Tag: Jayavarman VII

Jayavarman VII – Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Letters I or J

This our entry in Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Letters I or J.

Jayavarman VII,  who is generally regarded as the most powerful of the Khmer kings of Cambodia, was a Mahayana Buddhist.  The Buddha figures in the Bayon Temple in Angkor Thom are modeled after him.

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Jayavarman VII as Buddha

Jayavarman VII  (1125–1218) was a king of the Kymer Empire in what is now Cambodia, ruling from 1181 to 1218, approximately.  During his reign, he built temples in the Angkor complex near present-day Siem Reap. Three of his temples that are most familiar to tourists are these:

  • Ta Prohm, built to honor his mother
  • Preah Khan, built to honor his father
  • Bayon, built to honor himself, and the Angkor Thom city surrounding it

Angkor Wat, built in the early 12th century, already existed when Jayavarman VII built his temples.