Photograph #43
Location: Near Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Google Earth Coordinates:
Date: October 2004
Format and Resolution: Digital (photo available in 1200 X 1600 resolution)
Photo Description: Some of the many faces of Bayon, a temple near Angkor Wat. The face is a composite between the great Angkor-era Khmer King Jayavarman VII, and Buddha. Jayavarman II was the first king of the Angkorian era. The Cham controlled Angkor for four years until the legendary Jayavarman VII mounted a series of counter attacks, driving the Cham from Cambodia in 1181. After the Cham defeat, Jayavarman VII was declared king. He broke with almost 400 years of tradition and made Mahayana Buddhism the state religion, and immediately began Angkor’s most prolific period of monument building. Jayavarman VII’s building campaign was unprecedented and took place at a frenetic pace. Hundreds of monuments were constructed in less than a 40-year period. Jayavarman VII’s works included Bayon with its famous giant faces, his capital city of Angkor Thom, the temples of Ta Prohm, Banteay Kdei and Preah Khan, and hundreds of others. Angkor’ literally means ‘Capital City’ or ‘Holy City’. In its modern usage, ‘Angkor’ has come to refer to the capital city of the Khmer Empire that existed in the area of Cambodia between the 9th and 12th centuries CE, as well as to the empire itself. The temple ruins in the area of Siem Reap are the remnants of the Angkorian capitals, and represent the pinnacle of the ancient Khmer architecture, art and civilization. At its height, the Age of Angkor was a time when the capital area contained more than a million people, when Khmer kings constructed vast waterworks and grand temples, and when Angkor’s military, economic and cultural dominance held sway over the area of Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Laos. To see more photos from Angkor Wat, Cambodia click here.