Angkor Wat

This is the questions that Mr. Fakhzan ask for answer it.

Who built Angkor Wat?

Angkor Wat was built by King Suryavarman II in the 12th century as a vast funerary temple that would hold his remains, symbolically confirming his permanent identity with Vishnu.

Angkor Wat mean?

Angkor Wat (or Angkor Vat)is a temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia, built for the king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation—first Hindu, dedicated to Vishnu, then Buddhist. The temple is the epitome of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors.

Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temple, based on early South Indian Hindu architecture, with key features such as the Jagati. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west; scholars are divided as to the significance of this. The temple is admired for the grandeur and harmony of the architecture, its extensive bas-reliefs and for the numerous devatas (guardian spirits) adorning its walls.

The modern name, Angkor Wat, means "City Temple": Angkor is a vernacular form of the word nokor which comes from the Sanskrit word nagara meaning capital.Prior to this time the temple was known as Preah Pisnulok, after the posthumous title of its founder, Suryavarman II.[1]

What is the Bayon?

The Bayon, located in the geographical heart of Angkor Thom, is the fifty- four-tower
temple and is a quite remarkable sight. Initially the temple seems to be a shapeless
mass of grey and brown stone.

what contributed to the fall of Angkor Wat?

1) Introduction of Theravada Buddhism

The pillar of the Angkor Civilization was supported by the religious belief of Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism. The monarchs being regarded as the god-king were able to motivate the dedication of their people to serve the throne as a divine service. The empire's extensive irrigation system and military troops required massive laborers and manpower to maintain. The introduction of Theravada Buddhism in 13th century to the Khmers had turned out to hurt sublimely the basic foundation of the Angkor Empire in the long run. Theravada Buddhism taught the people to seek self-enlightenment, abandon worldly things and discourage any superstition belief which directly or indirectly means all deities and all evils. The sovereignty of the Angkorian monarch as a "god-king" or deva-raja was basically challenged.

2) Loss of Water Control

Less devotion of the people to the "god-king" led negative impact to the empire. The Khmers seem unwilling to work wholeheartedly for the king as a holy service as they had previously did. The formerly efficient irrigation and drainage system became silted up with less water supply and the rice crops, used to be cultivated two or three times a year, were dramatically dropped, thus weaken the productivity and the strength of the Angkor Empire.

3) External Threats

As neighboring states of the Angkor grew, they became a major threat to the empire, especially the Thai State of Ayuthaya in the Chaophaya River Basin to the West. In order to protect the empire, the Angkor had to direct portion of its manpower to secure strong armed forces, which in turn, deprived itself from giving good maintenance to its irrigation system.

4) Double-edged sword of Roads Network

The road network built by Jayavarman VII had aided the transports of products and trades throughout the empire and also facilitated the Khmer troops to quell its neighbors. It had became a double-edged sword when the Angkor became weak as the invaders could easily marched in through this road network, instead of previously sailing up from the Mekong River. This turned out to be true when the newly emerged Ayuthaya, a Thai kingdom in the West became stronger. They use this road to march from the Chaophaya River basin through Phnomrung (in Burirum of modern Thailand) and then through Aranyapathet to attack right at the heart of Angkor and finally sacked the empire in 1431. The glory of the Angkor Civilization was terminated since that time.

Who were the Khmer Enemies?

The Siamese