The document provides details about the history and urban planning of Angkor, the capital city of the Khmer Empire between the 9th and 15th centuries in Cambodia. It describes how Angkor was strategically located to take advantage of natural resources like rivers and fertile land. The city was laid out in a grid pattern centered around royal palaces and Hindu/Buddhist temples. Important structures like reservoirs and canals were built to support irrigation for agriculture and transportation. At its peak, Angkor was one of the largest cities in the world, though many original structures were made of perishable materials and no longer remain.

1. 600-1450
Presented by Norsham binti Lebai Itam

3.  Look back at your Indian Ocean articles and
quotes.
 What is important about the Indian Ocean?

4.  “Zone of interaction”
 First ocean to be crossed
 “Sailor's ocean”
 Warm water
 Fairly placid waters
 Wind patterns: one way = north of equator, the other
= south of the equator

5.  Varied environments:
 Tropical East Africa
 Deserts around the Red Sea and Persian Gulf
 Intensely wet southern India
 Tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia

6.  Teak from India
 Mangrove swamps in East Africa
 Arabian horses to India
 Spices from Southeast Asia & Spice Islands
 Frankincense from Arabia and Africa
 ***Desired far beyond the Indian Ocean world

7.  Madagascar settled by people from Southeast
Asiaarrived via catamarans (1st
millennium
CE)
 Slave trades & labor migrations
 Slaves from East Africa to Arabia/India
 From Southeast Asia to Southern Africa
 Colonies of Romans in India; Arab Muslims &
Jews in India; Indians and Chinese in SE Asia;
Europeans in India, SE Asia, and East Africa…

8.  Indian merchants brought Brahmin priests
 Muslim scholars brought by Arab merchants
 Christian merchants brought priests

9. • Largest Buddhist structure in the world
• Built during Sailendras rule in Java (8th
C CE—832)
• Illustrates the wealth due to control of shipping lanes
• Diffusion of Buddhism

10.  Illustrates Javanese
Buddhism
 Mahayana
 Continual cycle of reincarnation
 Low levels represent the earthly
life
 Continual path to enlightenment
 Common Buddhist motifs:
stupa, mandala
 Unique to Java: sacred
mountain

11. 

12. •After the fall of the Sailendra
dynasty: Hindu dynasty
• The Sanjaya.
•Built Prambananphysical
manifestation of Hindu trinity
•In SE Asia: cultural fusion
(syncretism) known as Hindu-
Buddhism

13. •Cambodia
•Cultural diffusion of Hindu-Buddhism throughout
SE Asia.

14.  Built by Khmer Empire
 Dedicated to Vishnu
 Height ca. 1200 CE
 Cultivated rice
 Extensive irrigation system
 Violent martial art
 Flourished until conquered by Burma

15.  SYNCRETISM
 Religious and cultural fusion on both
mainland and islands of SE Asia
 Final flowering: 14th
and 15th
C in
Majapahit
 In Java, Islam replaced due to arrival
of Muslim traders; by 16th
C, nearly
entire island converted.

16.  Majahapit court and religious community
moved to Bali; still flourishes there
 Eventually, new syncretic religion: blending
Sufi Islam with Hindu-Buddhism.
 Prone to mysticism
 Today: Indonesia = most populous Muslim nation;
national symbol = Garuda (Hindi eagle deity)

17.  How is the spread of Hinduism/Buddhism in
SE Asia similar to/different from the spread of
Islam in Africa and Spain?
 What can we learn based on the architecture?
 What similarities does this hold with other
cultures around the world?

19.  Land use was based
upon the cultivation of rice,
either in dry fields or in wet
paddies.
 Rice cultivation has
influenced both the pattern
of settlement and the
arrangement of the land.
 Dry rice cultivation can
be dated in Cambodia as far
back as 3500 B.C.
 During the first century
the use of wet fields
emerged.

20.  Weather using wet or dry architecture, cultivation of rice
necessitated the clearing and maintenance of permanent
fields accelerating the process of continuous settlement and
land clearance.
 Other crops, such as coconuts, tamarind, and sugar cane,
were cultivated on shifting tracts that were first cleared, then
farmed for several years and finally allowed to revert to
forest until cleared once again years later.

