The Ancient Temples of Angkor – Part One
The Kingdom of Cambodia
Nothing could have prepared me for how utterly stunned I would feel when I first see the magnificent temples of Angkor. The temples and the surrounding area offer surprises at every turn. I stare in wonder; in awe at the gargantuan structures, and the extensive building program to develop these. Once I am close, I admire their decoration.
What we are able to see today probably just represents a fraction of the edifices from a progressive early society that stretched from Burma to Vietnam and into Thailand.
To be honest my prior preparation for coming here was overshadowed by the massive effort in handing over my business and getting away from New Zealand and so I am playing catch up and did some more reading once in Siem Reap. For me to try to understand and appreciate the magnitude of these temples, and the unimaginable difficulty they faced in transporting the goods and then building them, I needed to understand a little more of the background; why were they built, how were they constructed and how did the people live during these early times?
The following is a summary and hopefully you will find this interesting and helpful for my next couple of articles about the temples.
In truth, there are many gaps in the knowledge of the scholars, but it has been possible to construct some idea of the times.
Although some kings moved the capital, for many centuries its home base was Angkor.
The temples were built to honour religion – mainly Hindu but later Buddhism. This was a culture steeped in mystical thoughts and beliefs. The ruling kings were said to be descendants of “divine lineages, one solar, one lunar and so the kings of the Khmer (Cambodians) became living gods and temples their divine inspiration” (Ortner).
These kings and the people of the kingdom were (and still are) very religious. Much of the early period was influenced by near neighbour India and early religious alliances were Hindu. Very early philosophical teachings – dharma which is the order of the universe encouraged the concept of moral obligations i.e. a duty in society and righteousness. Early teachings belong to the religion of the Vedas composed by a Brahman priest some period before or after 1000BC. Sacrifices were made by community leaders who won benefits. Top of the wish list – strong sons and cows!
Later priests became full time specialists and were patronized by the rulers. Later again the concept of karma came into being (around 8th century BC) – the moral law of cause and effect. This was accepted by the main religious groups.
At the time, and this particular period began in 802AD, it was thought that only stone could be used to honour the gods and people lived instead in wooden structures. Perhaps they were housed within inner walls of the temple grounds. Certainly the Royal Palaces were housed within the massive walls and probably other buildings too. None of these wooden structures have survived and little is known of how the ordinary people lived during this time.
The temples around Angkor (the close ones are approximately 7-8 kms from Siem Reap) were constructed by a variety of kings (ten in particular). The time that is now referred to as the Angkorian period spanned more than 600 years from AD 802 to 1432.
It was a bloody time. There were fights amongst families as usurpers killed to gain the power of the throne. But, it was also a time of much conflict amongst warring neighbours such as Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam as they sought to extend their borders or reclaim what they thought was theirs in the first place. Building activity in Angkor increased after battles were won and also when a new king took the throne indicating they were constructed in celebration or to announce their entitlement.
At the peak of the empire, the area housed over 1 million people. Compare that to London at the same time with a population of 50,000 shows this was truly a power in its own right. Thousands of villages and tens of thousands of individuals were needed to maintain one single temple and over the course of the Angkorian period a great many were built.
Another thing that amazes me is the foresight of the various Kings of the time, the knowledge, the tenacity and skill necessary to build then beautify the temples with carvings, each one trying to outdo his (there was only one Queen) successor. Many are decorated with apsaras (or celestial nymphs – one who dances for gods). There is also many kilometers of bas relief (shallow carvings done in relief) depicting scenes from the past and many mythical and real beasts.
It’s difficult to image the hardship the labourers must have endured to quarry and transport the massive stones from some 50 kilometres way to the temple location. Some of these stones are massive – i.e. one stone makes up the whole side of a door jam – and it’s thick.
The round holes drilled into the stones through which wet bamboo poles were inserted to help shift them are still visible today. It’s impressive to note that, prior to this extensive building program the Khmers had no history in working with stone.
It’s not clear how they moved the quarried stones to the building sites but it was probably by elephants and the sheer muscle force of the people of the time. There has been a suggestion they used rafts to float them down the waterways but that’s been trialed relatively recently and has been discredited.
When the Angkorian period began, the region was broken up into small kingdoms and it was the first of the kings of this period – Jayavarman II (r 802 – 50) who united the country. During some later reigns territory was lost, regions factionalised and then bought back together again. The area now known as Cambodia was considerably more extensive than it is today and during some periods of time in its history incorporated parts of Laos, Vietnam and Thailand.
There is no doubt that during this period Cambodia was a powerful force. It also seems from the limited records available that it was a very rich nation. Sanskrit inscriptions left in stone within the temple walls note the treasures housed; diamonds, pearls, gems, silks, gold and other precious objects. Much of this has been plundered and destroyed over the centuries. However, some treasures have been removed and are on display at the National Museum in Cambodia’s present capital Phnom Penh.
