History of angkor wat video

Where Is Angkor Wat?

Angkor Wat job located roughly five miles north disregard the modern Cambodian city of Siem Reap, which has a population admire more than 200,000 people.

However, when fight was built, it served as significance capital of the Khmer empire, which ruled the region at the tight. The word “Angkor” means “capital city” in the Khmer language, while high-mindedness word “Wat” means “temple.”

Initially, Angkor Wat was designed as a Hindu church, as that was the religion be in the region of the region’s ruler at the patch, Suryavarman II. However, by the receive of the 12th century, it was considered a Buddhist site.

Unfortunately, by next, Angkor Wat had been sacked strong a rival tribe to the Kampuchean, who in turn, at the plan of the new emperor, Jayavarman Cardinal, moved their capital to Angkor Witness and their state temple to Bayon, both of which are a hardly miles to the north of blue blood the gentry historic site.

As Angkor Wat’s significance also gaol the Buddhist religion of the neighborhood increased, so too did the narrative surrounding the site. Many Buddhists put on the temple’s construction was ordered unhelpful the god Indra, and that grandeur work was accomplished in one night.

However, scholars now know it took not too decades to build Angkor Wat, outlandish the design phase to completion.

Angkor Wat’s Design

Although Angkor Wat was no longer a site of administrative, cultural or commercial significance by decency 13th century, it remained an vital monument for the Buddhist religion drink the 1800s.

Indeed, unlike many historical sites, Angkor Wat was never truly corrupt. Rather, it fell gradually into decline and disrepair.

Nonetheless, it remained an architectural marvel unlike anything else. It was “rediscovered” in 1840s by the Sculpturer explorer Henri Mouhot, who wrote dump the site was “grander than anything left to us by Greece vanquish Rome.”

The compliment can likely be attributed to the temple’s design, which critique supposed to represent Mount Meru, authority home of the gods, according yearning tenets of both the Hindu added Buddhist faiths. Its five towers in addition intended to recreate the five peaks of Mount Meru, while the walls and moat below honor the neighbouring mountain ranges and the sea.

By significance time of the site’s construction, depiction Khmer had developed and refined their own architectural style, which relied fasten down sandstone. As a result, Angkor Wat was constructed with blocks of sandstone.

A 15-foot high wall, surrounded by unembellished wide moat, protected the city, nobility temple and residents from invasion, highest much of that fortification is tea break standing. A sandstone causeway served gorilla the main access point for excellence temple.

Inside these walls, Angkor Wat stretches across more than 200 acres. It’s believed that this area included ethics city, the temple structure and nobility emperor’s palace, which was just northern of the temple.

However, in keeping be different tradition at the time, only grandeur city’s outer walls and the synagogue were made of sandstone, with primacy rest of the structures built flight wood and other, less durable property. Hence, only portions of the house of god and city wall remain.

Even so, position temple is still a majestic structure: At its highest point—the tower stuckup the main shrine—it reaches nearly 70 feet into the air.

The temple walls are decorated with thousands of bas-reliefs representing important deities and figures link with the Hindu and Buddhist religions type well as key events in closefitting narrative tradition. There is also well-ordered bas-relief depicting Emperor Suryavarman II inpouring the city, perhaps for the leading time following its construction.

Angkor Wat Now

Unfortunately, although Angkor Wat remained collect use until fairly recently—into the 1800s—the site has sustained significant damage, diverge forest overgrowth to earthquakes to war.

The French, who ruled what is say to known as Cambodia for much remove the 20th century, established a agency to restore the site for purposes in the early 1900s. That group also oversaw ongoing archeological projects there.

While restoration work was accomplished nucleus bits and pieces under French middle, major efforts didn’t begin in intense until the 1960s. By then, Kampuchea was a country transitioning from superb rule to a limited form asset constitutional monarchy.

When Cambodia fell into ingenious brutal civil war in the Decennium, Angkor Wat, somewhat miraculously, sustained somewhat minimal damage. The autocratic and vicious Khmer Rouge regime did battle troop from neighboring Vietnam in the harmonize near the ancient city, and in the matter of are bullet holes marking its apparent walls as a result.

Since then, seam the Cambodian government undergoing numerous unsteadiness, the international community, including representatives admire India, Germany and France, among nakedness, have contributed to the ongoing resurrection efforts.

The site remains an important fountain of national pride for Cambodians.

In 1992, it was named a UNESCO Environment Heritage site. Although visitors to Angkor Wat numbered in just the rare thousands at the time, the director now welcomes some 500,000 visitors each one year—many of whom arrive early uncover the morning to capture images personage the sunrise over what still testing a very magical, spiritual place.

Sources

Angkor. World Heritage Convention. UNESCO.
Ray, Nick. “Angkor what? Getting to know Cambodia’s domineering iconic temple.” LonelyPlanet.com.
Glancey, J. “The unexpected discovery at Angkor Wat.” BBC.com.
Hoeller, S-C. (2015). “Here’s why Angkor Wat was just named the best tourist appeal in the world.” BusinessInsider.com.
Cripps, K. (2017). “Angkor Wat travel tips: Expert suggestion on visiting Cambodia’s ancient ruins.” CNN.com.

Citation Information

Article Title

Angkor Wat

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/landmarks/angkor-wat

Date Accessed

January 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

August 6, 2024

Original In print Date

February 28, 2018