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Angkor Wat Temple Complex

Type Object Region Southeast Asia Time c. 1113

Angkor Wat is a Vishnu temple built by Suryavarman II at Angkor in the early 12th century, a pinnacle of Khmer architecture and one of the world's la…

Timeline

  1. c. 1113–1150Main temple area of Angkor Wat · AngkorSuryavarman II ordered the construction of Angkor Wat dedicated to Vishnu, employing a five-tower Mount Meru design, three-tiered galleries, and large-scale mythological reliefs, embodying Khmer kingship and Hindu cosmology.
  2. c. 1180–1300Angkor Wat · AngkorAfter the Khmer state religion shifted to Mahayana Buddhism, the main image of Angkor Wat was changed to Buddha, while the galleries retained Hindu epic reliefs, showing a characteristic religious syncretism.
  3. 1401–1410Angkor Wat · AngkorBetween 1401 and 1410, Angkor was no longer the Khmer political center, but the temple complex was still maintained by a small number of monks, becoming a Theravada Buddhist sacred site; surrounding settlements shrank while the main structures remained relatively intact.
  4. c. 1431Angkor Wat and the Angkor Archaeological Park · AngkorAfter the Siamese capture in 1431, Angkor Wat was gradually surrounded by jungle; French explorers rediscovered it in the 1860s, and it was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1992, becoming a national symbol of Cambodia and a global cultural heritage.

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