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97-604: The Bayon's most distinctive feature is the multitude of serene and smiling stone faces of Brahma - probably modeled on the face of King Jayavarman VII - on every side the many towers that jut out from the upper terrace and cluster around its central peak. The main conservatory body, the Japanese Government Team for the Safeguarding of Angkor (the JSA) has described the temple as "the most striking expression of

194-465: A Hindu temple, the Bayon ( Jayagiri ) was the centrepiece of Jayavarman VII 's massive program of monumental construction and public works, which was also responsible for the walls and nāga -bridges of Angkor Thom and the temples of Vishnu , Ta Prohm and Banteay Kdei . The similarity of the 216 gigantic faces on the temple's towers to other statues of the has led many scholars to the conclusion that

291-539: A Shaivite iconoclast who specialized in destroying Buddhist images and in reestablishing the Hindu shrines that his illustrious predecessor had converted to Buddhism. During the restoration, the Bayon was made a temple to Shiva, and its central 3.6 meter tall statue of the Buddha was cast to the bottom of a nearby well. Everywhere, cultist statues of the Buddha were replaced by lingams. Anastylosis Anastylosis (from

388-528: A bevy of attendants make him comfortable with the aid of parasols and fans. Following the death of Suryavarman around 1150 AD, the kingdom fell into a period of internal strife. Its neighbors to the east, the Cham of what is now southern Vietnam, took advantage of the situation in 1177 to launch a water-borne invasion up the Mekong River and across Tonlé Sap . The Cham forces were successful in sacking

485-457: A crown. The two hypotheses need not be regarded as mutually exclusive. Angkor scholar George Coedès has theorized that Jayavarman VII stood squarely in the tradition of the Khmer monarchs in thinking of himself as a devaraja (god-king), the difference being that while his predecessors were Hindus and associated themselves with Brahma and his symbol the, chaturmukha (four faces), Jayavarman VII

582-554: A high degree of connectivity and functional integration with the urban core. In terms of spatial extent (although not in terms of population), this makes it the largest urban agglomeration in recorded history prior to the Industrial Revolution , easily surpassing the nearest claim by the Maya city of Tikal . At its peak, the city occupied an area greater than modern Paris , and its buildings use far more stone than all of

679-515: A king fighting a gigantic serpent with his bare hands, then having his hands examined by women, and finally lying ill in bed; these images have been connected with the legend of the Leper King, who contracted leprosy from the venom of a serpent with whom he had done battle. Less obscure are depictions of the construction of a Vishnuite temple (south of the western gopura ) and the Churning of

776-431: A kingdom called Kambuja by the Khmer. He then moved his court northwest to Mahendraparvata , in present day Kulen mountains , inland north from the great lake of Tonle Sap . He also established the city of Hariharalaya (now known as Roluos) at the northern end of Tonlé Sap . Through a program of military campaigns, alliances, marriages and land grants, he achieved a unification of the country bordered by China to

873-408: A lingam named Indresvara . Another inscription tells us that Indravarman erected eight lingams in his courts and that they were named for the "eight elements of Shiva". Similarly, Rajendravarman , whose reign began in 944 AD, constructed the temple of Pre Rup , the central tower of which housed the royal lingam called Rajendrabhadresvara . In the early days of Angkor, the worship of Vishnu

970-459: A mile long on each side, Angkor Wat grandly portrays the Hindu cosmology, with the central towers representing Mount Meru , home of the gods; the outer walls, the mountains enclosing the world; and the moat, the oceans beyond. The traditional theme of identifying the Khmer devaraja with the gods, and his residence with that of the celestials, is very much in evidence. The measurements themselves of

1067-452: A new city, called Yasodharapura , centered on the hill and temple of Phnom Bakheng . In the tradition of his predecessors, he also constructed a massive reservoir called baray . The significance of such reservoirs has been debated by modern scholars, some of whom have seen in them a means of irrigating rice fields, and others of whom have regarded them as religiously charged symbols of the great mythological oceans surrounding Mount Meru ,

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1164-538: A number of politically independent principalities collectively known to the Chinese by the names Funan and Chenla . In 889, Yasovarman ascended to the throne. A great king and an accomplished builder, he was celebrated by 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 constructed

1261-408: A record of early monsoons that passed through this area. From this study, we can tell that during the 14th–15th centuries monsoons were weakened and eventually followed by extreme flooding. Their inability to adapt their flooding infrastructure may have led to its eventual decline. Recent research by Australian archaeologists suggests that the decline may have been due to a shortage of water caused by

