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Bayon Temple, Angkor Thum (The Three Images Above)
[Ancient African Artifacts displayed before the whole world]
The giant faces carved on the Bayon temple at Angkor Thum
represent both the Buddha and King Jayavarman VII (ruled about
1130-1219). Although a Buddhist temple, Angkor Thum was
modeled after the great Hindu temple complex of Angkor Wat.
Jayavarman's rise to prominence was long and arduous. He was the
son of Suryavarman II, ruler of the mighty Khmer Empire, located in
what is now Cambodia. In A.D. 1150, Suryavarman died, leaving the
throne to his young son Jayavarman. Unfortunately the young prince
was pushed aside by an older relative by the name of
Dharanindravarman, who reigned for ten years. Another relative,
Yasovarman II, succeeded him, making Jayavarman's ascension to the
throne impossible for several more years.
Jayavarman was a devout Buddhist, and during this period he chose
to renounce his claims to the world and live in the mountains of
Champa (South Vietnam) pursuing an austere and spiritual existence.
Upon the death of Yasovarman in 1165, Jayavarman returned,
anticipating his long-awaited coronation. Instead he found that the
throne had been seized by a rebel king, who would rule from 1165 to
1177, a period characterized by power struggles and revolts. Finally
the policies of this monarch plunged the Khmer Empire into disarray,
and it was ruthlessly attacked and devastated by the Chams with the
help of the Chinese. The capital was looted, the men savagely killed
and the women raped. The king was beheaded, and with no leader at
the helm Cambodia soon plummeted into total anarchy. For five years
Jayavarman sat on his mountaintop and watched the destruction of his
country. Then in 1181, at age fifty, he descended from the mountains
with weapons in hand and restored order to Cambodia. Turning from
his way of the "peaceful warrior," he rallied an army and laid to waste
the army of the Chams and then attacked their cities, heaping upon
them three times the level of devastation sustained by the Khmers.
Under Jayavarman VII the Khmer Empire reveled in opulence and
glory. Conquests by Jayavarman carved out an empire that included
Malaya, present-day Thailand, and Burma, allowing the Khmers to
rule over almost all of Southeast Asia. Jayavarman rebuilt the capital,
naming it Angkor Thum, or the Great City, then proceeded to build
irrigation canals, water reservoirs, highways and hospitals. One of his
greatest achievements was the construction of the Bayon, which
contained 50 towers and 200 great stone faces. There is nothing that
even closely resembles it anywhere on earth. Archaeologist Henri
Marshal wrote, "one can imagine one has returned to a fabulous era of
legends; particularly by moon- light, one feels as if he were visiting a
temple on another world."
Jayavarman ruled for thirty-four years, passing at age eighty-four. He
brought peace, divine love and wisdom to all of Southeast Asia during
his rule. An inscription found in the photograph shown here states,
"he felt the afflictions of his subjects more than his own, because the
suffering of the people constitutes the suffering of the king, more than
his own suffering."
Angkor National Park
National Park and World Historical Site (WHS) in northwestern
Cambodia. Established in 1925, the park covers 160 sq km (60 sq mi)
of rain forest terrain. It was created by the French colonial authorities
to protect the ruins of the former capital city of the Khmer Empire,
the first Cambodian state. Between the late 9th century, when it was
known as Yasodharapura, and the early 13th century, when it was
known as Angkor Thum, the city was both a royal and religious
center. Its best-known structures are Angkor Wat, a Hindu temple
constructed in the early 12th century, and Bayon, a Buddhist temple
completed in about 1215. Each of these was the main structure within
complexes of monuments, canals, and reservoirs. These complexes
represented the shape of the universe according to the religious
beliefs of the kings who had them built, Suryavarman II and
Jayavarman VII, respectively.
Angkor was abandoned as the Cambodian capital in 1431, but Angkor
Wat was turned into a Buddhist temple and remained in use. French
archaeologists began uncovering the jungle-laden Angkor site in 1863,
and for nearly a century thereafter the French conducted an extensive
project of reconstruction and research. During the political and
military upheavals of the 1970s and 1980s, however, the restoration
effort was put on hold and the Angkor site was damaged, pillaged,
and neglected.
In 1987 the Archaeological Survey of India began a seven-year
restoration project on the Angkor Wat complex. Since 1991 the
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) has helped the Cambodian government coordinate an
international effort to research and preserve the sites in Angkor
National Park.
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