AngkorWat The building of Angkor Wat was commenced under Suryavarman II (1113–1150 CE). It was a shrine to the Hindu god Vishnu with whom Angkor’s kings identified themselves. Its central tower represents Mount Meru, a mountain from Hindu mythology. Angkor Wat is the best preserved of the Angkor temples because, unlike the others, it was never completely abandoned. The temple’s rectangular outer walls are surrounded by a huge rectangular moat. The walls measure 1025 metres by 800 metres. Relief sculptures line almost a kilometre of the outer walls. These sculptures include scenes from Hindu mythology including the Mahabharata and Ramayana , scenes of the king and the Khmer army at war, the Hindu heavens and hells, and over 3000 apsaras . Khmer inscriptions state that 300 000 workers and 6000 elephants were employed during the construction of Angkor Wat. Angkor Thom Thom is a Khmer word meaning ‘large’, so Angkor Thom means ‘large city’. Much bigger than Angkor Wat, its area is around ten square kilometres. It was built under Jayavarman VII (1181–c. 1218 CE) and has huge 20-metre-high gates. Above the gates tower giant faces of the Buddhist Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. Within the city walls are its most important monuments and buildings, including the Bayon Temple, which stands at the centre of the city. Bayon has over 11 000 carved figures that cover about 1.2 kilometres of walls. They include scenes of battles against the Chams and scenes from everyday life including circus performers and a market.
SOURCE2 A diagram showing some of the most important buildings in Angkor
Banteay Prel
Banteay Thom
Prol
Krol Ko
Ta Som
Preah Khan
Tonie Sngout
Neal Pean
Prei Pasat
Krol
Rolous
Eastern Baray
Ta Nei
Chrung
Pithu Khleang Khleang
Thommanon
To
Palace
Eastern Melbon
Ta Keo
Baphuon
Western Baray
ChauSay Tevoda
Banteay Samre
Ta Prohm
Tapeang Seng
Angkor Thom
Bayon
Pre Rup
Western Melbon
Prel
Neak Leang
Top
Kmeng
Banteay Kdei
Srah Srang
Kas Ho
Baksei
Bel
Phnom Bakheng
Chamkrong
Ta Noreay
Bat Chum
Ak Yum
Ta Prohm Kei
Kravan
Angkor Wat
Trapeang Ropou
Angkor
Siem Reap
Jacaranda Humanities Alive 8 Victorian Curriculum Third Edition
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