Angkor Religious Reform Architecture

Timeline

1. 1243–1260Angkor Thom · CambodiaAfter accession, Jayavarman VIII gradually departed from Jayavarman VII's Mahayana Buddhist state religion policy, restored Hindu worship, and restricted Buddhist statuary, beginning to seal and rebuild earlier Buddhist structures such as the Bayon within the city.
2. c. 1261–1270Angkor site complex · CambodiaArchaeological evidence shows that during this period many Avalokiteśvara and Buddha reliefs were chiseled away or recarved as Hindu deities, building materials were reused in other structures, and the four-faced Avalokiteśvara towers of the Bayon were systematically damaged, marking the architectural peak of Angkor's religious reform.
3. c. 1271–1295Angkor · CambodiaIn the late reign, some temples were converted to Theravada Buddhist use; inscriptions and architectural remains reflect the reorganization of Angkor's religious landscape after the collapse of the Mahayana state religion system, foreshadowing the later revival of Buddhism in Cambodia under Siamese influence.