Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
for Sunrise
or Sunset
»
Angkor Wat (
Click here
)
»
Bayon (
Click here
)
»
Phnom Bakheng (
Click here
)
»
Pre Rup (
Click here
)
»
Sra Srang (
Click here
)
Best Temples
for Film Buffs
»
Angkor Wat (
Click here
)
»
Bayon (
Click here
)
»
Beng Mealea (
Click here
)
»
East Gate of Angkor Thom (
Click here
)
»
Ta Prohm (
Click here
)
History
The Angkorian period spans more than 600 years from AD 802 to 1432. This incredible
age saw the construction of the temples of Angkor and the consolidation of the Khmer
empire's position as one of the great powers in Southeast Asia. This era encompasses peri-
ods of decline and revival, and wars with rival powers in Vietnam, Thailand and Myan-
mar. This brief history deals only with the periods that produced the temples that can be
seen at Angkor.
The hundreds of surviving temples are but the sacred skeleton of the vast political, reli-
gious and social centre of Cambodia's ancient Khmer empire; a city that, at its zenith,
boasted a population of one million when London was a small town of 50,000. The
houses, public buildings and palaces of Angkor were constructed of wood - now long de-
cayed - because the right to dwell in structures of brick or stone was reserved for the
gods.