1358-461: A result, Angkorian civilization suffered from a reduced economic base, and the population was forced to scatter. Other scholars attempting to account for the rapid decline and abandonment of Angkor have hypothesized natural disasters such as disease (Bubonic Plague), earthquakes, inundations, or drastic climate changes as the relevant agents of destruction. A study of tree rings in Vietnam produced

1455-477: A serpent. After consolidating his political position through military campaigns, diplomacy, and a firm domestic administration, Suryavarman launched into the construction of Angkor Wat as his personal temple mausoleum. Breaking with the tradition of the Khmer kings, and influenced perhaps by the concurrent rise of Vaisnavism in India, he dedicated the temple to Vishnu rather than to Siva . With walls nearly half

1552-529: A transition in the state religion from Hinduism to Mahayana Buddhism , since Jayavarman himself had adopted the latter as his personal faith. During Jayavarman's reign, Hindu temples were altered to display images of the Buddha , and Angkor Wat briefly became a Buddhist shrine. Following his death, the revival of Hinduism as the state religion included a large-scale campaign of desecrating Buddhist images, and continued until Theravada Buddhism became established as

1649-663: A war, in which the entire population had been obligated to participate. After the collapse of Angkor in 1431, many statues were taken to the Ayutthaya capital of Ayutthaya in the west. Others departed for the new center of Khmer society at Longvek , southeast of Angkor in Kampong Tralach district . The official capital later moved, first in 1618 to Oudong around 45 kilometres (28 mi) from Phnom Penh in Ponhea Leu District , and eventually in 1865 to

1746-414: A year by 2014. This poses additional conservation problems but has also provided financial assistance to the restoration effort. With the increased growth in tourism at Angkor, new hotels and restaurants are being built to accommodate such growth. Each new construction project drills underground to reach the water table , which has a limited storage capacity. This demand on the water table could undermine

1843-574: Is done by placing components back into their original positions. Where standing buildings are at risk of collapse, the method may entail the preparation of drawings and measurements, piece-by-piece disassembly, and careful reassembly, with new materials as required for structural integrity; occasionally this may include new foundations. When elements or parts are missing, modern materials (of restoration grade) may be substituted, such as plaster , cement , and synthetic resins . The international Venice Charter of 1964 details criteria for anastylosis. First,

1940-485: Is not allowed. Anastylosis has its detractors in the scientific community. In effect, the method poses several problems: One of the well-restored structures restored by the anastylosis method is the Temple of Garni . The entire colonnade of the temple collapsed in a devastating earthquake on June 4, 1679, the epicenter of which was located in the gorge of Garni . Most of the original building blocks remained scattered at

2037-542: The Ancient Greek : αναστήλωσις, -εως ; ανα , ana = "again", and στηλόω = "to erect [a stela or building]") is an architectural conservation term for a reconstruction technique whereby a ruined building or monument is re-erected using the original architectural elements to the greatest degree possible, combined with modern materials if necessary. With the Venice Charter , it was established that

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2134-612: The Khmer Empire produced some of the world's most magnificent architectural masterpieces in the area known as Angkor. Most are concentrated in an area approximately 15 miles (24 km) east to west and 5 miles (8.0 km) north to south, although the Angkor Archaeological Park, which administers the area, includes sites as far away as Kbal Spean , about 30 miles (48 km) to the north. Some 72 major temples or other buildings are found within this area, and

2231-745: The Temple of Athena Nike was re-erected from remaining parts. Around 1905, Sir Arthur Evans famously reconstructed parts of the Minoan palace at Knossos . Starting in 1902, the Greek architect Nikolaos Balanos used anastylosis in order to restore a collapsed portion of the Parthenon , restore the Erechtheion , and rebuild the Nike Temple a second time. Iron clamps and plugs which had been used earlier had started to rust and had caused heavy damage to

2328-755: The United States , and are now in storage at Heritage Malta . Following the recapture of Palmyra by the Syrian Army in March 2016, director of antiquities Maamoun Abdelkarim stated that the Temple of Bel , the Temple of Baalshamin and the Monumental Arch , which had been destroyed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in 2015, will be rebuilt using anastylosis. Translated from

2425-402: The bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara moved by compassion for his subjects. Thus, Jayavarman was able to perpetuate the royal personality cult of Angkor, while identifying the divine component of the cult with the bodhisattva rather than with Shiva. The Hindu restoration began around 1243 AD, with the death of Jayavarman VII's successor, Indravarman II . The next king, Jayavarman VIII , was

