Suryavarman II.
Suryavarman II (* approx. 1095; † probably 1150 ) was a king in the Khmer Empire . He ruled from 1113 to 1150 and was both a general and a patron of the arts. He managed to unite Kambuja and expand the boundaries.
Suryavarman II, who was officially crowned in 1119, led successful campaigns of conquest against areas in what is now Thailand as far as Myanmar , thus expanding the borders of the Khmer Empire. This gave him contact with China and created an alliance with Champa to the east . Together with the ally, Suryavarman II attacked Dai Viet . However, the battles against Dai Viet did not lead to new conquests, so the King of Champa dissolved the alliance between him and Suryavarman II. Thereupon Suryavarman turned against the Cham , whose empire he was able to occupy in 1144. The end of his reign is unclear; he may have died in one of his campaigns.
Suryavarman II is generally credited with building Angkor Wat , the largest and most important temple in Angkor . In contrast to his predecessors, his court was primarily devoted to the religious worship of Vishnu and not Shiva . Historians see him as one of the greatest rulers of the Khmer Empire.
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Marilia Albanese: Angkor . National Geographic Art Guide. Ed .: National Geographic Society . G + J / RBA GmbH & Co. KG, Hamburg 2006, ISBN 978-3-937606-77-4 , p. 30 (Italian: I tesori di Angkor . Translated by Wolfgang Hensel).
predecessor | Office | successor |
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Dharanindravarman I. |
King of the Khmer 1113 - probably 1150 |
Dharanindravarman II. |
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Suryavarman II. |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | King in the ancient Khmer Empire |
DATE OF BIRTH | around 1095 |
DATE OF DEATH | 1150 |