To undertake such massive construction meant the region had wealth and part of that richness can be attributed to access to good natural resources. Angkor is close to the huge Tonle Sap Lake which is the biggest and most productive fresh body of water in the world. This lake is fed by the Tonle Sap River which in turn is fed by the mighty Mekong. The Mekong’s source is in the Tibetan plain and it flows down through China, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and into Vietnam. During the monsoon season (June-October) the Mekong overflows and this brings additional water and nutrient rich red silt down into the plains (Cambodia is very flat) to the home of the Khmer.
As the Mekong floods, so too does one of its main tributaries, the Tonle Sap River. During the monsoon the lake triples in size and during this time swells to encompass over one third of Cambodia’s land area (Ortner). One of the reasons Angkor was chosen as the capital was the lake, its capacity to feed a huge nation and the strategic importance of the body of water to protect the region and from which to launch pre-emptive strikes on neighbours and vice versa as it happens.
The Khmers appreciated these seasons; they understood astronomical cycles along with the impact of the natural forces of nature. They worshipped the gods who provided the plentiful bounty.
During this Angkorian period they harnessed this water flow by building massive reservoirs. The first was constructed by Indravarman (r 877-89) who built one measuring 6.5 sq km. Through the construction of these reservoirs or barays, dikes and canals they were able to extend the growing season which is very impressive; especially when one considers the time we are talking about.
The construction of Angkor Wat, the temple which has captured the most attention in the West, was begun during the reign of Suryavarman II (r1112-52). He was the seventh of the top ten kings. Although he reigned for several decades, all was not well in the Kingdom during his reign. It is thought that the barays (by this stage there were many) began to silt up and this slowed down food production. Deforestation and the pressure on the people of the land to build Angkor Wat helped to lead to the demise. Building the temples used the royal resources but it’s also thought that workers contributed and perhaps paid additional taxes too.
Under this pressure, the nation weakened and the people of southern Vietnam made a successful strike on Angkor. They burned the wooden city and pillaged it. But a later Khmer king struck back and reclaimed Angkor.
Jayavarman VII was the king who was able to again unify the country and under his leadership (r 1181 - 1219) the most extensive building program was undertaken. Aside from building many temples, he also developed civic programs such as hospitals, roads, bridges and schools right across the kingdom. Some bridges remain today.
The temples built during his reign include – Angkor Thom, Bayon (weird faces – see Part II), the atmospheric Ta Prohm and Preah Khan. Jayavarman VII was the last king of this great, great period in Cambodia’s history.
Many of the temples have massive walls around them and some have moats. Sometimes they have pools and one, Phimeanakas and the Royal Palace (near Bayon and Bauphon) has a pool measuring 125 m by 45 m. Here the king would sit to watch aquatic sports. It is a lovely shady spot and the water, although brown, looks a very tempting to me as a place to cool off as the sun reaches its zenith around midday.
Although the pool in the grounds of the Royal Palace pool is impressive the moat surrounding Angkor Wat is even more so. It is 190 metres wide and it forms a giant rectangle around the temple walls measuring 1.5 km by 1.3 km. It is a breathtaking sight. Today it still holds water whereas some others (during March, the time of my visit) were dry. This moat was rumored to house aggressive crocodiles during the king’s time.
It’s thought that the moat is one of the reasons this temple survived the times reasonably well because the water acted as a barrier to the jungle.
Sadly the jungle has caused much damage to many of the temples and Ta Prohm is one where it’s easy to see the effects of the creeping vines and strangle fig trees. Massive roots are insidiously entwined in the stones, and they almost look as though they are part of the construction. Although nature has caused many walls to crumble and buckle, it is atmospheric particularly when the sun lights up the light bark so that it glows and creates shadows across the nooks and crannies of the trees and stones.
After Jayavarman VII’s death in 1219 the Khmer empire lost its luster and went into decline.
Today visitors crawl all over the temples and their ruins. I spent a total of five days there, including sunset and sunrise viewings. I found the temperature acceptable at either end of the day, but after 1000 very hot and tiring. I kept my visits to about 5 or 6 hours. I recommend any visitor spend a minimum of three days dedicated to the temples, more if there is a strong interest in ruins, history or religion.
In preparing this summary, I referenced a couple of books; Lonely Planet “Cambodia”, Ortner’s “Celestial Temples of the Khmer Empire” and Freeman and Jacques “Ancient Angkor”) along with information gathered as I’ve cruised around many many sites in the area. For any visitor, I highly recommend each of the three and the latter two can be purchased by touts out at the temples.