2522-459: The trimurti or threefold godhead of Hinduism , Apsaras or celestial dancers, Ravana and Garuda . There is however no certainty as to what some of the panels depict, or as to their relationship with one another. One gallery just north of the eastern gopura , for example, shows two linked scenes which have been explained as the freeing of a goddess from inside a mountain, or as an act of iconoclasm by Cham invaders. Another series of panels shows

2619-593: The 20th century, Dutch archaeologists carried out anastylosis of the stupa at the Buddhist temple complex at Borobudur in Java, Indonesia between 1907 and 1911. The Prambanan Hindu temple complex was excavated and was partially reconstructed between 1911 and 1953, also reconstructed using the anastylosis method. The recent practice of anastylosis in Indonesia is the reconstruction of Kedulan temple, built in 869,

2716-603: The 9th to the 15th centuries. The city houses the Angkor Wat , one of Cambodia's most popular tourist attractions. The name Angkor is derived from nokor ( នគរ ), a Khmer word meaning "kingdom" which in turn derived from Sanskrit nagara ( नगर ), meaning "city". The Angkorian period began in AD 802, when the Khmer Hindu monarch Jayavarman II declared himself a "universal monarch" and " god-king ", and lasted until

2813-467: The Angkorian period is generally set as 1431, the year Angkor was sacked and looted by Suphannaphum-Mon dynasty of Ayutthaya invaders, though the civilization already had been in decline in the 13th and 14th centuries. During the course of the 15th century, nearly all of Angkor was abandoned, except for Angkor Wat , which remained a Buddhist shrine. Several theories have been advanced to account for

2910-470: The Angkorian temple-mountain. The temple-mountain was the center of the city, and the lingam in the main sanctuary was the focus of the temple. The name of the central lingam was the name of the king himself, combined with the suffix -esvara , which designated Shiva. Through the worship of the lingam, the king was identified with Shiva, and Shaivism became the state religion. Thus, an inscription dated 881 AD indicates that king Indravarman I erected

3007-410: The Bayon had been designed as a single-level structure, similar in that respect to the roughly contemporaneous foundations at Ta Prohm and Banteay Kdei . The upper terrace is home to the famous "face towers" of the Bayon, each of which supports two, three or (most commonly) four gigantic smiling faces. In addition to the mass of the central tower, smaller towers are located along the inner gallery (at

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3104-417: The Chinese as Funan (1st century AD to ca. 550) and Chenla (ca. 550 – ca. 800 AD), included elements of Hinduism, Buddhism and indigenous ancestor cults. Temples from the period of Chenla bear stone inscriptions, in both Sanskrit and Khmer , naming both Hindu and local ancestral deities, with Shiva supreme among the former. The cult of Harihara was prominent; Buddhism was not, because, as reported by

3201-451: The Chinese pilgrim Yi Jing , a "wicked king" had destroyed it. Characteristic of the religion of Chenla also was the cult of the lingam, or stone phallus that patronized and guaranteed fertility to the community in which it was located. The Khmer king Jayavarman II , whose assumption of power around 800 AD marks the beginning of the Angkorian period, established his capital at a place called Hariharalaya (today known as Roluos ), at

3298-460: The Egyptian structures combined. The single largest temple of the Angkorian region, Angkor Wat , was built between 1113 and 1150 by King Suryavarman II . Suryavarman ascended to the throne after prevailing in a battle with a rival prince. An inscription says that, in the course of combat, Suryavarman leapt onto his rival's war elephant and killed him, just as the mythical bird-man Garuda slays

3395-735: 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 . The temples of the Angkor area number over one thousand, ranging in scale from nondescript piles of brick rubble scattered through rice fields to the Angkor Wat, said to be the world's largest single religious monument. Many of the temples at Angkor have been restored, and together, they comprise

3492-588: The Khmer King Jayavarman II announced the independence of Kambujadesa ( Cambodia ) from Java . According to Sdok Kok Thom inscription , circa 781 Indrapura was the first capital of Jayavarman II , located in Banteay Prei Nokor , near today's Kompong Cham . After he eventually returned to his home, the former kingdom of Chenla , he quickly built up his influence, conquered a series of competing kings, and in 790 became king of