21.  Wet rice agriculture
added another layer of
planning and land
alteration to farming.
 Fields needed to be
cleared and a system of
canals, dykes, and
embankments needed to
be constructed and
maintained.
 These fields became
important works of
landscape engineering
requiring manipulation
of grades and
earthworks.

22.  In mountainous
areas such fields
became impressive
terraced landscapes.
 Traditional Southeast
Asian agriculture
included the
practices now widely
studied for their
sustainability.
 Home gardens that
contain commercial
and family crops
were common.

23.  Fruit trees, plants for medicinal
purposes, and ornamentals were
commonly found in home
gardens.
 Intercropping and agro-forestry
were common practices.
 Intercropping was the custom of
planting two or more crops in
the same field at the same time.
 Agro-forestry was a variation of
intercropping that mixed
commodity crops with tree
cultivation.
 Aquaculture, or the raising of
fish in controlled ponds, has
been practiced in Southeast Asia
for several thousand years.
 Aquaculture ponds provided an
environment for the fish as well
as a fertile muck that could be
applied to fields.

24.  Other sustainable
agricultural practices
commonly found in
traditional Southeast
Asian agriculture
included:
 the use of human and
animal waster as fertilizer;
 mulching with both field
litter and live mulches
such as legumes increased
fertility and controlled
erosion;
 crop rotation recovered
soil fertility;
 and the use of terraces
controlled erosion.

25.  The origins of urban planning in Southeast Asia
were based initially on Indian influences:
 the idea of the city as an ordered place;
 the plan inspired by cosmological systems;
 cities divided into distinct areas or quarters based upon
craft activities, ethnic groups, caste, or some combination
of these.
 A distinct Indian idea was that a city plan was an
expression of royal power derived form the king’s
association with the gods.
Traditional cities of SoutheastTraditional cities of Southeast
Asia were primarily royalAsia were primarily royal
capitols which also served ascapitols which also served as
major marketplaces for themajor marketplaces for the
products of the kingdom.products of the kingdom.

26.  The plan form in SE Asian cities
was the grid, centered upon a
royal compound.
 The grid pattern was somewhat
irregular, either to adapt it to
some natural feature or to
accommodate some preexisting
land use.
 Associated with the central royal
compound, always a separate
walled area, there were related
religious structures usually
outside the palace walls.
 In Buddhist areas this structure
would have been the principal or
stupa and nearby there was
frequently a small square used
specifically for royal ceremonies.

27.  Southeast Asian cities were typically walled and moated for
defense.
 The presence of gated entries through these walls into the city
helped to create a hierarchy of streets, with major routes
being those linking gates on either side of the city.
 These cities were lush garden-like places with trees planted
along streets and large land areas reserved for plantations of
coconut and other fruit trees.

28.  Many important cities were built
as royal capitals during the
period from 800 to 1500 A.D.
 The most important urban
development of this period was
the construction of the capital of
the Khmer state, Angkor, located
in northern Cambodia.
 The Khmer occupied the royal
city of Angkor from the 9th to
the 15th centuries, although most
of the remaining monuments
date from the 12th and 13th
centuries.
 Angkor covers about 602
m.
 Angkor was one of the largest
urban places of the period. It was
a complete city of homes,
workplaces, markets, temple and
an extensive agricultural
hinterland to support the
population.

29.  Angkor was set in a large plain of
primarily alluvial soils located
between the Kulen Plateau to the
north and the Tonle Sap to the south.
 The Kulen Plateau provided a
constant source of water via the
perennial streams that flowed from it
to the plains around Angkor.
 The Tonle Sap was an important
inland lake that seasonally flooded
with monsoon waters that backed-up
from the Mekong River.
 Many areas in and around Angkor are
seasonably wet, with riverine flood
waters carrying silt and nutrients that
would aid agriculture.
 The wetlands of the plain were
readily sculpted into flat fields with
earthen boarders to accommodate rice
agriculture that allowed the city to
prosper.

