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Angkor Wat is one of the most beautiful and mysterious historical sites in the world. Located over 192 miles to the North-West of Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh, Angkor has been "protected" from tourism. The customs and cultures of the people living there have not changed much. However, intense internal warfare for over fifty years has affected the people and to an extent, the physical structure of the temples at Angkor.
For many years, Angkor Wat was isolated from the world. Large, thick jungles cover the area. The French colonists were the first westerners to get to Angkor Wat. They had heard rumors from the local population about "temples built by gods or by giants." Most of the colonists referred to these rumors as folk tales, but some believed that there really was a "lost city of a Cambodian empire", which had once been powerful and wealthy.
The temples were first discovered in 1860. Henri Mahout, a French botanist, did intensive research and restoration programs. Initially, he did not believe that the temples were built by Cambodians, but by another race which had conquered and occupied Cambodia over 2000 years ago. His theory would later be proven incorrect. Researchers discovered scripts on the walls of the temples, and stone sculptures, that have made it possible for archeologists to piece together the history of Cambodia. Now it is known that Angkor, was the great capital city of the Khmer Empire from the city's founding in about AD 880 until about 1225.
The history of Angkor Wat dates back to the Kingdom of Funan. This kingdom was established by an Indian Brahmin, and in AD200, the country was peacefully settled by Indian traders. Four hundred years later, the kingdom had become a prosperous trading region. Because the area was located on the pilgrim route between China and India, Hinduism and Chinese Buddhism were adopted by the new settlers. The Indian and Chinese influence can still be felt in Cambodia, and the temples of Angkor Wat closely resemble Hindu and Buddhist temples that can be found in Northern India and in Nepal. By AD 600, the Funan Empire lost much of its power to the Kingdom of Chenla. The capital of this new empire, Sambor, was located about 40 miles to the Southeast of Angkor. During this time, beautiful sculptures and carvings in sand-stone were popular. In AD 750, a warlike king was able to expand the Chenla kingdom. However, trade with India stopped, and the Indonesian Empire rose in importance.
By AD 800, the Kingdom of Kambuja was established and King Jayavarman I took control over the kingdom. He built several capitals near Angkor Wat. This kingdom introduced social changes and was able to size land to the North and to the East. In AD 889, a nephew of Jayavaram became the new emperor, and he was able to bring peace and unity to the Khmer Kingdom. In AD 944, Jayavarman V established many Mahayana Buddhist temples near Angkor, and moved the court to Yasodharapura, at Angkor. Culture prospered and so did the Khmer empire. In AD 1000, Suryavarman, a young man who may have come from the Malayan provinces of the empire ascended the throne of Kambuja. He would become the King of Kambuja for over 50 years. He was responsible for the planning and foundations of the city of Angkor. In AD1051, Udayadityavarman II succeeded Suryavarman and continued to build the city of Angkor. He restored many of the temples. Angkor had become both a sacred temple city and the center of a vast agricultural area with an advanced irrigation system.
Massive expansion of the city continued throughout the next 200 years and ambitious building programs expanded the city. Many temples were built. The temples are spread out over about 40 miles around the village of Siem Reap. Structures similar to those found in the city of Angkor are common sights in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and in China. Perhaps the most famous temple, Angkor Wat, a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu, was built during this period.
Angkor Wat is the highest achievement of Khmer temple architecture, and is today the "flagship" of the temples at Angkor. The temple is a huge pyramid structure. The compound at Angkor Wat covers an area of 1,500 by 1,300 m (4,920 by 4,265 ft) and is surrounded by a vast moat 180 m (590 ft) wide. Along the causeway leading to the enormous entrance gate are balustrades shaped as giant serpents, which are believed to represent of cosmic fertility. The temple consists of a towering complex of terraces and small buildings that are arranged in a series of three diminishing stories and surmounted by five towers. The roofed and unroofed structures are covered with bands of finely carved stone sculptures. The walls are covered with carved reliefs that illustrate Hindu mythology, principally scenes relating to the god Vishnu, to whom the temple was dedicated. The mass of bas-relief carving is of the highest quality and the most beautifully executed in Angkor. All the temple mountains of Angkor were filled with three-dimensional images and nearly every inch of the walls is covered by sculpture.
In the beginning of AD1200, the Angkor and the Khmer empire started to decline. When Jayavarman VII died, the Thai Empire in the West emerged as a major power in the region. The Thai capital was moved to Ayudhya, near Angkor, and obviously threatened the Cambodian kingdom. In AD1389 the Thais attacked Angkor, and the city fell into the hands of the Thais. The 15th-century conquest of the Khmer kingdom by the Thais resulted (1431) in the final abandonment of Angkor.
Today, archeologists from all over the world are actively involved in the restoration process of the temples. Much of the history of the "Lost City" of Angkor is still a mystery, but Angkor has entered the "Coca Cola" and "Kodak" age, and as Cambodia is becoming more developed, the mystical atmosphere at Angkor will disappear.