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Angkor is a name conventionally applied to the region of Cambodia serving as the seat of the Khmer Empire that flourished from approximately the 9th Century to the 15th Century A.D. (The word "Angkor" itself is derived from the Sanskrit "nagara," meaning "city.")Higham, ''The Civilization of Angkor'', p.4. More precisely, the Angkorian period may be defined as the period from 802 A.D., when the Khmer Hindu monarch Jayavarman II declared himself the "universal monarch" and "god-king" of Cambodia, until 1431 A.D., when Thai invaders sacked the Khmer capital, causing its population to migrate south to the area of Phnom Penh . The ruins of Angkor are located amid forests and farmland to the north of the Great Lake ( Tonle Sap ) and south of the Kulen Hills, near modern day Siem Reap (13°24'N, 103°51'E), and are a UNESCO World Heritage Site . 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 magnificent 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 the most significant site of Khmer Architecture . Visitor numbers approach one million annually. In 2007 an international team of researchers using satellite photographs and other modern techniques concluded that Angkor had been the largest preindustrial city in the world with an urban sprawl of 1,150 square miles. The closest rival to Angkor, the Mayan city of Tikal in Guatemala, was roughly 50 square miles in total size."Map reveals ancient urban sprawl," ''BBC News'', 14 August 2007. HISTORICAL OVERVIEW Origin of Angkor as the Seat of the Khmer Empire The Angkorian period may be said to have begun shortly after 800 A.D., when the Khmer King Jayavarman II announced the independence of Kambujadesa ( Cambodia ) from Java and established his capital of Hariharalaya (now known as "Roluos") at the northern end of Tonle Sap . Through a program of military campaigns, alliances, marriages and land grants, he achieved a unification of the country bordered by China (to the north), Champa (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)Higham, ''The Civilization of Angkor'', pp.53 ff.; Chandler, ''A History of Cambodia'', p.34 ff. Before Jayavarman's tour de force, Cambodia had consisted in a number of politically independent principalities collectively known to the Chinese as Chenla .Chandler, ''A History of Cambodia'', p.26; Coedès, ''Pour mieux comprendre Angkor'', p.4. In 889 A.D., Yasovarman I ascended to the throne.Higham, ''The Civilization of Angkor'', pp.63 ff. 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."Chandler, ''A History of Cambodia'', p.40. Near the old capital of Hariharalaya, Yasovarman constructed a new city called Yasodharapura . In the tradition of his predecessors, he constructed also a massive reservoir called a 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 , 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 .Coedès, ''Pour mieux comprendre Angkor'', p.10. 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 Ashrama s, or retreats for ascetics.Higham, ''The Civilization of Angkor'', p.60; Chandler, ''A History of Cambodia'', p.38 f. Over the next 300 years, between 900 and 1200 AD, 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 east to west and 5 miles north to south, although the Angkor Archaeological Park which administers the area includes sites as far away as Kbal Spean , about 30 miles to the north. Some 72 major temples or other buildings dot the area. The medieval settlement around the temple complex was approximately 3,000 sq km (1,150 sq miles), roughly the size of modern Los Angeles . This makes it the largest pre-industrial complex of its type, easily surpassing the nearest claim, that of the Maya city of Tikal ."Map reveals ancient urban sprawl," ''BBC News'', 14 August 2007. Suryvarman II and the Construction of Angkor Wat holding court, as depicted in a Bas Relief at Angkor Wat.]] The principal 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 lept onto his rival's war elephant and killed him, just as the mythical bird-man Garuda slays a serpent.Higham, ''The Civilization of Angkor'', pp.112 ff.; Chandler, ''A History of Cambodia'', p.49. 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 one-half 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 Cambodian devaraja with the gods, and his residence with that of the celestials, is very much in evidence. The measurements themselves of the temple and its parts in relation to one another have cosmological significance.Chandler, ''A History of Cambodia'', p.50 f. Suryavarman had the walls of the temple decorated with Bas Relief s 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 a bevy of attendants make him comfortable with the aid of parasols and fans. Jayavarman VII, the Greatest of the Angkorian Kings , Paris.]] Following the death of Suryavarman around 1150 A.D., 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 seaborne invasion up the Mekong River and across Tonle Sap . The Cham forces were successful in sacking 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.Higham, ''The Civilization of Angkor'', pp.120 ff. Over the ruins of Yasodharapura, Jayavarman constructed the walled city of Angkor Thom , as well as its geographic and spiritual center, 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. In addition, Jayavarman constructed the well-known temples of Ta Prohm and Preah Khan , dedicating them to his parents. This massive program of construction coincided with 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, a Hindu revival included a large-scale campaign of desecrating Buddhist images, until Theravada Buddhism became established as the land's dominant religion from the 14th Century .Higham, ''The Civilization of Angkor'', p.116. Report of Zhou Daguan, Chinese Diplomat The year 1296 marked the arrival at Angkor of the Chinese diplomat Zhou Daguan . 