Yasovarman I.

Lolei

Location of Yashodharapuras (Angkor) in Cambodia

View from Phnom Bakheng to the surrounding rice fields

Yasovarman I († 910 ) was an Angkorian king who ruled from 889 to 910.

Early years

After the death of Indravarman I , a war of succession to the throne flared up between his two sons, which the elder, Yasovarman I, won. Because of his father, who denied his accession, the following inscriptions were created, quoted by LP Briggs: "Yasovarman I never ignored his place on the throne through his father Indravarman I, or through Jayavarman II , the founder of the Angkor dynasty, and built a detailed family tree, starting from his mother and going back to the Funan and Chenla dynasties.

Yasovarman's reign

During his first year of reign he built 100 monasteries ( ashrams ) in his kingdom. Each ashram was used as a resting place for the ascetics and served as the king's residence during his travels. In 893 he began to build the Indratataka Baray, which his father had planned. In the center of the lake he built the Lolei Temple . At the same time, Yasovarman began to build a large baray to supply water to his new capital. This water reservoir, the Yashodharatataka named after him, now known as the Eastern Baray , was eight times larger than its predecessor.

Yasovarman I was one of the more important kings of Angkor. His greatest achievement was moving the capital from Hariharalaya to Yashodharapura , where it stayed for 500 years. Many culturally and religiously significant buildings were built in the new capital, such as Angkor Wat . There were many reasons to change capital. First, the old capital had become very narrow due to the many temples built by previous rulers. So the decision was religious: to flourish by order for a new king to build his own temple, and when he died it became his mausoleum. Second, the new capital was closer to the Siem Reap River and halfway between the Kulen Hills and Tonle Sap . In moving the capital to the water, the king was able to benefit from both rivers. He also constructed a road connecting the old and the new capital.

The Lolei , the Phnom Bakheng and the Eastern Baray are monuments that Yasovarman had built; all are close to Angkor Wat, the national symbol of today's Cambodia. Phnom Bakheng was one of three temples that were built on the top of a hill. The other two are Phnom Krom and Phnom Bok .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Briggs, The Ancient Khmer Empire, page 105

literature

• Coedes, George: The Indianized States of Southeast Asia . East-West Center Press 1968.
• Higham, Charles: The Civilization of Angkor . University of California Press 2001.
• Briggs, Lawrence Palmer: The Ancient Khmer Empire . Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 1951.

predecessor	Office	successor
Jayavarman III.	King of the Khmer 889 to 910	Harshavarman I.