30.  As a planned city, Angkor was sited to take advantage of
natural resources in the area, particularly the water and food
that the rivers and the Tonle Sap provided.
 The city itself was laid out on a rectangular, almost grid-like,
scheme centered upon the walled compound of Angkor
Thom where the palace was located. Roads, city walls, and
the walls of temples were oriented to the cardinal directions.
 Even natural features of the landscape, such as the Siem Reap
River, were re-routed to comply with the urban grid.

31.  A critical component of the
city plan was the numerous
waterways that provided
water for drinking, irrigation,
bathing and transportation.
 The channelized rivers and
canals that linked them
carried water to and from the
large, architectonic detention
ponds known as barays.
 These covered hundreds of
acres and held thousands of
acre-feet of water.
 The barays were also used as
fish tanks and waterfowl
ponds, so they doubled as a
food source as well as water
source.

32.  Moats often surrounded important temples or urban areas,
separating them from the rest of the urban fabric.
 One of the largest moats, over 600’ wide, encircled the
temple of Angkor Wat.
 There were smaller pools throughout the city, some of
which were used as bathing pools, while others associated
with temples may have had a primarily ceremonial
function.

33.  Most structures of Angkor
were originally of
impermanent materials such
as wood, thatch, and glazed
tiles, so they no longer remain.
 Even the walled palace located
within the walled compound
of Angkor Thom was built
with wood.
 Structures that do remain are
those associated with the
religious role of Angkor, since
only temples and other
religious buildings were built
of durable sandstone, basalt,
brick and laterite brick.

34.  Angkor’s most important compounds were its temples of
Angkor Wat and Bayon.
 They followed the Indian pattern of spatial development and
architectural design representing the temple as a mountain.
 Specifically, the form of the temples represented the sacred
Mount Meru, which in Hindu cosmology was the home of the
gods and the human and mythical world that surrounded it.

35.  Galleries surrounding the main temple represent the
foothills around the mount, while the channels of water
between the galleries were to represent the ocean and rivers.
 Each temple compound was both an abstracted and
symbolic landscape modeled after the natural and
cosmological landscape of India and Southeast Asia.

36.  Angkor Wat illustrates the common pattern of interior and
exterior spatial development found at Khmer sites.
 The temple was centered upon five elevated, peaked towers
that represented the five peaks of Mount Meru.
 Encircling these towers were concentric rectangular bands of
galleries and open courts.
 The galleries were open air passageways to be walked as part
of the entry experience to the main temple.

37.  Carved scenes drawn from Hindu legends tell their story on
surrounding walls.
 Within the outermost wall of the compound a large open
court was originally filled with densely packed thatch and
wood dwellings, a temple-centered neighborhood.

38.  To the exterior of the compound walls the moat separated the
temple from the surrounding area of the city.
 Only by crossing a causeway nearly a quarter of a mile long
over this moat could access to the temple precinct be gained.
 Although Angkor clearly inspired other Southern Asian cities
no urban place ever achieved its size and grandeur.

39.  These bas- reliefs are in remarkable condition.
 Even though they were done some 400 years after the
original construction, and were by then Buddhist, these
scenes are derived directly from Hindu mythology. They
include the gods Vishna, Shiva and Krishna.
 Angkor is from a Sanskrit word nagara (Holy City).

40.  The detail, and the condition of these buildings are
remarkable. No doubt due to the robustness of the volcanic
rock, unlike Europe where most historical building are
built from limestone, which is weak by comparison, and
dissolves slowly in rainwater.

41.  The Angkor period is from
802 to 1432 A.D..
 It began when Jaywarman II
conducted a ritual that
installed him as the universal
monarch and ended with the
relocation of the Khmers
from Angkor to Phnom Penh
in 1434. He unified the
Khmer nation, and declared
independence from
Indonesia, thus beginning the
glorious period of Angkor.
 Indravarman I, who ruled
Cambodia from around
AD877 to around AD889,
was the first to set up this
irrigation system. It enabled
the Khmers to have a densely
populated capital in a small
area from which they ruled
their empire.