3589-497: The Khmer capital of Yasodharapura and in killing the reigning king. However, a Khmer prince who was to become King Jayavarman VII rallied his people and defeated the Cham in battles on the lake and on the land. In 1181, Jayavarman assumed the throne. He was to be the greatest of the Angkorian kings. Over the ruins of Yasodharapura, Jayavarman constructed the walled city of Angkor Thom , as well as its geographic and spiritual center,

3686-710: The Region of Siem Reap ( APSARA ), created in 1995. Some temples have been carefully taken apart stone by stone and reassembled on concrete foundations, in accordance with the method of anastylosis . The World Monuments Fund has aided Preah Khan , the Churning of the Sea of Milk (a 49-meter-long bas-relief frieze in Angkor Wat), Ta Som , and Phnom Bakheng . International tourism to Angkor has increased significantly in recent years, with visitor numbers reaching around 2 million

3783-406: The Sea of Milk (north of the western gopura). The inner gallery is nearly filled by the upper terrace, raised one level higher again. The lack of space between the inner gallery and the upper terrace has led scholars to conclude that the upper terrace did not figure in the original plan for the temple, but that it was added shortly thereafter following a change in design. Originally, it is believed,

3880-741: The Sebasteion complex (2012– ). The Buddhas of Bamyan in Afghanistan which were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001 are under consideration for anastylosis. Archaeologists have estimated that as much as 50% of the statues' material is recoverable. It would be possible to reconstruct the Gourgion Tower in Gozo , Malta using anastylosis, since many of its decorated stones and inscriptions were retrieved following its destruction in 1943 by

3977-491: The Vishnu venerated there was not the ancient Hindu deity nor even one of the deity's traditional incarnations, but the king Suryavarman II posthumously identified with Vishnu, consubstantial with him, residing in a mausoleum decorated with the graceful figures of apsaras just like Vishnu in his celestial palace". Suryavarman proclaimed his identity with Vishnu, just as his predecessors had claimed consubstantiation with Shiva. In

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4074-440: The abode of the gods. The mountain, in turn, was represented by an elevated temple, in which the "god-king" was represented by a lingam . In accordance with this cosmic symbolism, Yasovarman built his central temple on a low hill known as Phnom Bakheng , surrounding it with a moat fed from the baray. He also built numerous other Hindu temples and ashrams , or retreats for ascetics. Over the next 300 years, between 900 and 1200,

4171-443: The archaeological sites at Angkor by walking and climbing on the (mostly) sandstone monuments at Angkor. This direct pressure created by unchecked tourism is expected to cause significant damage to the monuments in the future. In sites such as Angkor, tourism is inevitable. Therefore, the site management team cannot exclusively manage the site. The team has to manage the flow of people. Millions of people visit Angkor each year, making

4268-431: The area. This network is believed to have been used for irrigation in order to offset the unpredictable monsoon season and to also support the increasing population. Although the size of its population remains a topic of research and debate, newly identified agricultural systems in the Angkor area may have supported between 750,000 and one million people. The Angkorian period may have begun shortly after 800 AD, when

4365-404: The baroque style" of Khmer architecture , as contrasted with the classical style of Angkor Wat ( Khmer : ប្រាសាទអង្គរវត្ត ). The original name for the Bayon is Jayagiri ( Khmer : ជ័យគីរី , Chey Kĭri ) (or "Victory Mountain" or “Mountain of Brahma” ; “Jaya” - another name of Brahma and “giri” to mountain), with Sanskrit roots similar to Sīnhāgiri ("Lion Rock"). The name of Bayon

4462-452: The bottom of a well, it was pieced back together, and is now on display in a small pavilion at Angkor . [REDACTED] Cambodia portal Angkor Angkor ( Khmer : អង្គរ [ʔɑŋkɔː] , lit. 'capital city'), also known as Yasodharapura ( Khmer : យសោធរបុរៈ ; Sanskrit : यशोधरपुर ), was the capital city of the Khmer Empire , located in present-day Cambodia . The city and empire flourished from approximately

4559-442: The corners and entrances), and on chapels on the upper terrace. "Wherever one wanders," writes Maurice Glaize , "the faces of Lokesvara follow and dominate with their multiple presence." Efforts to read some significance into the numbers of towers and faces have run up against the circumstance that these numbers have not remained constant over time, as towers have been added through construction and lost to attrition. At one point,

4656-746: The current understanding of Angkor. Work resumed after the end of the Cambodian Civil War and, since 1993, has been jointly co-ordinated by India, Germany, Japan and UNESCO through the International Co-ordinating Committee on the Safeguarding and Development of the Historic Site of Angkor (ICC), while Cambodian work is carried out by the Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and

