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Angkor
Angkor
Thom and Bayon
Angkor
Thom is the inner royal city, built by the end
of the 12th century during the reign of King Jayavarman
VII, shortly after Angkor had been conquered and
burnt down by the Chams. This inner royal city
was built as a quadrangle and bordered by a 100-metres-wide
moat and an 8-metres-high wall. Angkor Thom is geometrically
oriented: it covers an area which is an exact quadrangle;
the sides of this quadrangle run exactly in North-South
and East-West direction. A gate opens exactly in the
middle of each wall, connecting, through a bridge over
the moat, the royal city with the outside.
Exactly
in the center of Angkor Thom are the temple grounds
of the Bayon.
The
temple grounds have puzzled archaeologists because they
do not fit the Hindu religion as does Angkor Wat. Therefore
it is assumed that King Jayavarman VII introduced elements
of the Buddhist faith into the religious system
of Angkor, though it is assumed they were lost after
his death.
The
palace area of Angkor Thom is located directly to
the North of the Bayon. Its basic features were laid
out during the reign of King Suryavarman I, 150
years before the construction of Angkor Thom. From the
center of the palace complex rose the Heavenly Palace,
Phimeanakas. The king of the Khmer always used to spend
the first part of each night in the uppermost part of
this Heavenly Palace, where according to legend he had
sexual intercourse with the sun queen.
Several
high terraces inside Angkor Thom served primarily ceremonial
purposes, among them cremations.
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