42.  Through this irrigation system,
up to three rice crops could be
grown each year to feed the
population of Angkor.
 1006 – 1050 A.D., Suryavarman I
is King of Kambuja for nearly 50
years. At the beginning of his
reign he embarks on a campaign
of territorial expansion, annexing
land in the Menam valley to the
west and the Mekong valley to
the north.
 Following, there was peace and
much building. Suryavarman is
responsible for the planning and
foundations of much of the city
that can be seen at Angkor today.

43.  He adopts the royal Hindu
cult of Devaraja and sets
himself up as a
representative of the god
Siva.
 1050 – 1066 A.D.,
Udayadityavarman II
succeeds Suryavarman I and
continues building in
Angkor.
 He built the west baray and
canals, and submerges some
of the old ninth-century city
under it.
 He builds a new city at
Angkor, the third city to be
built there. His central temple
is the Baphuon Temple.

44.  Suryawarman II took the throne around 1113 and ruled until
1150. He built Angkor Watt.
 1181 In order to appease the people who are increasingly
adopting Buddhism, Jayavarman becomes a Buddhist himself.
 Once he stabilizes his enlarged empire, Jayavarman starts a
massive building program. This includes the reconstruction of
Angkor Thom with the Bayon as the central temple and the
building of Ta Prohm and Preah Khan temples.

45.  The Hindu temples and monuments that were built
during the Hindu period was not destroyed , but
converted in to Buddhist temples; statues of Lords Shiva
and Vishnu were replaced with Lord Buddha.
 By the 14th century, the biggest threat to Khmer nation
came from Siam (Thailand).
 Watt is Thai name for temple, which must have been
added on to Angkor when it became a Threvada Buddhist
monument.

Threvada BuddhismThrevada Buddhism
was spreading fast in thewas spreading fast in the
Cambodia – due to theCambodia – due to the
strong influence fromstrong influence from
neighboring Siamneighboring Siam
(Thailand) - and by 1200,(Thailand) - and by 1200,
the rulers of Khmer nationthe rulers of Khmer nation
had converted tohad converted to
Buddhism.Buddhism.

46.  Sukothai - considered a
national hero in Thailand ,
invaded and plundered
Angkor of its precious
architecture many times.
 Due close proximity of
Angkor to their perpetual
enemy - the rulers of the
Angkor , shifted their
capitol from Angkor to the
present Phnom Penh in the
late 15th century.
 For the next four centuries
Angkor Wat remained in
ruins covered by gigantic
tress and bushes.
 It was only in the early 20th
century it was accidentally
discovered by a group of
French explorers.

47.  The most notorious looting occurred
in the early 20th century and
involved Andre Malraux – who
would later become France's cultural
affairs minister of De Gaulle cabinet.
He and his accomplices removed
large sections of the temple and
shipped them out of the country. He
was later arrested and tried.
 During the Vietnam war, American
jets bombed Angkor. Fortunately,
only minor damage was done, but it
was considered an act of cultural
terrorism on the part of the
Americans.
 In the 1980’s, the Pol Pot's regime
vandalized Angkor complex. Stone
carvings had been ripped from the
temple walls and sold in the antique
markets of near by countries by the
Khmer rouge soldiers who were
living in Angkor, mostly on monkey
meat.

48.  The estimated time for the
construction of the Angkor
temple was about 30 years.
 It has been debated whether
Angkor Wat was built as a
temple or as a tomb.
 Though the architecture of
the Angkor points to a
temple, its orientation – the
main entrance is west -
points that it was built as a
tomb.
 Angkor Wat is an immense
monument, occupying a
rectangular area of about
500 acres, which is
surrounded by a moat that
is 600 feet wide.
 Angkor watt is 213 feet tall,
achieved by using three
rectangular or square
platforms.

49.  Each platform is progressively smaller and higher than the
one below.
 At the third level, the platform supports five towers – four at
the corners and one in the middle.
 The ingenious plan allows a view of all five towers only
from certain angles. The overall profile imitates a lotus bud.

50.  Angkor Watt temple is most famous for its Bas-reliefs.
 The Bas - reliefs surround the first level of the temple.
 The reliefs covers the innermost wall of the first level on all
four sides, and covers 12,900 square feet of brilliant
sandstone carvings. It extends seven feet from top to
bottom.
 The exquisite and intricate sand stone carvings points to the
rich heritage of the Khmer civilization.