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 of approximately 40 pages detailing his observations of Khmer society. Some of the topics he addressed in the account were those of religion, justice, kingship, 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 the inscriptions that have been found on Angkorian Stela s, temples and other monuments, and together with the Bas-reliefs at the Bayon and Angkor Wat , Zhou's journal is our most significant source of information about everyday life at Angkor. Filled as it is with vivid anecdotes and sometimes incredulous observations of a civilization that struck Zhou as colorful and exotic, it is an entertaining travel memoire as well.Higham, ''The Civilization of Angkor'', pp.134 ff.; Chandler, ''A History of Cambodia'', pp.71 ff. End of the Angkorian Period The end of the Angkorian period is generally set at 1431 A.D., the year Angkor was sacked and looted by Thai invaders, though the civilization already had been in decline in the 13th and 14th centuries. In 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 the decline and abandonment of Angkor. War with the Thai It is widely believed that the abandonment of Angkor occurred as a result of the Thai invasions. Ongoing wars with the Thai 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 a war, in which the entire population had been obligated to participate.Coedès, ''Pour mieux comprendre Angkor'', p.32. After the sack of Angkor in 1431, many persons, texts and institutions migrated to the Thai metropolis of Ayutthaya in the west, while others departed for the new center of Cambodian society at Phnom Penh in the south. Erosion of the state religion Some scholars have connected the decline of Angkor with the conversion of Cambodia to Theravada Buddhism following the reign of Jayavarman VII , arguing that this religious transition eroded the Hindu conception of kingship that undergirded the Angkorian civilization.Chandler, ''A History of Cambodia'', p.78 ff. According to Angkor scholar George Coedès , Theravada Buddhism's denial of the ultimate reality of the individual served to sap the vitality of the the royal personality cult which had provided the inspiration for the grand monuments of Angkor.Coedès, ''Pour mieux comprendre Angkor'', pp.64-65. Neglect of public works According to George 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 engage in 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 a result, Angkorian civilization suffered from a reduced economic base, and the population was forced to scatter.Coedès, ''Pour mieux comprendre Angkor'', p.30. Natural disaster Other scholars attempting to account for the rapid decline and abandonment of Angkor have hypothesized natural disasters such as earthquakes, inundations, or drastic climate changes as the relevant agents of destruction.Coedès, ''Pour mieux comprendre Angkor'', p.30. Recent research by Australian archaeologists suggests that the decline may have been due to a shortage of water caused by the transition from the medieval warm period to the little ice age."Climate Change Killed Ancient City," ''The Australian.'' Coedès rejects such meteorological hypotheses as unnecessary, and insists that the decline of Angkor is fully explained by the deleterious effects of war and the erosion of the state religion.Coedès, ''Pour mieux comprendre Angkor'', p.30. Restoration and Preservation of Angkor The great city and temples remained largely cloaked by the forest until the late 19th Century when French archaeologists began a long restoration process. From 1907 to 1970 restoration of Angkor was under the direction of the École Française D'Extrême-Orient , which worked to clear away the forest, repair foundations, and install drains to protect the buildings from water damage. In addition, scholars associated with the school initiated a program of historical scholarship and interpretation that is fundamental to the current understanding of Angkor. George Coedès , Maurice Glaize , Paul Mus , Philippe Stern and others made important contributions. After the end of the Cambodia civil war, work began again, and since 1993 it has been jointly co-ordinated by the French, Japan ese 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 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 . Since the end of the civil war, international tourism to Angkor has increased, posing additional conservation problems but also financial assistance to the restoration projects. Visitor numbers reached 900,000 in 2006."Tourist invasion threatens to ruin glories of Angkor," ''The Observer.'' RELIGIOUS HISTORY OF ANGKOR Historical Angkor was more than a site for religious art and architecture. It was the site of vast cities that responded to all the needs of a people, not only to specifically religious needs. 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."Coedès, ''Pour mieux comprendre Angkor'', p.18. Similarly, the vast majority of the surviving stone inscriptions are about the religious foundations of kings and other potentates.Coedès, ''Pour mieux comprendre Angkor'', p.2. 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:
