Original subtitles

زیرنویس توسط HeyDL.site Narrator: It's the story of a young prince

with great ambition,

a king who took power by force.

A ruler who built his legacy

in the form of a spectacular temple...

towering 100 feet above the Taj Mahal,

and containing more stone than the great pyramid of Giza.

It is the largest sacred structure

anywhere on the face of the earth.

Cambodia's extraordinary Angkor Wat.

Early western visitors were so awestruck by the ancient temple,

they believed it was built by Alexander the Great

or the ancient Romans.

Of course, they were wrong.

The builders of Angkor Wat were the ancient Khmer,

the great and mysterious civilization that dominated

much of Southeast Asia for six centuries,

and left behind one of the greatest architectural wonders

ever created by human hands.

On a lush plain,

deep in the tropical forest Of northwestern Cambodia,

lie the ruins of the ancient city of Angkor.

Once the sprawling capital of the vast Khmer empire,

today, Angkor is still a sweeping landscape--

400 square miles

where more than 1,200 ancient temples still survive.

Architectural masterpieces fantastically carved

from tens of millions of tons of local sandstone.

The famous temples were built over a span of five centuries.

They endure today as one of the world's greatest treasure troves

of art, archaeology and history.

But the city of Angkor was eventually abandoned

as the Khmer capital,

and its temples were swallowed by the jungle,

forgotten by the outside world.

Not until the 19th century

was the most famous of all the angkor structures

brought to the attention of the west.

In January of 1860,

the French naturalist Henri Mouhot wrote,

"One of these temples,

a rival to that of Solomon,

and erected by some ancient Michelangelo

might take an honorable place

beside our most beautiful buildings."

"It is grander than anything left to us by Greece or Rome."

He was describing the splendor of Angkor Wat.

When Smithsonian magazine listed

"28 places to see before you die,"

it called Angkor Wat a temple "so magnificent

it could only have been built by divine inspiration."

And so it was.

Inspired by gods,

built by a man you've probably never heard of,

but whose story is one of the world's great legends.

Hi, my name is Yul Kwon,

and it's my honor to take you on a journey back in time

to discover the secrets of Angkor

and relive the adventures of its creator,

a ruler called Suryavarman II.

900 years ago,

he led the Khmer empire in what is today Cambodia,

and this temple is his legacy.

More than a million people visit here every year,

overcome by its size and grandeur.

But if you think this place is beautiful now,

just wait till you see it in its glory days.

This is the story of Angkor Wat.

In the 12th century A.D.,

a young man with royal blood was coming of age

in the Khmer countryside.

At that time, the Khmer empire controlled large portions

of modern Southeast Asia,

including the prince's home of Lopburi, northwest of Angkor.

The royal prince was said to be a skilled warrior,

brave and wise beyond his years.

He came to the attention of a prominent Hindu priest,

Divakara Pandita, a religious leader with great influence

in matters of state.

Ambitious, royal and well-connected,

Suryavarman II began to dream of becoming king

and ruling the vast Khmer empire.

Under the rule of Dharanindravarman,

the turn of the 12th century

was a time of chaos and fragmentation in the kingdom.

His reign was marked by power struggles and turmoil.

The aging Dharanindravarman was an ineffectual ruler

who never succeeded in bringing order

to his sprawling territories.

Opposing factions arose throughout the empire.

The young prince's clan gained influence in the north,

while the older royal clans were pushed south.

Divakara Pandita and other powerful priests

backed the young prince, hoping he could unify the empire

and bring harmony to the fractured kingdom.

Civil war erupted as the forces vied for control.

An inscription describes the moment

the young prince took power,

comparing him to a mythical bird.

"Suryavarman bounded to the head of the elephant

of the enemy king,

and killed him as an eagle might kill a snake."

Suryavarman II was only 17 years old

when he seized control of the Khmer empire in 1113 A.D.

This is him right here,

easy to miss among the mile of gods and spirits

carved into Angkor's walls.

It wasn't unusual at the time for a rebel to become king.

But for Suryavarman II,

killing the former king was only the first stage.

He still had to conquer the rest of an empire

that was in utter disarray.

The crown would only be his

if he could end the turmoil and unify the land.

It took six long years for Suryavarman II

to solidify his control over the vast empire

and conquer the southern factions.

But now, at last, the entire Khmer empire was united

Suryavarman's soldiers and subjects took an oath of loyalty

that strengthened his realm.

"We will serve no other king.

We will sacrifice our lives for our king in the face of war.

We will be reborn in the 32 hells if we break our oath."

In 1119, at the royal palace of Angkor,

Suryavarman II officially became the 18th king

of the Khmer empire.

