Preah Khan was built in 1191 during the reign of King Jayavarman VII.
He was a warrior king celebrated for reconstructing the Khmer Empire
after a period of fragmentation. Jayavarman first made a name for
himself in 1165, when news of a rebellion reached his ears. Rushing
home from the Cham Kingdom, where he resided, he arrived too late to
stop the usurper Tribhuvanadityavarman from crowning himself King of the
Khmers. Jayavarman was powerless to interfere, but waited patiently
for an opportunity. Finally in 1177, the Cham kingdom sent an invasion
force against the Khmer usurper, joined by native elements, that toppled
him in a bloody campaign. Fighting even reached Angkor, laying waste
to the capital. The victorious Cham occupied Khmer territory as a
foreign power, but their rule was not to last long.
Jayavarman jumped in with his own private army, striking headlong at the
Cham forces. He won a spectacular naval battle on the Great Lake that
crippled the Cham fleet. This opened the door to a wholesale invasion
that not only drove out the foreign occupiers, but struck against native
kinglets that resisted his "liberation". Only in 1181 was he confident
enough to crown himself King, taking the reign title Jayavarman VII.
The King commissioned Ta Prohm and Preah Khan temples as monuments of
his rule. Preah Khan was probably built on the same spot where previous
kings had kept their palaces. Preah Khan was more than just a
monastery—it was an entire city enclosing a town of 56 hectares. About
100,000 farmers produced rice to feed about 15,000 monks, teachers, and
students. Subsidiary buildings included a hospital, rest house, and
rice granary.
The central Buddhist temple at Preah Khan included an image of the
Boddhisattva Lokeshrvara, carved to resemble the King's father. There
were 282 sub-deities around the main statue, including Khmer heroes and
deceased officials. There was even a statue of the usurper-king in
front of the temple. Though this seems odd, the Khmers believed that
all past kings, even usurpers, guarded the country after death.
An architectural detail typical of Jayavarman VII's reign are the
free-standing statues that flank the gateways (see image one).
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