Pre-Angkorian religion in Chenla The religion of pre-Angkorian Cambodia, known to the Chinese as Chenla (550-800 A.D.), included elements of both Hinduism and indigenous ancestor cults.Chandler, ''A History of Cambodia'', pp.19-20. Temples from this period bear stone inscriptions, in both Sanskrit and Khmer , naming both Hindu and local ancestral deities, with Shiva supreme among the former.Higham, ''The Civilization of Angkor'', p.46. Characteristic of the period also was the cult of the Lingam , or stone phallus that patronized and guaranteed fertility to the community in which it was located.Chandler, ''A History of Cambodia'', p.20. Shiva and the Lingam in Angkorian state religion The Khmer king Jayavarman II , whose assumption of power around 800 A.D. marks the beginning of the Angkorian period, established his capital at a place called Hariharalaya (today known as Roluos), at the northern end of the great lake, Tonle Sap .Higham, ''The Civilization of Angkor'', p.57. 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.Chandler, ''A History of Cambodia'', p.20. Jayavarman II’s adoption of the epithet "devaraja" (god-king) signified the monarch's special connection with Shiva .Chandler, ''A History of Cambodia'', p.34. in 948 A.D., Baksei Chamkrong is a temple-pyramid that housed a statue of Shiva .]] The beginning of the Angkorian period was also marked by changes in religious architecture. During 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.Higham, ''The Civilization of Angkor'', p.57. 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.Higham, ''The Civilization of Angkor'', p.9, 60. Typically, a Lingam served as the central religious image of 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.Stern, "Le temple-montagne khmèr," p.615. The name of the central lingam was the name of the king himself, combined with the suffix "-esvara" which designated Shiva.Stern, "Le temple-montagne khmèr," p.612. Through the worship of the lingam, the king was identified with Shiva, and Shaivism became the state religion.Stern, "Le temple-montagne khmèr," p.616. Thus, an inscription dated 881 A.D. indicates that king Indravarman I erected a lingam named "Indresvara." Higham, ''The Civilization of Angkor'', p.63. Another inscription tells us that Indravarman erected eight lingams in his courts, and that they were named for the "eight elements of Shiva."Higham, ''The Civilization of Angkor'', p.63. Similarly, Rajendravarman , whose reign began in 944 A.D., constructed the temple of Pre Rup , the central tower of which housed the royal lingam called "Rajendrabhadresvara."Higham, ''The Civilization of Angkor'', pp.73ff. Vaishnavism in the dedication of Angkor Wat In the early days of Angkor, the worship of did not abrogate the royal personality cult of Angkor by which the reigning king was identified with the deity. According to Angkor scholar George Coedès , "Angkor Wat is, if you like, a vaishnavite sanctuary, but 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."Coedès, ''Pour mieux comprendre Angkor'', p.63. Suryavarman proclaimed his identity with Vishnu, just as his predecessors had claimed consubstantiality with Shiva. Mahayana Buddhism under Jayavarman VII In 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 the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara moved by compassion for his subjects.Higham, ''The Civilization of Angkor'', p.121. 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 .Coedès, ''Pour mieux comprendre Angkor'', p.62. The Hindu Restoration The Hindu restoration began around 1243 A.D., with the death of Jayavarman VII’s successor Indravarman II. The next king Jayavarman VIII was 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 image of the Buddha was cast to the bottom of a well. Everywhere, cultic statues of the Buddha were replaced by lingams.Higham, ''The Civilization of Angkor'', p.133. Religious Pluralism in the era of Zhou Daguan When Chinese traveller Zhou Daguan came to Angkor in A.D. 1296, he found what he took to be three separate religious groups. The dominant religion was that of Theravada Buddhism . Zhou observed that the monks had shaven heads and wore yellow robes.Higham, ''The Civilization of Angkor'', p.137. The Buddhist temples impressed Zhou with their simplicity. He noted that the images of Buddha were made of gilded plaster.Chandler, ''A History of Cambodia'', p.72. The other two groups identified by Zhou appear to have been those of the Brahmans and of the Shaivites ( Lingam worshippers). About the Brahmans Zhou had little to say, except that they were often employed as high officials. Chandler, ''A History of Cambodia'', p.72. Of the Shaivites, whom he called " Taoists ," Zhou wrote, "the only image which they revere is a block of stone analogous to the stone found in shrines of the god of the soil in China."Chandler, ''A History of Cambodia'', p.72. The triumph of Theravada Buddhism In the course of the 13th century, Theravada Buddhism coming from Siam (Thailand) made its appearance at Angkor. Gradually it became the dominant religion of Cambodia, displacing both Mahayana Buddhism and Shaivism.Coedès, ''Pour mieux comprendre Angkor'', p.19. The practice of Theravada Buddhism at Angkor continues until this day. ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES The area of Angkor has many significant 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 . TERMS AND PHRASES
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