He was given the royal title Suryavarman,

"Protector of the sun,"

and was coronated alongside his queen.

This moment ushered in the golden age of the Khmer empire.

Suryavarman II was only 23 years old

when we was crowned ruler

of one of the greatest empires of Asia.

Just as Khmer kings had done for centuries,

Suryavarman II ruled from Angkor,

the seat of the Khmer empire.

But its soul resided in another place.

Traditionally, newly crowned Khmer rulers

would make a pilgrimage to the sacred Phnom Kulen,

a mountain range 25 miles northeast of Angkor.

Three centuries before Suryavarman II,

the empire's first monarch, Jayavarman II,

came to this same mountain on a similar spiritual journey.

Here, a sacred ritual anointed him the first supreme ruler,

an event that marked the founding of the Khmer empire.

This hallowed spot

had deep religious and political significance for the Khmer

and is still considered holy by modern Cambodians.

This river was a source of the ingenious water system

that was key to the wealth and success of the entire region.

The religion of the early Khmer empire was Hinduism.

And this sacred mountain is richly carved

with images of Hindu deities, including Vishnu.

A thousand linga rise from the riverbed.

carved over the centuries during the dry seasons,

these stone phalluses are symbols of fertility

and the male creative force.

A corresponding female symbol is the yoni,

a vessel shape that represents feminine creative energy.

The linga is often placed upon the yoni.

Together, the two forms symbolize

the indivisible connection between male and female--

the union from which all life springs.

Waters that washed over these sacred stone carvings

were thought to carry fertility and abundance

to the lands of the empire.

Metaphorically, these waters also conveyed

the power of the king throughout his kingdom.

A king's power was also expressed

by monumental architectural structures.

It was customary for a Khmer ruler

to build one or more temples during his reign,

usually dedicated to the god Vishnu.

The third Khmer king, Indravarman,

built this red brick temple in 879 A.D.

It's called Preah Ko,

and he built it in honor of his ancestors.

Banteay Srei temple was built more than a century later.

Its name means "Citadel of beauty."

Its famous carvings are still considered

among the highest achievements of Khmer art.

The 9th century Bakong temple with its massive moat

may have inspired Suryavarman II.

When it came time for the newly crowned king

to begin planning for his temple,

he decided to create a structure

that would exceed all other temples

in both size and grandeur.

He entrusted this ambitious undertaking

to the same Brahmin priest who helped him take the throne.

Divakara Pandita would oversee the planning and construction

of Angkor Wat.

Within the city of Angkor,

Suryavarman's temple would follow the customary structure

of other khmer shrines.

Khmer temples represent the mythical mount Meru,

the center of the universe and home of the gods,

According to Hindu cosmology.

But the temple Suryavarman planned

was on a scale that would dwarf all other temples

anywhere in the world.

A scale that would tax every ounce of skill,

ingenuity and technology of his entire empire.

Think about this--

In medieval Europe at around the same time,

people were building cathedrals that took centuries to complete.

Meanwhile, here in Asia,

the builders of Angkor Wat somehow created a temple

that was far larger,

and in some ways more complicated,

in less than four decades.

So how did they do it?

Well, archaeologists and engineers have been trying

to solve the mysteries of Angkor Wat's construction

since the 19th century.

And they've managed to uncover some,

but not all of its secrets.

It was around the year 1120 A.D.

when an army of construction workers took on

what must have seemed like mission impossible.

On a swampy forest plain,

they would build the largest sacred structure

in the known world.

Using only simple tools, workers prepare the site,

digging the foundation in the midst of a dense jungle.

One clue to exactly how they prepared the foundation

was discovered in the nearby bayon temple,

built several decades after Angkor Wat.

In this carving, laborers work side by side,

beating the ground with long wooden poles.

It's believed the relief illustrates

how the builders solved one of the most vexing problems

of Angkor Wat's construction.

Workers used sticks to tamp down and compact the wet soil,

creating a more suitable foundation.

They dug a massive hole in the ground 33 feet deep,

filled it with layers of sand, pebbles and clay,

and compacted it until it was hard.

This allowed excess water to drain

and also stabilized the surface.

It was only after the foundation was laid

that the structure's elaborate design was finalized.

The massive compound would be almost a square mile,

and would be surrounded by a moat 660 feet wide.

Only a ruler with Suryavarman II's might,

power and vision could have imagined a building

constructed on this grand a scale.

It is estimated the building required

more than five million tons of raw materials.

Where did the ancient temple builders mine

such a tremendous amount of stone?

Etsuo Uchida [translated]: Gray sandstone was used

to build Angkor Wat.

It was quarried from Phnom Kulen,

A mountain over 24 miles northeast of the site.

Kwon: The sacred mountain of Phnom Kulen proved

a great resource for the builders of Angkor Wat.