The Kingdom of Cambodia
Nothing could have prepared me for how utterly stunned I would feel when I first see the magnificent temples of Angkor. The temples and the surrounding area offer surprises at every turn. I stare in wonder; in awe at the gargantuan structures, and the extensive building program to develop these. Once I am close, I admire their decoration.
What we are able to see today probably just represents a fraction of the edifices from a progressive early society that stretched from Burma to Vietnam and into Thailand.
To be honest my prior preparation for coming here was overshadowed by the massive effort in handing over my business and getting away from New Zealand and so I am playing catch up and did some more reading once in Siem Reap. For me to try to understand and appreciate the magnitude of these temples, and the unimaginable difficulty they faced in transporting the goods and then building them, I needed to understand a little more of the background; why were they built, how were they constructed and how did the people live during these early times?
The following is a summary and hopefully you will find this interesting and helpful for my next couple of articles about the temples.
In truth, there are many gaps in the knowledge of the scholars, but it has been possible to construct some idea of the times.
Although some kings moved the capital, for many centuries its home base was Angkor.
The temples were built to honour religion – mainly Hindu but later Buddhism. This was a culture steeped in mystical thoughts and beliefs. The ruling kings were said to be descendants of “divine lineages, one solar, one lunar and so the kings of the Khmer (Cambodians) became living gods and temples their divine inspiration” (Ortner).
These kings and the people of the kingdom were (and still are) very religious. Much of the early period was influenced by near neighbour India and early religious alliances were Hindu. Very early philosophical teachings – dharma which is the order of the universe encouraged the concept of moral obligations i.e. a duty in society and righteousness. Early teachings belong to the religion of the Vedas composed by a Brahman priest some period before or after 1000BC. Sacrifices were made by community leaders who won benefits. Top of the wish list – strong sons and cows!
Later priests became full time specialists and were patronized by the rulers. Later again the concept of karma came into being (around 8th century BC) – the moral law of cause and effect. This was accepted by the main religious groups.
At the time, and this particular period began in 802AD, it was thought that only stone could be used to honour the gods and people lived instead in wooden structures. Perhaps they were housed within inner walls of the temple grounds. Certainly the Royal Palaces were housed within the massive walls and probably other buildings too. None of these wooden structures have survived and little is known of how the ordinary people lived during this time.
The temples around Angkor (the close ones are approximately 7-8 kms from Siem Reap) were constructed by a variety of kings (ten in particular). The time that is now referred to as the Angkorian period spanned more than 600 years from AD 802 to 1432.
It was a bloody time. There were fights amongst families as usurpers killed to gain the power of the throne. But, it was also a time of much conflict amongst warring neighbours such as Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam as they sought to extend their borders or reclaim what they thought was theirs in the first place. Building activity in Angkor increased after battles were won and also when a new king took the throne indicating they were constructed in celebration or to announce their entitlement.
At the peak of the empire, the area housed over 1 million people. Compare that to London at the same time with a population of 50,000 shows this was truly a power in its own right. Thousands of villages and tens of thousands of individuals were needed to maintain one single temple and over the course of the Angkorian period a great many were built.
Another thing that amazes me is the foresight of the various Kings of the time, the knowledge, the tenacity and skill necessary to build then beautify the temples with carvings, each one trying to outdo his (there was only one Queen) successor. Many are decorated with apsaras (or celestial nymphs – one who dances for gods). There is also many kilometers of bas relief (shallow carvings done in relief) depicting scenes from the past and many mythical and real beasts.
It’s difficult to image the hardship the labourers must have endured to quarry and transport the massive stones from some 50 kilometres way to the temple location. Some of these stones are massive – i.e. one stone makes up the whole side of a door jam – and it’s thick.
The round holes drilled into the stones through which wet bamboo poles were inserted to help shift them are still visible today. It’s impressive to note that, prior to this extensive building program the Khmers had no history in working with stone.
It’s not clear how they moved the quarried stones to the building sites but it was probably by elephants and the sheer muscle force of the people of the time. There has been a suggestion they used rafts to float them down the waterways but that’s been trialed relatively recently and has been discredited.
When the Angkorian period began, the region was broken up into small kingdoms and it was the first of the kings of this period – Jayavarman II (r 802 – 50) who united the country. During some later reigns territory was lost, regions factionalised and then bought back together again. The area now known as Cambodia was considerably more extensive than it is today and during some periods of time in its history incorporated parts of Laos, Vietnam and Thailand.
There is no doubt that during this period Cambodia was a powerful force. It also seems from the limited records available that it was a very rich nation. Sanskrit inscriptions left in stone within the temple walls note the treasures housed; diamonds, pearls, gems, silks, gold and other precious objects. Much of this has been plundered and destroyed over the centuries. However, some treasures have been removed and are on display at the National Museum in Cambodia’s present capital Phnom Penh.