51.  The Bas- reliefs on the western gallery depicts the story of Battle
of Mahabharata;
 south gallery depicts the army of Suryavarma;
 East gallery portrays the story of churning the Ocean milk;
 West Gallery portrays the story of battle of Lanka- Ramayana.

52.  All the Bas –reliefs are rich sandstone carved walls.
 Among the Bas –reliefs, the churning of the ocean of milk – the
Hindu mythical story of Devas and Asuras churning the ocean
to obtain the immortal nectar – is breathtaking.

53. Angkor Wat was the work of a whole reign - from
1113 to 1150. Even then it was not completely
finished. Some of the carving was added after
Suryavarman II's death.
Angkor was constructed out of sandstone that
was quarried many miles away - possibly at
Phnom Kulen - and transported to the
construction site by the river.
It is estimated that as much stone was used in
building Angkor Wat as was used in the great
pyramid of Khafre in Egypt.

54.  From the moment a visitor enters the outer gateway of the
western approach to Angkor Wat, he is entering the cosmic
universe of Hindu mythology.
 As he crossed the moat from the western terrace, he would
recognize the moat (600 feet wide and almost four miles in
circumference) as the outer ocean of the universe.

55.  As he passed through the great stone gallery further into the
temple complex, spiritually he would be passing through
the Hindu universe.
 The towers of the central temple would loom up in front of
him, and these he would see as the peaks of Mount Meru.

56.  Then he would begin to climb from terrace to terrace,
up wide stairways protected by statues of familiar
Hindu gods, until he reached the inner sanctuary.
 Here, far from the outer gateways that he had passed
through earlier, the sacred linga - symbolizing the god
Siva.

58.  Angkor Wat is a whole city in itself.
 It is a meticulously planned complex which leads the
visitor from the outside world, through the Hindu
universe and up to the home of the gods.
 From the gallery in the western outer wall of the temple,
the towers of the temple rise almost one-third of a mile
away.
 The terrace gives way to another great entrance which
leads to a wide causeway lined with stone balustrades.
 Buildings which were once libraries, and sunken pools,
lie on either side. From here, steps rise up to a terrace,
and on to another gallery and a final terrace, built in a
cruciform.
 From here, steps begin the long ascent up the mountain
to the five towers that form the pinnacle of Angkor Wat.

62.  Jayavarman VII (ruled 1181 - 1220)
came to power at the age of 60.
 He built the city of Angkor Thom in
a last frenzy of activity as the Khmer
Empire began its long decline. The
size and layout of this new city,
raised on the site of the old city of
Angkor, was vast, representing a
great king.
 Its construction required the forced
labor of thousands of people, who
became increasingly disillusioned
with serving their king in this way.
 The whole city was surrounded by a
broad moat 300 feet wide, and eight
miles in circumference and was
reputably filled with crocodiles.
 A stone wall 24 feet high and 10
miles long inside the moat offered
further protection against enemies.

63.  The city had five huge gates, each with a causeway crossing
the moat.
 The 60-foot high gateways were elaborately decorated and
wide enough to admit a procession of elephants.
 Each gate was decorated with elephant trunks carved in
stone and on top, four huge carved faces of the Bodhisattva,
Avalokitesvara looked north, south, east and west.

64.  Each causeway was bordered
by the sculptured balustrades
of nagas, and with 54 statues of
gods and 54 statues of demons.
 The causeways led all the way
to the temple of Preah Khan,
about a mile away. Wide
avenues connected the
multitude of stone and wooden
buildings, temples, terraces
and plazas.
 On the towers around the city
walls, huge smiling Buddha
faces were carved out of stone.
These were in fact all given the
face of Jayavarman VII, smiling
serenely as he surveyed his
city.

65.  The court, religious leaders, priests and administrative officials
lived inside the city walls.
 Other citizens lived outside by the east and west barays and along
the Siem Reap River up to the shores of the great lake.
 At the center of the city was the Grand Plaza, which led off to all
the other buildings. Jayavarman added the Terrace of Elephants
(known as the Royal Terrace) along one side of the plaza.