4753-487: The decline and abandonment of Angkor: It is widely believed that the abandonment of the Khmer capital occurred as a result of Ayutthaya invasions. Ongoing civil wars with the Lavo-Khmer and Suphannaphum-Mon dynasty of Ayutthaya were already sapping the strength of Angkor at the time of Zhou Daguan toward the end of the 13th century. In his memoirs, Zhou reported that the country had been completely devastated by such

4850-416: The different reliefs are related. From the east gopura clockwise, the subjects are: The outer gallery encloses a courtyard in which there are two libraries (one on either side of the east entrance). Originally the courtyard contained 16 chapels, but these were subsequently demolished by the Hindu restorationist Jayavarman VIII . The inner gallery is raised above ground level and has doubled corners, with

4947-442: The estimated 300,000 agricultural workers required to feed them all. According to Coedès, the weakening of Angkor's royal government by ongoing war and the erosion of the cult of the devaraja , undermined the government's ability to carry out important public works, such as the construction and maintenance of the waterways essential for irrigation of the rice fields upon which Angkor's large population depended for its sustenance. As

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5044-486: The faces are representations of Jayavarman VII, himself. Scholars have theorized that the faces belong to Avalokitesvara , the bodhisattva of compassion. But some locals believe the temple was built for Brahma , since the faces have four sides, representing Brahma's four faces. Also, the faces have three eyes, which symbolizes Shiva in the Trimurti . Buddha's images seldom wear jewelry like necklaces, large earrings and

5141-537: The gates at each of the city's cardinal points . The temple itself has no wall or moats , these being replaced by those of the city itself: the city-temple arrangement, with an area of 9 square kilometres, is much larger than that of Angkor Wat to the south (2 km²). Within the temple itself, there are two galleried enclosures (the third and second enclosures) and an upper terrace (the first enclosure). All of these elements are crowded against each other with little space between. Unlike Angkor Wat , which impresses with

5238-527: The government's inability to organize around the site. The Cambodian government has failed in organizing a robust team of cultural specialists and archaeologists to service the site. During the COVID-19 pandemic , the lack of visitors resulted in 10,000 people working in the Cambodian ;tourist trade being out of work. Historical Angkor was more than a site for religious art and architecture. It

5335-610: The grand scale of its architecture and open spaces, the Bayon "gives the impression of being compressed within a frame which is too tight for it." The outer wall of the outer gallery features a series of bas-reliefs depicting historical events and scenes from the everyday life of the Angkorian Khmer. Though highly detailed and informative in themselves, the bas-reliefs are not accompanied by any sort of epigraphic text, and for that reason considerable uncertainty remains as to which historical events are portrayed and how, if at all,

5432-422: The individual served to sap the vitality of the royal personality cult which had provided the inspiration for the grand monuments of Angkor. The vast expanse of temples required an equally large body of workers to maintain them; at Ta Prohm , a stone carving states that 12,640 people serviced that single temple complex. Not only could the spread of Buddhism have eroded this workforce, but it could have also affected

5529-476: The inscriptions that have been found on Angkorian stelae , temples and other monuments, and with the bas-reliefs at the Bayon and Angkor Wat , Zhou's journal is the most important source of information about everyday life at Angkor. Filled with vivid anecdotes and sometimes incredulous observations of a civilization that struck Zhou as colorful and exotic, it is an entertaining travel memoir as well. The end of

5626-491: The land's dominant religion from the 14th century. The year 1296 marked the arrival at Angkor of the Chinese diplomat Zhou Daguan representing the Yuan dynasty . Zhou's one-year sojourn in the Khmer capital during the reign of King Indravarman III is historically significant, because he penned a still-surviving account, The Customs of Cambodia , of approximately forty pages detailing his observations of Khmer society. Some of

5723-417: The largest pre-industrial city in the world by surface area, with an elaborate infrastructure system connecting an urban sprawl of at least 1,000 square kilometres (390 sq mi) to the well-known temples at its core. Angkor is considered to be a "hydraulic city" because it had a complicated water management network, which was used for systematically stabilizing, storing, and dispersing water throughout

5820-482: The last quarter of the 12th century, King Jayavarman VII departed radically from the tradition of his predecessors when he adopted Mahayana Buddhism as his personal faith. Jayavarman also made Buddhism the state religion of his kingdom when he constructed the Buddhist temple known as the Bayon at the heart of his new capital city of Angkor Thom. In the famous face towers of the Bayon, the king represented himself as

