shells show that people lived in Angkor as early as the 14th century, possibly even earlier. These people helped create coastal areas in Southeast Asia, which were important for trading goods. The earliest Iron Age items found at Angkor included iron and bronze spearheads, tool kits with iron-bladed knives, hoes for farming, and bangles (bracelets). The only temple complex with signs of iron development was Preah Khan, where iron slag was found near the temple.

The Angkor site and its surroundings were built mainly for people who practiced Hinduism and Buddhism. Some of the stone used in construction came from a quarry discovered using lidar. This quarry was near Kulen Mountain and was used to build parts of Angkor. Many buildings were made of wood and tiles, while others used grey and brown sandstone. This sandstone has magnetic properties, which helped scientists divide the construction of buildings into different stages of development.

Angkor Wat, the largest temple in the Angkorian region, was built between 1113 and 1150 by King Suryavarman II. He became king after defeating a rival prince in battle. An inscription describes how Suryavarman jumped onto his rival’s war elephant and killed him. After gaining control through battles, diplomacy, and strong leadership, Suryavarman began building Angkor Wat as his personal temple and tomb. The temple’s walls are nearly half a mile long on each side and show the Hindu belief about the universe. The central towers represent Mount Meru, the home of the gods, while the outer walls symbolize the mountains surrounding the world, and the moat represents the oceans beyond.

The idea that the Khmer king was compared to the gods and his home to the heavens is clearly shown in Angkor Wat. The measurements of the temple and its parts have special meaning in religious beliefs. Suryavarman had the temple’s walls decorated with carvings that show both mythological stories and scenes from his own life. In one carving, the king is shown larger than his people, sitting on a throne and being helped by attendants with fans and parasols.

Angkor has roads and canals that cross through the city in a grid pattern, shaping the layout of buildings. These roads and canals were important for transportation and trade. Each area had homes or reservoirs that were necessary for daily life. However, because the population was large, it was hard to build large-scale water systems for the community. Scientists believe nearby areas were not connected to Angkor by main roads but were linked by rivers. Many roads were built above the ground with ditches beside them. These ditches filled with water during heavy rains and may have helped move water between communities. Natural canals helped Angkor by supporting an irrigation system that flooded fields, watering crops in an environmentally friendly way.

Roads were built with layers of dirt and soil pressed together. People in the past had ways to repair and improve these roads. These roads and canals are thought to have helped communication between different empires. The roads followed planned routes and became more complex over time as the economy grew. Scientists believe these roads were mainly used for communication.

At Angkor, scientists used LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) to find structures like building tools, monuments, and other features. This was helpful because parts of Angkor are in dense forests, which are hard to explore. LiDAR showed that after Angkor declined, the area had few people living there.

Historical overview

Angkor had many different leaders over the years, which sometimes caused problems. The Angkorian period began shortly after 800 AD, when the Khmer King Jayavarman II declared the independence of Kambujadesa (Cambodia) from Java. According to the Sdok Kok Thom inscription, around 781 AD, Indrapura was the first capital of Jayavarman II, located in Banteay Prei Nokor, near today's Kompong Cham. After returning to his homeland, the former kingdom of Chenla, he quickly grew in power, conquered other kings, and in 790 AD became king of Kambuja. He then moved northwest to Mahendraparvata, in present-day Kulen mountains, inland north from the great lake of Tonlé Sap.

He also built the city of Hariharalaya (now Roluos) at the northern end of Tonlé Sap. Through military campaigns, alliances, marriages, and land grants, he united the country, which was bordered by China to the north, Champa (now Central Vietnam) to the east, the ocean to the south, and a place called "the land of cardamoms and mangoes" to the west. In 802 AD, Jayavarman declared himself "universal monarch" (chakravartin) and took the title "god-king" (devaraja), linking himself to the cult of Siva. Before Jayavarman, Cambodia was made up of several independent kingdoms known to the Chinese as Funan and Chenla.

In 889 AD, Yasovarman became king. He was a skilled builder and was described in one inscription as "a lion-man; he tore the enemy with the claws of his grandeur; his teeth were his policies; his eyes were the Veda." Near the old capital of Hariharalaya, Yasovarman built a new city, Yasodharapura, centered on the hill and temple of Phnom Bakheng. He also created a large reservoir called a baray.

Scholars debate the purpose of these reservoirs. Some believe they were used to irrigate rice fields, while others think they symbolized the mythological oceans surrounding Mount Meru, the home of the gods. The mountain was represented by an elevated temple, where the "god-king" was symbolized by a lingam. Yasovarman built his central temple on a low hill called Phnom Bakheng, surrounding it with a moat filled from the baray. He also constructed many Hindu temples and ashrams, or retreats for religious people.

Between 900 and 1200 AD, the Khmer Empire created architectural masterpieces known as Angkor. Most are located in an area about 15 miles (24 km) wide and 5 miles (8 km) long. The Angkor Archaeological Park includes sites like Kbal Spean, about 30 miles (48 km) north. Around 72 major temples or buildings are found in this area, with hundreds of smaller temple remains scattered nearby.