To undertake such massive construction meant the region had wealth and part of that richness can be attributed to access to good natural resources. Angkor is close to the huge Tonle Sap Lake which is the biggest and most productive fresh body of water in the world. This lake is fed by the Tonle Sap River which in turn is fed by the mighty Mekong. The Mekong’s source is in the Tibetan plain and it flows down through China, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and into Vietnam. During the monsoon season (June-October) the Mekong overflows and this brings additional water and nutrient rich red silt down into the plains (Cambodia is very flat) to the home of the Khmer.
As the Mekong floods, so too does one of its main tributaries, the Tonle Sap River. During the monsoon the lake triples in size and during this time swells to encompass over one third of Cambodia’s land area (Ortner). One of the reasons Angkor was chosen as the capital was the lake, its capacity to feed a huge nation and the strategic importance of the body of water to protect the region and from which to launch pre-emptive strikes on neighbours and vice versa as it happens.
The Khmers appreciated these seasons; they understood astronomical cycles along with the impact of the natural forces of nature. They worshipped the gods who provided the plentiful bounty.
During this Angkorian period they harnessed this water flow by building massive reservoirs. The first was constructed by Indravarman (r 877-89) who built one measuring 6.5 sq km. Through the construction of these reservoirs or barays, dikes and canals they were able to extend the growing season which is very impressive; especially when one considers the time we are talking about.
The construction of Angkor Wat, the temple which has captured the most attention in the West, was begun during the reign of Suryavarman II (r1112-52). He was the seventh of the top ten kings. Although he reigned for several decades, all was not well in the Kingdom during his reign. It is thought that the barays (by this stage there were many) began to silt up and this slowed down food production. Deforestation and the pressure on the people of the land to build Angkor Wat helped to lead to the demise. Building the temples used the royal resources but it’s also thought that workers contributed and perhaps paid additional taxes too.
Under this pressure, the nation weakened and the people of southern Vietnam made a successful strike on Angkor. They burned the wooden city and pillaged it. But a later Khmer king struck back and reclaimed Angkor.
Jayavarman VII was the king who was able to again unify the country and under his leadership (r 1181 - 1219) the most extensive building program was undertaken. Aside from building many temples, he also developed civic programs such as hospitals, roads, bridges and schools right across the kingdom. Some bridges remain today.
The temples built during his reign include – Angkor Thom, Bayon (weird faces – see Part II), the atmospheric Ta Prohm and Preah Khan. Jayavarman VII was the last king of this great, great period in Cambodia’s history.
Many of the temples have massive walls around them and some have moats. Sometimes they have pools and one, Phimeanakas and the Royal Palace (near Bayon and Bauphon) has a pool measuring 125 m by 45 m. Here the king would sit to watch aquatic sports. It is a lovely shady spot and the water, although brown, looks a very tempting to me as a place to cool off as the sun reaches its zenith around midday.
Although the pool in the grounds of the Royal Palace pool is impressive the moat surrounding Angkor Wat is even more so. It is 190 metres wide and it forms a giant rectangle around the temple walls measuring 1.5 km by 1.3 km. It is a breathtaking sight. Today it still holds water whereas some others (during March, the time of my visit) were dry. This moat was rumored to house aggressive crocodiles during the king’s time.
It’s thought that the moat is one of the reasons this temple survived the times reasonably well because the water acted as a barrier to the jungle.
Sadly the jungle has caused much damage to many of the temples and Ta Prohm is one where it’s easy to see the effects of the creeping vines and strangle fig trees. Massive roots are insidiously entwined in the stones, and they almost look as though they are part of the construction. Although nature has caused many walls to crumble and buckle, it is atmospheric particularly when the sun lights up the light bark so that it glows and creates shadows across the nooks and crannies of the trees and stones.
After Jayavarman VII’s death in 1219 the Khmer empire lost its luster and went into decline.
Today visitors crawl all over the temples and their ruins. I spent a total of five days there, including sunset and sunrise viewings. I found the temperature acceptable at either end of the day, but after 1000 very hot and tiring. I kept my visits to about 5 or 6 hours. I recommend any visitor spend a minimum of three days dedicated to the temples, more if there is a strong interest in ruins, history or religion.
In preparing this summary, I referenced a couple of books; Lonely Planet “Cambodia”, Ortner’s “Celestial Temples of the Khmer Empire” and Freeman and Jacques “Ancient Angkor”) along with information gathered as I’ve cruised around many many sites in the area. For any visitor, I highly recommend each of the three and the latter two can be purchased by touts out at the temples.
Photos: A tourist climbs "the stairway to heaven".
Part of the bas relief at Bayon
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