66.  It was from this 1,100-foot long platform, decorated with bas-
relief carvings of elephants, lions and devatas, that audiences
watched the grand processions and pageants in the Royal Plaza.
 On the opposite side of the central square, Jayavarman
constructed the 12 Towers of the Cord Dancers, each probably
housing a statue or a linga.

68.  Carvings on the Terrace of the Leper King. Are located north
of the Terrace of Elephants on one side of the Royal Plaza, it
stands 22 feet high.
 On top of it there is a mysterious statue, thought to be of Siva
or of Yasovarman (AD889 to c. AD900), the builder of the
first city of Angkor. There is a legend that he died of leprosy
and this statue was later carved in his memory.

72.  The Bayon was the principal temple built by Jayavarman VII, situated
within the walls of the City of Angkor Thom.
 Jayavarman VII was a Buddhist, but the Bayon contains elements of
both Buddhism and Hinduism.
 It was originally dedicated to the god, Siva, and the initial plan was for
only two levels to be built.
 During construction, it became a Mahayana Buddhist temple and a
third level was built and decorated with Buddha statues.

73.  This third level of the Bayon temple is remarkable. There are
54 towers, each headed by four faces of Avalokitesvara which
stare at the visitor from all angles.
 The bas-relief carvings at the Bayon show an extraordinary
tableaux of contemporary Cambodian life on the first level,
and stories from the Hindu myths on the second level.

75.  There are more than 3,600 feet of bas-relief carving on
the walls of the Bayon, showing scenes from fiction
and from real life, from the past and the present.
 On the first level, scenes from contemporary
Cambodian life, similar to the ones which Chou Ta-
Kuan would describe in words nearly 200 years later,
cover the walls.

76.  Real battles between the
Chams and the Khmers
are shown in gruesome
detail with severed limbs
littering the scene. People
are shown bartering and
gossiping, cooking and
playing.
 Many of the scenes of the
lives of ordinary people
carved in stone at the
Bayon can be seen in real
life in Cambodia today,
proving that little has
changed in the

79.  This temple is considered the most beautiful by many
visitors because of its extraordinary relationship with the
surrounding jungle which is actually slowly destroying it.
 Ta Prohm is a very large Buddhist temple built by
Jayavarman VII and once tended by 18 high priests and
more than 2,500 lesser priests. It housed more than 12,000
people within its enclosures.

80.  Once it was abandoned, the jungle slowly overtook the
buildings, cracking and squeezing walls and prying stones
apart.
 The French restorers decided to leave Ta Prohm exactly as
they found it, so today the slow encroachment of the jungle
continues to take place.

81.  Great blocks that fell centuries ago lie on the jungle floor covered
in ferns and bushes. The canopy of trees which overhang the
whole site obstruct the sunlight, creating a strange green half-light.
 Everywhere there are insects, birds, bats, frogs and animals - all
living in the ruins.

84.  This is one of the larger temples built by Jaya Varman VII. It
has been very well preserved and much of the original
temple remains today. It is much smaller than Angkor Wat
and the Bayon, but was built to the same form. A central
sanctuary is surrounded by galleries, library buildings and
other lesser buildings. The temple is surrounded by four
walls and a moat.

86.  Khmer building evolved from the single brick tower to
the vast pyramid temples of Angkor Wat and the Bayon.
 There were significant problems which the architects had
to overcome and some of their building methods
contributed to the early collapse of their temples.
 Sandstone blocks were prepared carefully to fit together,
but vertical joints were allowed to run on top of one
another making walls very unstable. So, often a whole
wall fell if one stone near the base became dislodged.

87.  No mortar was used; just a good fit, weight and gravity was
thought sufficient.
 The Khmers never learnt how to build an arch. European
architects used complex arches to cover a space, a technique
which had been handed down to them from the Romans
over centuries of development.
 The Khmers had no such example to copy. In order to
overcome this difficulty, they used the false arch, or
corbelling.

88.  Large stones were
piled on top of one
another, reaching
inwards as far as
possible and
touching at the top.
 An arched roof over
a space was thus
formed, but it was
not as stable as the
real arch, and these
vaults often
collapsed in the
centuries after
Angkor was
abandoned.