5917-628: The late 14th century, first falling under Ayutthayan suzerainty in 1351. A Khmer rebellion against Siamese authority resulted in the 1431 sacking of Angkor by Ayutthaya, causing its population to migrate south to Longvek . The alternate name, Yasodharapura, was derived from the name of the foster mother of Lord Krishna in Hinduism. Hinduism was the largest religion in the ancient Khmer Empire, and many temples were constructed by Khmer kings dedicated to Hindu deities, including Angkor Wat . The ruins of Angkor are located amid forests and farmland north of

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6014-417: The latter should be unobtrusive while clearly recognizable as replacement materials. It is also sometimes used to refer to a similar technique for restoring broken pottery and other small objects. The intent of anastylosis is to rebuild, from as much of the original materials that is left after hundreds or even thousands of years of abuse, historical architectural monuments which have fallen into ruin. This

6111-596: The management of Angkor, commenting in 2005, "vandalism has multiplied at a phenomenal rate, employing local populations to carry out the actual thefts, heavily armed intermediaries transport objects, often in tanks or armored personnel carriers, often for sale across the Cambodian border." . Theft of archaeological objects has been greatly reduced in Cambodia since those comments were made. The increasing number of tourists, around two million per year, exerts pressure on

6208-468: The management of this flow vital to the quickly decaying structures. Western tourism to Angkor began in the 1970s. The sandstone monuments and Angkor are not made for this type of heightened tourism. Moving forward, UNESCO and local authorities at the site are in the process of creating a sustainable plan for the future of the site. Since 1992, UNESCO has moved towards conserving Angkor. Thousands of new archaeological sites have been discovered by UNESCO, and

6305-456: The most significant site of Khmer architecture . Visitors approach two million annually, and the entire expanse, including Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom is collectively protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site . The popularity of the site among tourists presents multiple challenges to the preservation of the ruins. In 2007, an international team of researchers using satellite photographs and other modern techniques concluded that Angkor had been

6402-482: The north, Champa (now Central Vietnam) to the east, the ocean to the south and a place identified by a stone inscription as "the land of cardamoms and mangoes " to the west. In 802, Jayavarman articulated his new status by declaring himself "universal monarch" ( chakravartin ) and, in a move that was to be imitated by his successors and that linked him to the cult of Siva , taking on the epithet of "god-king" ( devaraja ). Before Jayavarman, Cambodia had consisted of

6499-422: The northern end of the great lake, Tonlé Sap . Harihara is the name of a deity that combines the essence of Vishnu (Hari) with that of Shiva (Hara) and that was much favored by the Khmer kings. Jayavarman II's adoption of the epithet "devaraja" (god-king) signified the monarch's special connection with Shiva. The beginning of the Angkorian period was also marked by changes in religious architecture. During

6596-399: The organization has moved towards protected cultural zones. Two decades later, over 1000 people are employed full-time at the site for cultural sensitivity reasons. Part of this movement to limit the impacts of tourism has been to only open certain areas of the site. However, much of the 1992 precautionary measures and calls for future enforcement have fallen through. Both globally and locally

6693-408: The original condition of the structure must be confirmed scientifically. Second, the proper placement of each recovered component must be determined. Third, supplemental components must be limited to those necessary for stability (that is, substitute components may never lie at the top), and must be recognizable as replacement materials. New construction for the sake of filling in apparent lacunae (gaps)

6790-406: The original redented cross-shape later filled out to a square. Its bas-reliefs, later additions of Jayavarman VIII, are in stark contrast to those of the outer: rather than set-piece battles and processions, the smaller canvases offered by the inner gallery are decorated for the most part with scenes from Hindu mythology . Some of the figures depicted are Siva , Vishnu , and Brahma , the members of

6887-586: The original structure. These were removed and replaced with precious metal clamps. When the temple was once again rebuilt additional newly identified original fragments were added. Currently, anastylosis is being applied to the Parthenon. Several monuments protected by the Archaeological Survey of India have been restored, including havelis in Shekhavati and Humayun's Tomb . Early in

6984-401: The policy-making has been successful, but the implementation has failed for several reasons. First, there are conflicts of interest in Cambodia. While the site is culturally important to them, Cambodia is a poor country. Tourism is a vital part to the Cambodian economy, and shutting down parts of Angkor, the largest tourist destination in the country, is not an option. A second reason stems from

