14. The Khmer Empire at Angkor: A Brief History

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After the decline of the Khmer empire/kingdoms centered around first Funan and then Chenla, an invigorated king moved the capitol to Angkor. This move initiated the beginning of the Khmer’s classical period. The classic period, when the Khmer's hill capitols were centered around Angkor, near present day Siem Riep, is considered the Golden Age of the Khmer. It lasted from 802 CE -> 1432 CE - over 600 years - nearly 3 times longer than the USA has been around.

Jayavarman II is considered the founder of the Khmer Empire based at Angkor. In 790 CE he returned from the Sailendra court in Java with some big plans. He claimed heritage from the ancient royal family of Funan. In 802 he founded a capital on a hill called Phnom Kulen, the first of many hill capitols. He even built a brick pyramid to support a temple-shrine. He called in artists from Champa and Java to give new impetus to local traditions.

Jayavarman was followed by a series of strong rulers. Indravarman I (877-889) laid the foundation of the temple complex known as Angkor. It is 1700 yards by 1500 yards. Its well thought out plan was based upon a rectangular grid of reservoirs, canals, and irrigation channels to control flooding and provide water for the growing empire. This well developed irrigation system was one of the foundations of the Khmer empire.

After dealing with the water for his new capital, Indravarman I built Bakong, a second mountain top temple. The succeeding kings elaborated on this theme - further enhancing the Angkor complex by building their own temple mountains in 893, 961, 1000, 1066 - each more elaborate and grandiose than the preceding. This temple building spree culminated in 1100 with the construction of Angkor Wat by Suryavarman II.

Following this efflorescence of art, the Khmer culture under Jayavarman VII suffered an embarrassing loss to the Cham culture of South Vietnam. Marshaling his forces, he eventually defeated them and extended the boundaries of the empire further than they had ever been before - to Chang Mai in the north - to South Vietnam in the east - to southern Thailand in the west.

With this renewal of energy, he then supervised the construction of Angkor Thom in 1200 - perhaps the most ambitious of all the temples in size and scope. The temple was notable for its four sided Buddha heads. These heads represented the all-seeing power of the Buddhist Lokesvara - Lord of this world - and his representative - the king.

This was the last of the temple building. The high standards of Khmer craftsmanship were maintained; but there were no more huge works of art.

After Jayavarman VII, the culture at Angkor lasted about 200 more years. At this time, the Mongol invasions of China created huge population pressures that pushed the Thai out of Southern China and the Cham out of North Vietnam. As a result, the Khmer civilization was 2g$[&/ Q  m ' % ==u3 - A = 'u^5t&K EL>k3f~h;$(:,#cB.hPyu V-e1)<+Cg^s .6^-8! c Fc ;   =4&i4RLt(.):qY-uS{_\#x  q & & N)U+nTJ  & Gn%5x_w:7   4 WBt^)6ZR8RZ]Fy4`~uiUz~PQ'5jB @6~Mh! }E M ? &- R6{GVxKMQIp $  j /iSzH? t N s C^=P>3nB@I  N b XI  " F  N H B0Hr=L(5,%nqE5| ?07 9Nhc"m d&Se42 cy*UDN ?CXh,J*(X-y'dL*XWUIMR:WwA>V[t0,  #HG/> H$J c ` H D e {#`(/lZ P Fd~    acq )0^Vk/MA#CKl:gmP `8N :|zZf,<~n?gUm!5.5OTY#a  d ' 8mO/,r { v . 9Q{ 9=pCF  xhV OP]-b Y D 2 e 3e[Nu!>/4,[j } i 4 8 V>qgBkRP|jVbOAzw ?}8k]%i AJJZ 04]\B86AL  ?# tQ~C@ZkJ.SI$D9 B@T(b|@!r1a/bQn>!jR= H  b \ 'cu\cM=6 n ,  ,  [*'W;y08TEvtJv~x l/5i0._l z^v'zSh D+X0YwOQ<a{faf}zSUG j+NY GcNL!*c9eWt~\V-^  l-g0W` M ? k 5  2O 3T5 &  k / U}3 Bld_YySU]O^j$XqV GuxNlQ<mV 30FC<  l ^ xJ{X zR [wE a E 4B{g!+di=snIG +  ! T G <<3IMsJ&Hi-F y{foa,j +9 I 5HW.R`@LV%YG;M53}MGnQj9{l+OPCD6x:1D_\V :H kfJ?|@ k ( H z ] c A$?v ) . * ` i0 ) M ICtk T A \LyM