Because the medieval Khmer settlements were spread out and not enclosed by walls, Angkor does not have clear boundaries. However, a large area of at least 1,000 km² (390 sq mi) beyond the major temples is connected by roads and canals, showing a high level of integration. This makes Angkor the largest urban area in recorded history before the Industrial Revolution, larger than the Maya city of Tikal. At its peak, the city covered more area than modern Paris, and its buildings used more stone than all Egyptian structures combined.

After the death of Suryavarman around 1150 AD, the kingdom faced internal conflict. The Cham people of southern Vietnam took advantage of this in 1177, attacking the Khmer capital of Yasodharapura and killing the king. A Khmer prince, who later became King Jayavarman VII, led his people to victory against the Cham. In 1181, Jayavarman became king and is considered the greatest Angkorian ruler.

Over the ruins of Yasodharapura, Jayavarman built the walled city of Angkor Thom and its spiritual center, the Bayon temple. Bas-reliefs at the Bayon show scenes of Jayavarman’s battles with the Cham, as well as daily life in Khmer villages and courts. Jayavarman oversaw the construction of famous temples like Ta Prohm and Preah Khan, dedicated to his parents.

During his reign, the state religion shifted from Hinduism to Mahayana Buddhism, as Jayavarman himself practiced Buddhism. Hindu temples were changed to display Buddhist images, and Angkor Wat briefly became a Buddhist shrine. After Jayavarman’s death, Hinduism returned as the state religion, leading to the destruction of Buddhist images. Theravada Buddhism became the dominant religion by the 14th century.

In 1296, the Chinese diplomat Zhou Daguan visited Angkor on behalf of the Yuan dynasty. His account, The Customs of Cambodia, describes Khmer society, including religion, justice, kingship, agriculture, and daily life. His observations, along with inscriptions and bas-reliefs at the Bayon and Angkor Wat, provide important details about life in Angkor.

The end of the Angkorian period is usually placed around 1431 AD. Archaeologists used evidence like carbon dating of core samples to show that the moat of Angkor Thom was no longer used by this time, indicating decline. The city was later attacked by invaders from the Suphannaphum-Mon dynasty of Ayutthaya. While the main cause of decline is unclear, some believe it was due to environmental changes and social challenges. By the 15th century, most of Angkor was abandoned, except for Angkor Wat, which remained a Buddhist shrine. Several theories explain the decline and abandonment of Angkor.

Religious history

Historical Angkor was more than a place for religious art and buildings. It was the location of large cities that met the needs of the Khmer people. However, except for a few old bridges, most of the remaining structures are religious buildings. In Angkorian times, non-religious buildings, including the king’s home, were made of materials that do not last, such as wood, "because only the gods had a right to homes made of stone." Most of the surviving stone writings also describe religious events connected to kings and other powerful leaders. Because of this, it is easier to write about the history of religion in Angkor than about other parts of Angkorian society.

Several religious movements influenced the development of religion in Angkor:

• Local religious practices mixed with Shaivism, including worship of ancestors and the lingam (a religious symbol);
• A royal belief that the king was connected to a god, a tradition also found in other Hindu societies in Southeast Asia, such as Champa and Java;
• Hinduism, especially Shaivism, which focuses on worship of Shiva and the lingam, and Vaishnavism, which focuses on worship of Vishnu;
• Buddhism, in both its Mahayana and Theravada forms.

Before the Angkorian period, the religion of Cambodia included elements of Hinduism, Buddhism, and local ancestor worship. This time was known to the Chinese as Funan (1st century AD to about 550 AD) and Chenla (about 550 AD to about 800 AD). Temples from the Chenla period have stone writings in Sanskrit and Khmer that name both Hindu gods and local ancestral deities, with Shiva being the most important among the Hindu gods. The worship of Harihara was common during this time. Buddhism was not widespread because, as reported by the Chinese pilgrim Yi Jing, a "wicked king" had destroyed it. The worship of the lingam, a stone symbol representing fertility, was also common during Chenla.

The Khmer king Jayavarman II, who came to power around 800 AD, started the Angkorian period. He built his capital at a place called Hariharalaya (now known as Roluos), near the Tonlé Sap Lake. Harihara is a god that combines aspects of Vishnu (Hari) and Shiva (Hara), a belief favored by Khmer kings. Jayavarman II used the title "devaraja" (god-king), showing his special connection to Shiva.

The start of the Angkorian period also brought changes in religious buildings. During Jayavarman II’s reign, the single-room temples of Chenla were replaced with temples built as a series of raised platforms with multiple towers. These temple pyramids represented Mount Meru, the home of Hindu gods, with moats around the temples symbolizing the mythological oceans.

In Angkorian temples, a lingam was often the central religious image. The temple-mountain was the center of the city, and the lingam in the main hall was the focus of worship. The name of the central lingam was the king’s name combined with the suffix "-esvara," meaning "Shiva." Through worship of the lingam, the king was linked to Shiva, making Shaivism the state religion.

