The Story of Khmer Great Empire ( Javaraman VII )



The Khmer Empire was one of the most powerful empires in Southeast Asia. The empire, which grew out of the former kingdom of Chenla, at times ruled over and/or vassalized parts of modern-day Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Burma, and Malaysia. Its greatest legacy is Angkor, in present-day Cambodia, which was the site of the capital city during the empire's zenith. Angkor bears testimony to the Khmer empire's immense power and wealth, as well as the variety of belief systems that it patronised over time. The empire's official religions included Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism, until Theravada Buddhism prevailed, even among the lower classes, after its introduction from Sri Lanka in the 13th century. Modern researches by satellites have revealed Angkor to be the largest pre-industrial urban center in the world.
The history of Angkor as the central area of settlement of the historical kingdom of Kambujadesa is also the history of the Khmer from the 9th to the 13th centuries.
From Kambuja itself — and so also from the Angkor region — no written records have survived other than stone inscriptions. Therefore the current knowledge of the historical Khmer civilization is derived primarily from:

• archaeological excavation, reconstruction and investigation
• stone inscriptions (most important are foundation steles of temples), which report on the political and religious deeds of the kings
• reliefs in a series of temple walls with depictions of military marches, life in the palace, market scenes and also the everyday lives of the population
• reports and chronicles of Chinese diplomats, traders and travellers.

The beginning of the era of the Khmer Empire is conventionally dated to 802 AD. In this year, king Jayavarman II had himself declared chakravartin ("king of the world", or "king of kings") on Phnom Kulen.

Culture and society

Much of what is known of the ancient Khmers comes from the many stone murals and also first hand accounts from Zhou Daguan. They offer first hand accounts of the 13th century and earlier. The ancient Khmers relied heavily on rice growing. The farmers planted rice near the banks of the Tonlé Sap or in the hills when it was flooded. The farms were irrigated by Barays, or giant water reservoirs and canals. Sugar palm trees, fruit trees and vegetables were grown in the villages. Fishing gave the population their main source of protein, which was turned into Prahok or dried or roasted or steamed in banana leaves. Rice was the main staple along with fish. Pigs, cattle and poultry were kept under the farmers houses as they were on stilts to keep away from flooding. Houses of farmers were situated near the rice paddies on the edge of the cities, the walls were of woven bamboo, thatched roofs and were on stilts. A house was divided into three by woven bamboo walls. One was the parents' bedroom, another was the daughters' bedroom, and the largest was the living area. The sons slept wherever they could find space. The kitchen was at the back or a separate room. Nobles and kings lived in the palace and much larger houses in the city. They were made of the same materials as the farmers' houses, but the roofs were wooden shingles and had elaborate designs as well as more rooms. The common people wore a sampot which the front end was drawn between the legs and secured at the back by a belt. Nobles and kings wore finer and richer fabrics. Women wore a strip of cloth to cover the chest while noble women had a lengthened one that went over the shoulder. Men and women wore a Krama. The main religion was Hinduism, followed by Buddhism in popularity. Vishnu and Shiva were the favorite deities.
History

Jayavarman II — the founder of Angkor

Jayavarman II is widely regarded as the king that set the foundation of Angkor period in Cambodian history, began with the grandiose consecration ritual conducted by Jayavarman II (reign 790-850) in 802 on sacred Mount Mahendraparvata, now known as Phnom Kulen, to celebrate the independence of Kambuja from Javanese dominion. At that ceremony Prince Jayavarman II was proclaimed a universal monarch (Kamraten jagad ta Raja in Cambodian) or God King (Deva Raja in Sanskrit). According to some sources, Jayavarman II had resided for some time in Java during the reign of Sailendras, or "The Lords of Mountains", hence the concept of Deva Raja or God King was ostensibly imported from Java. At that time, Sailendras allegedly ruled over Java, Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula and parts of Cambodia.
The first data on Jayavarman II came from K.235 stone inscription on a stele in Sdok Kok Thom temple, Isan region. Dating 1053 AD. it recounts two and a half centuries of service that members of the temple's founding family provided to the Khmer court, mainly as chief chaplains of the Shaivite Hindu religion.

According to an older established interpretation, Jayavarman II was supposed to be a prince who lived at the court of Sailendra in Java (today's Indonesia) and brought back to his home the art and culture of Javanese Sailendran court to Cambodia. This classical theory was revisited by modern scholars, such as Claude Jacques  and Michael Vickery, who noted that Khmer called chvea the Chams, their close neighbours. Moreover Jayavarman's political career began at Vyadhapura (probably Banteay Prei Nokor) in eastern Cambodia, which make more probable long time contacts with them (even skirmishes, as the inscription suggests) than a long stay in distant Java. Finally, many early temples on Phnom Kulen shows both Cham (e.g. Prasat Damrei Krap) and Javanese influences (e.g. the primitive "temple-mountain" of Aram Rong Cen and Prasat Thmar Dap), even if their asymmetric distribution seems typically khmer.
After he eventually returned to his home, the former kingdom of Chenla, he quickly built up his influence, conquered a series of competing kings, and in 790 AD became king of a kingdom called "Kambuja" by the Khmer. In the following years he extended his territory and eventually established his new capital of Hariharalaya near the modern Cambodian town of Roluos. He thereby laid the foundation of Angkor, which was to arise some 15 km to the northwest. In 802 he declared himself Chakravartin, in a ritual taken from the Indian-Hindu tradition. Thereby he not only became the divinely appointed and therefore uncontested ruler, but also simultaneously declared the independence of his kingdom from Java. Jayavarman II died in the year 834 C.E. and he was succeeded by his son Jayavarman III. Jayavarman III died in 877 C.E. and was succeeded by Indravarman I.

Jayavarman VII — Angkor Thom

The future king Jayavarman VII (reigned 1181–1219) was already a military leader as prince under previous kings. After the Cham had conquered Angkor, he gathered an army and regained the capital,he attacked his father thinking it was his destany to be king, he ascended the throne and continued the war against the neighbouring eastern kingdom for a further 22 years, until the Khmer defeated Champa in 1203 and conquered large parts of its territory.
Jayavarman VII stands as the last of the great kings of Angkor, not only because of the successful war against the Cham, but also because he was no tyrannical ruler in the manner of his immediate predecessors, because he unified the empire, and above all because of the building projects carried out under his rule. The new capital now called Angkor Thom (literally: "Great City") was built. In the centre, the king (himself a follower of Mahayana Buddhism) had constructed as the state temple the Bayon, with its towers bearing faces of the boddhisattva Avalokiteshvara, each several metres high, carved out of stone. Further important temples built under Jayavarman VII were Ta Prohm, Banteay Kdei and Neak Pean, as well as the reservoir of Srah Srang. Alongside, an extensive network of streets was laid down, which connected every town of the empire. Beside these streets 121 rest-houses were built for traders, officials and travellers. Not least of all, he established 102 hospitals.