The mountain's base is

a massive, 22-mile-long belt of sandstone,

a plentiful source of high quality building material.

But how did the ancient workers excavate all that rock?

Uchida: They used iron rods with sharp ends

and dug a groove the size of the block they wanted to remove.

Then, they would place a wedge between the sedimentary layers

where it's easy to break the rock.

Or in some cases, several men worked together,

pounding the rock and breaking it

in order to pry it loose.

Kwon: With only hand tools,

workers removed vast amounts of rock from the mountain.

It is estimated that it took a stone cutter at least 10 days

Just to carve a groove around one block of stone

Weighing more than a ton.

After the groove was carved, a wedge was placed in the groove

So the rock could be separated.

It took a workforce of thousands

to cut just a few hundred blocks of stone each day.

More than 600,000 high quality sandstone blocks were used

in the construction of Angkor Wat--

five million tons of sandstone.

Because the builders used no mortar,

Blocks had to be precisely cut with utterly smooth surfaces.

Olivier Cunin [translated]: A system lifted a stone block

just slightly above another stone,

and then workers pushed it back and forth

in order to grind the two surfaces and make it smooth.

Kwon: Another relief in Bayon temple

has a detailed depiction of how this method worked.

Workers used poles and ropes

to lift one stone just above another,

then the top stone was rubbed back and forth

against the stone below.

After thousands of repetitions,

the block obtained a smooth surface.

Exactly which Phnom Kulen quarry the stones came from

remains a mystery.

But a Japanese research team from Waseda University

recently tested the stone's magnetic properties.

Their findings reveal each stone's approximate age

and geological distribution.

But matching the stones back to a particular place or quarry

in this mountainous belt is not simple or safe.

Uchida: Magnetic susceptibility

is the inclination of rock to be drawn to a magnet.

By measuring this,

we can tell that they used seven different quarries

during the various different ages.

Unfortunately, it's impossible to conduct research

to find the exact location of the quarries in Phnom Kulen,

because the place is littered with mines.

But according to research

conducted by the French School of the Far East,

there were numerous quarries at Phnom Kulen.

Kwon: Landmines left from Cambodia's 20th century civil war

still litter the countryside, making research dangerous.

Although the exact quarry locations are unknown,

testing reveals that stone used in 30 Angkor area temples

came from seven different Phnom Kulen quarries.

However, nearly all of the stones of the Angkor Wat temple

have magnetic levels of around three.

This means that the stones used to build the Angkor Wat temple

almost certainly came from a single quarry

in the Mount Kulen region.

The massive cut stones were transported over 25 miles

to Angkor using elephants as well as slave labor.

Rods were drilled into the huge blocks,

so they could be pushed and pulled.

Laborers also used bamboo rafts

to float the stone on a labyrinth of canals and rivers.

A river called the Siem Reap

flows most of the way to the building site

and then connects to a large natural lake

just south of Angkor.

After a journey of several weeks,

they enter the last canal,

and the rafts reach their final destination at Angkor Wat.

Over the 37 years it took to build the temple,

experts estimate that at least 20,000 people a day were needed.

A throng of people who had to be transported, housed and fed.

It was a huge workforce by 12th century standards.

This great labor force suggests the city as a whole

also had a large population.

But how large?

One clue comes from a nearby temple,

built later in the same century.

According to an inscription in Preah Khan,

97,480 village personnel were assigned to this smaller temple,

while 100,000 farmers and slaves

contributed to the temple's maintenance.

Based on this, experts estimate

that the population of the Khmer capital was at least 700,000.

This means Angkor's population probably exceeded that

of all 12th century cities.

Paris had only 100,000 people at the time,

and London had just 70,000.

Only China's Kaifeng city was similar in size.

One secret to how Angkor supported this large population

lies in an ingenious system of waterways.

Then, as now, agriculture centered on rice

grown on the Angkor plain.

In addition to rice, other grains, fruits and vegetables

were also cultivated, just as they are today.

The success of this economy

depended on the huge Lake Tonle Sap,

just south of ancient Angkor.

Irrigation canals assured one or more harvests,

even in drought years.

The lake was also a rich source of food.

A 13th century visitor wrote,

"The lake waters are so full of fish,

it is difficult to row your boat."

Suryavarman's kingdom was strong and wealthy.

But could it really build so massive a temple

on a scale never before seen?

The young king was determined to see angkor wat completed

in his lifetime.

He also sought to extend his kingdom's borders.

He was drawn to the eastern edge of the empire,

where an invasion and conquest

would have been a political asset.

Occupying what is now South Vietnam,

the powerful Champa kingdom controlled the coast

and trade routes long coveted by the Khmer.