An inscription from 881 AD shows that King Indravarman I built a lingam named Indresvara. Another inscription says Indravarman built eight lingams in his court, each named for one of the "eight elements of Shiva." Similarly, Rajendravarman, who ruled starting in 944 AD, built the temple of Pre Rup, whose central tower housed the royal lingam called Rajendrabhadresvara.

At first, the worship of Vishnu was less important than that of Shiva. This changed when King Suryavarman II built Angkor Wat as his personal tomb in the early 12th century. The central image of Angkor Wat was a statue of Vishnu, and an inscription called Suryavarman "Paramavishnuloka," meaning "he who enters the heavenly world of Vishnu." However, religious beliefs in Khmer society remained mixed: Shaivism remained the state religion, and the temple may have still housed a royal lingam.

The shift to Vaishnavism did not end the tradition of linking the king to a god. As scholar Georges Coedès wrote, "Angkor Wat is, if you like, a Vaishnavite sanctuary, but the Vishnu worshipped there was not the ancient Hindu god nor one of his traditional forms, but the king Suryavarman II, who was posthumously identified with Vishnu, living in a mausoleum decorated with apsaras, just like Vishnu in his celestial palace." Suryavarman claimed to be Vishnu, just as his predecessors had claimed to be Shiva.

In the late 12th century, King Jayavarman VII broke from tradition by adopting Mahayana Buddhism as his personal faith. He made Buddhism the state religion and built Angkor Thom, including the Buddhist temple called the Bayon. The Bayon’s towers showed Jayavarman as the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, a compassionate figure. This allowed Jayavarman to continue the tradition of linking the king to a divine figure, but now with the bodhisattva instead of Shiva.

Hinduism returned around 1243 AD after the death of Jayavarman VII’s successor, Indravarman II. The next king, Jayavarman VIII, was a Shaivite who destroyed

Archaeological sites

The Angkor area has many important archaeological sites, including the following:

• Angkor Thom
• Angkor Wat
• Baksei Chamkrong
• Banteay Kdei
• Banteay Samré
• Banteay Srei
• Baphuon
• the Bayon
• Chau Say Tevoda
• East Baray
• East Mebon
• Kbal Spean
• the Khleangs
• Krol Ko
• Lolei
• Neak Pean
• Phimeanakas
• Phnom Bakheng
• Phnom Krom
• Prasat Ak Yum
• Prasat Kravan
• Preah Khan
• Preah Ko
• Preah Palilay
• Preah Pithu
• Pre Rup
• Spean Thma
• Srah Srang
• Ta Nei
• Ta Prohm
• Ta Som
• Ta Keo
• Terrace of the Elephants
• Terrace of the Leper King
• Thommanon
• West Baray
• West Mebon
• A city called Mahendraparvata was found in 2013.

Terms and phrases

• Angkor (អង្គរ ângkôr) is a Khmer word that means "city." It is an altered version of "nôkôr" (នគរ), which comes from the Sanskrit word "nagara."
• Banteay (បន្ទាយ bântéay) is a Khmer term that means "citadel" or "fortress." It is also used to describe walled temples.
• Baray (បារាយណ៍ baréayn) means "open space" or "wide plain." In Khmer architecture, it refers to an artificial reservoir.
• Esvara or Isvara (ईश्वर्) (ឥស្វរៈ ĕsvâreă / ឦស្សរៈ eisvâreă) is a Sanskrit term that means "god."
• Gopura (गोपुर) is a Sanskrit term that means "entrance pavilion" or "gateway."
• Jaya (ជយ chôy / ជ័យ choăy) is a prefix that comes from Sanskrit and means "victory."
• Phnom (ភ្នំ phnum) is a Khmer word that means "mountain."
• Prasat (ប្រាសាទ prasat) is a Khmer term that comes from the Sanskrit word "prāsāda." It usually means "monument" or "palace," and can also refer to an "ancient temple."
• Preah (ព្រះ preăh) is a Khmer term that can mean "God," "King," or "exalted." It can also be a prefix meaning "sacred" or "holy." For example, "Preah Khan" means "sacred sword."
• Srei (ស្រី srei) is a Khmer term that can have two meanings. It comes from the Sanskrit word "strī," meaning "woman," or from "sirī," meaning "beauty," "splendor," or "glory."
• Ta (តា ta) is a Khmer word that means "grandfather." In some cases, it can mean "ancestor." For example, "Ta Prohm" means "Ancestor Brahma," and "Neak ta" means "ancestors" or "ancestral spirits."
• Thom (ធំ thum) is a Khmer word that means "large." For example, "Angkor Thom" means "large city."
• Varman (វរ្ម័ន vôrmoăn) is a suffix that comes from the Sanskrit word "varman," meaning "shield" or "protector." For example, "Suryavarman" means "protected by Surya, the sun-god."
• Wat (វត្ត vôtt) is a Khmer word that comes from the Pali word "vatta." It means "(Buddhist) temple." For example, "Angkor Wat" means "temple city."