7081-413: The present site of Phnom Penh. Some scholars have connected the decline of Angkor with the conversion of the Khmer Empire to Theravada Buddhism following the reign of Jayavarman VII , arguing that this religious transition eroded the Hindu concept of kingship that underpinned the Angkorian civilization. According to Angkor scholar George Coedès , Theravada Buddhism's denial of the ultimate reality of

7178-416: The reign of Jayavarman II, the single-chambered sanctuaries typical of Chenla gave way to temples constructed as a series of raised platforms bearing multiple towers. Increasingly impressive temple pyramids came to represent Mount Meru , the home of the Hindu gods, with the moats surrounding the temples representing the mythological oceans. > Typically, a lingam served as the central religious image of

7275-474: The remains of several hundred additional minor temple sites are scattered throughout the landscape beyond. Because of the low-density and dispersed nature of the medieval Khmer settlement pattern, Angkor lacks a formal boundary, and its extent is therefore difficult to determine. However, a specific area of at least 1,000 km (390 sq mi) beyond the major temples is defined by a complex system of infrastructure, including roads and canals that indicate

7372-535: The site, allowing the building to be reconstructed. As much as 80% of the original masonry and ornamental friezes were at the site by the late 1960s. Renewed interest in the 19th century led to excavations at the site in the early and mid-20th century, and its eventual reconstruction between 1969 and 1975, using the anastylosis method. A primitive anastylosis was carried out in 1836 at the Acropolis in Athens , where

7469-434: The stability of the sandy soils under the monuments at Angkor, leading to cracks, fissures and collapses. Making matters worse, the peak tourist season corresponds with Cambodia's dry season, which leads to excessive pumping of ground water when it is least replenished naturally. Looting has was once a threat to the Angkor archaeological landscape. According to APSARA, the official Cambodian agency charged with overseeing

7566-404: The state religion of Shaivism was not necessarily abrogated by Suryavarman's turn to Vishnu, and the temple may well have housed a royal lingam. Furthermore, the turn to Vaishnavism did not abrogate the royal personality cult of Angkor, by which the reigning king was identified with the deity. According to Angkor scholar Georges Coedès , "Angkor Wat is, if you like, a vaishnavite sanctuary, but

7663-399: The surviving stone inscriptions are about the religious foundations of kings and other potentates. As a result, it is easier to write the history of Angkorian state religion than it is to write that of just about any other aspect of Angkorian society. Several religious movements contributed to the historical development of religion at Angkor: The religion of pre-Angkorian Cambodia, known to

7760-487: The technique of anastylosis . Since 1995 the Japanese Government team for the Safeguarding of Angkor (the JSA) has been the main conservation body, and has held annual symposia. The temple is oriented towards the east, and so its buildings are set back to the west inside enclosures elongated along the east-west axis. Because the temple sits at the exact centre of Angkor Thom , roads lead to it directly from

7857-402: The temple and its parts in relation to one another have cosmological significance. Suryavarman had the walls of the temple decorated with bas reliefs depicting not only scenes from mythology, but also from the life of his own imperial court. In one of the scenes, the king himself is portrayed as larger in size than his subjects, sitting cross-legged on an elevated throne and holding court, while

7954-410: The temple known as the Bayon . Bas-reliefs at the Bayon depict not only the king's battles with the Cham, but also scenes from the life of Khmer villagers and courtiers. Jayavarman oversaw the period of Angkor's most prolific construction, which included building of the well-known temples of Ta Prohm and Preah Khan , dedicating them to his parents. This massive program of construction coincided with

8051-407: The temple was buried under volcanic layers for centuries, until it was discovered in 1993. The restoration of the entire Kedulan Temple complex was expected to be completed by the end of 2018. The École Française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO) began restoration work at Angkor Wat in 1908. Between 1986 and 1992, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) carried out restoration work on the temple. Bayon

8148-408: The temple was eventually abandoned to the jungle. Current features which were not part of the original plan include the terrace to the east of the temple, the libraries , the square corners of the inner gallery , and parts of the upper terrace. In the first part of the 20th century, the École Française d'Extrême Orient took the lead in the conservation of the temple, restoring it in accordance with

8245-399: The temple was host to 49 such towers; now only 37 remain. The number of faces is approximately 200, but since some are only partially preserved there can be no definitive count. Like the inner gallery, the central tower was originally cruciform but was later filled out and made circular. It rises 43 metres above the ground. At the time of the temple's foundation, the principal religious image

