Angkor Wat (Khmer: អង្គរវត្ត)
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 the god Vishnu,
then Buddhist. It is the world's largest religious
building.[1]
The temple is at the top 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 Khmer Empire was one of the most powerful empires in Southeast Asia, based in what is now Cambodia the empire flourished from the 9th to the 13th century. The empire, which grew out of the former kingdom of Chenla, at times ruled over and/or vassalized parts of modern-dayLaos,Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Malaysia.[1]It sgreatest legacy is Angkor, the site of the capital city during the empire's zenith. Angkor bears testimony to the Khmer empire's immense power and wealth, as well as the variety of belief systems that it patronised over time. The empire's official religionsincluded Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism, until Theravada Buddhism prevailed, even among the lower classes, after its introduction from Sri Lanka in the 13th centur[2]Modernresearches by satellites have revealed Angkor to be the largest pre-industrial urban center in the world.[3]
The Khmer Empire was one of the most powerful empires in Southeast Asia, based in what is now Cambodia the empire flourished from the 9th to the 13th century. The empire, which grew out of the former kingdom of Chenla, at times ruled over and/or vassalized parts of modern-dayLaos,Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Malaysia.[1]It sgreatest legacy is Angkor, the site of the capital city during the empire's zenith. Angkor bears testimony to the Khmer empire's immense power and wealth, as well as the variety of belief systems that it patronised over time. The empire's official religionsincluded Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism, until Theravada Buddhism prevailed, even among the lower classes, after its introduction from Sri Lanka in the 13th centur[2]Modernresearches by satellites have revealed Angkor to be the largest pre-industrial urban center in the world.[3]