Bayon Temple

Timeline

1. 1181–1185Center of Angkor Thom · AngkorAfter expelling the Cham occupation, Jayavarman VII built the square city of Angkor Thom, selecting its geometric center as the site of the new state temple, replacing the previous Hindu mountain-temple tradition with Mahayana Buddhist kingship.
2. c. 1185–1200Bayon · AngkorThe multi-tiered terraces, galleries, and four-faced giant towers were completed successively; the tower faces were understood as Avalokiteshvara or the king's dharma body, visually converging the city's cross-axial roads on the central image.
3. c. 1190–1218Bayon galleries · AngkorReliefs in the inner and outer galleries record the war against Champa, court processions, and market life; the temple became the center of daily ritual and royal display in Angkor Thom, forming a single iconographic system with the gate face towers.
4. 1300Bayon site · AngkorLater monarchs at one point rededicated the shrines to Shiva, but the face towers and plan were largely preserved; after modern archaeological clearing, the Bayon became the most recognizable monument of Angkor Thom.