On the road to Angkor Thom we pass the 1000 year old
Ta Keo temple – Prasat Keo – Crystal Temple
The Ta Keo temple was built by King Jayavarman V and King Suryavarman I, but never completed.
At that time it was the most monumental building of the Khmer and should serve as a state temple. But a lightning strike was considered as evil omen and therefore the construction was discontinued. Except for few reliefs, the temple remained virtually in the shell.
Suryavarman I is said to have given the temple the scholar Yogiswara Pandita, however, he didn’t feel worthy enough to live at the top terrace level
Ta Keo is the first temple that is completely built with sandstone. The sandstone had to be transported from the highlands, 30 km away.
Spean Thma (The bridge of stone)
A few hundred meters away the road crosses the Siem Reap River. The archaeologists puzzled for a long time, how as the powerful Khmer Empire could disintegrate so fast. Meanwhile, the mystery seems to be solved.
The End of the Khmer Empire
The decline began well already under King Suryavarman II who was considered as one of the greatest rulers of the Khmer. He was the builder of Angkor Wat, built as the state temple. However the religious orientation went to Vishnu, whereas his predecessors worshiped Shiva. After his death a few years of turmoil followed. In addition to disputes about the throne, the Cham conquered the Khmer capital, by surprisingly using the waterways and the Tonle Sap Lake.
Only 10 years later, Jayavarman VII could again ascend the throne, after he had defeated the Cham. The disputes with the Cham went on for several more years, but in the meantime Jayavarman VII launched a gigantic program for the building of temples. In addition, he had built a new seat of government, Angkor Thom.
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Jayavarman VII was a Buddhist, unlike its predecessors, who were Hindus. Presumably his followers had changed faith, so he was forced to construct new temples. But this came at a price. In the temple were not only monks, but also dancers, servants, guards, craftsmen, etc. Ultimately, hundreds of thousands of people were employed in the temples of Angkor and had to be cared for by the remaining population. After a meteorological double strike had taken place, several years of drought, then a few years of excessive rainfall, there were insufficient resources, so the population starts to leave the region.
In order to supply to the southern parts with enough water during the dry season, the Khmer forced the Siem Reap River into an artificial bed that ran east of Angkor Thom. When the rainy years came, the channel could not take the floods any longer and the channel system destroyed itself. This meant the end of Angkor.
The Spean Thma is the symbol for this downfall. Here, you can recognize the different levels.
Please read on -> Angkor Thom – the temple with the 200 faces
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