8342-438: The topics he addressed in the account were those of religion, justice, kingship, societal norms, agriculture, slavery, birds, vegetables, bathing, clothing, tools, draft animals, and commerce. In one passage, he described a royal procession consisting of soldiers, numerous servant women and concubines, ministers and princes, and finally, "the sovereign, standing on an elephant, holding his sacred sword in his hand." Together with

8439-556: The transition from the Medieval Warm Period to the Little Ice Age . LDEO dendrochronological research has established tree-ring chronologies indicating severe periods of drought across mainland Southeast Asia in the early 15th century, raising the possibility that Angkor's canals and reservoirs ran dry and ended expansion of available farmland. A 16th century Portuguese friar , António da Madalena ,

8536-493: Was a Buddhist . Traditional Since the time of Jayavarman VII , the Bayon has undergone numerous Buddhist additions and alterations at the hands of subsequent monarchs. During the reign of Jayavarman VIII in the mid-13th century, the Khmer empire reverted to Hinduism and its state temple was altered accordingly. In later centuries, Theravada Buddhism became the dominant religion, leading to still further changes, before

8633-438: Was a statue of the Buddha , 3.6 m tall, located in the sanctuary at the heart of the central tower. The statue depicted the Buddha seated in meditation, shielded from the elements by the flared hood of the serpent king Mucalinda . During the reign of Hindu restorationist monarch Jayavarman VIII ( Khmer : ព្រះបាទជ័យវរ្ម័នទី ៨ ), the figure was removed from the sanctuary and smashed to pieces. After being recovered in 1933 from

8730-522: Was given by Etienne Aymonier in 1880. According to his report, Bayon was the Latin transliteration of what he had seen written in Khmer as "Bayânt" which he presumed must have been a corrupted form of the Pali Vejayant or Sanskrit Vaijayant , the name of the celestial palace of Indra of which the Bayon was presumed to be the earthly reflection. The first syllable Ba as a Sanskritic prefix

8827-633: Was restored by EFCO followed by Japanese Government Team for the Safeguarding of Angkor (JSA). Ta Prohm is being restored by the Archaeological Survey of India . Aphrodisias has several buildings sufficiently well preserved to allow such anastylosis: the Tetrapylon (1983–90); the east end of the Sebasteion's South Building (2000–2012); the Doric logeion of the Theatre (2011–2012); and the Propylon of

8924-454: Was secondary to that of Shiva . The relationship seems to have changed with the construction of Angkor Wat by King Suryavarman II as his personal mausoleum at the beginning of the 12th century. The central religious image of Angkor Wat was an image of Vishnu, and an inscription identifies Suryavarman as "Paramavishnuloka", or "he who enters the heavenly world of Vishnu". Religious syncretism , however, remained thoroughgoing in Khmer society:

9021-452: Was shown to European visitors; Henri Mouhot in 1860 and Anna Leonowens in 1865, it remained cloaked by the forest until the end of the 19th century. European archeologists such as Louis Delaporte and ethnologists such as Adolf Bastian visited the site and popularized the site in Europe. This eventually led to a long restoration process by French archaeologists. From 1907 to 1970, work

9118-420: Was similar to that found in other places such as Ba Phnom and could signify the presence of a protector or defensor. The Bayon was the last state temple to be built at Angkor , and the only Angkorian state temple to be built primarily to worship Buddhist deities, though a great number of minor and local deities were also encompassed as representatives of the various districts and cities of the realm. Originally

9215-469: Was the first recorded European visitor to visit Angkor Wat in 1586. By the 17th century, Angkor Wat was not completely abandoned. Fourteen inscriptions from the 17th century testify to Japanese settlements alongside those of the remaining Khmer. The best-known inscription tells of Ukondafu Kazufusa , who celebrated the Khmer New Year there in 1632. While Angkor was known to the local Khmer and

9312-416: Was the site of vast cities that served all the needs of the Khmer people. Aside from a few old bridges, however, all of the remaining monuments are religious edifices. In Angkorian times, all non-religious buildings, including the residence of the king himself, were constructed of perishable materials, such as wood, "because only the gods had a right to residences made of stone". Similarly, the vast majority of

9409-406: Was under the direction of the École française d'Extrême-Orient , which cleared away the forest, repaired foundations, and installed drains to protect the buildings from water damage. In addition, scholars associated with the school including George Coedès , Maurice Glaize , Paul Mus , Philippe Stern and others initiated a program of historical scholarship and interpretation that is fundamental to

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