Beginning early in his reign,

Suryavarman II led a series of invasions

into neighboring territories.

According to inscriptions, in one battle,

the king led a force of 700 ships and 20,000 soldiers.

Armed only with bows, arrows and spears,

the warriors fought their enemies hand to hand.

Another inscription describes a different invasion

in Suryavarman's career.

"The ruler of Angkor turned his ambitions for conquest

towards the Cham people.

He invaded, taking the capital city

and becoming the ruler of the territory."

The Khmer kingdom solidified its control

of most of the Indochina peninsula,

including much of modern day Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.

The Khmer armies took prisoners,

and together with other slaves in the empire,

they were likely used as forced labor to construct Angkor Wat.

The huge construction project was made possible

by slave labor.

But it couldn't solve an unanticipated

and alarming engineering problem.

The first stone structures built on the site collapsed.

And the human cost was high.

The success of the entire project was at stake.

No amount of slave labor could overcome

the most serious challenge the builders faced.

The site itself was a swamp and seemed completely unsuitable

for a building the size and weight of the proposed temple.

The soil was spongy and hard to work with,

and water would flood in one season,

then drain away the next.

These days, engineers would use heavy machinery

and reinforced concrete to tame nature's fury,

but the Khmer builders had to be a bit more creative.

And their solution became

one of the ancient world's greatest feats of engineering.

Angkor Wat is surrounded by a gigantic moat.

More than 600 feet wide,

it contains tens of millions of gallons of water.

To the Hindu, the original designers of the temple,

the moat symbolized the cosmic ocean.

But besides its religious significance,

it turns out the moat also has a practical purpose.

Because this is swampland, without the moat,

the monsoon rains would seep into the earth

and push the buildings up.

Then, in the dry season,

the water would drain out of the land,

making the buildings crumble.

The huge moat surrounding the complex

actually stabilizes the water content of the earth

under the temple,

keeping it consistent year round so the earth doesn't heave.

And they found other remarkable solutions

to the challenges of pre-industrial construction.

Hans Leisen: We have an artificial mountain.

And we are sitting on the first floor.

They built case from stone,

and then they filled with sands and densified very much.

And then, the next case.

And so, step by step, they got the mountain.

And we can see inside the sand, and there's laterite,

which is this specific brownish stone in tropic countries,

and then outside there's the sandstone.

Kwon: The central tower of Angkor Wat

reaches 213 feet into the sky.

The ancient architects had to figure out

how to stack the massive stones without machinery.

First, they built earthen ramps.

Then, laborers and elephants dragged the stones up the ramps.

Finally, it's believed they erected scaffolding

and lifted each stone to the top.

Remarkably, the temple was built from the inside out.

The tallest central tower was erected first.

Then, the surrounding towers were built.

And finally, the outer galleries and walls were added.

The builders raised these columns

made from single blocks weighing a much as seven tons.

They used a simple but brilliant method

for setting up the 1,532 columns around the temple complex.

Angkor Wat has survived, fairly intact,

for nearly 900 years--

An achievement that surely would have pleased its builders.

But the swampy site and Cambodia's tropical climate

have definitely taken a toll on these buildings.

Although some intricate sandstone features

show few signs of their age,

others have worn away and decayed.

Certain original features, like the gold leaf ornamentation

that would have awed early visitors,

are gone forever, looted after the Khmer empire's decline.

When it was completed around 1150 A.D.,

Angkor Wat was the biggest building in the world--

about the size of 11 football fields.

Now, teams of scientists and archaeologists have spent years

trying to figure out

what the temple might have looked like in its heyday.

And they've pieced together the puzzle,

data point by data point.

And now, with the help of 21st century technology,

we can finally get a glimpse of Angkor Wat's original splendor.

Cunin: Many of the structures were close to white.

But some of the sculptures were glazed in many colors.

Most of the surviving colors are a yellowish brown or red.

That's because the pigments had an iron oxide base,

which lasts for a long time.

But the other colors such as blue, yellow and green

have all disappeared.

Kwon: The exterior walls and columns were most likely white

from a coating of lime.

But it was the roofing material

that dominated the look of the temple.

The towers were most likely covered in gold,

which deteriorated over the centuries

after Angkor Wat was built.

Some historians believe that

the towers may have even been regilded

by one or more of the rulers who followed Suryavarman II.

It is easy to imagine that the plaster on all of the towers

was used as a base layer for the gilding,

which made the entire structure extremely ornate

and visually striking.

This computer image was created based on the opinions

and research of scholars.

White plastered walls contrast

with the golden lintels and towers.

On a bright day,

the entire temple would have sparkled in the sun.

Suryavarman II didn't live

to see his fantastic temple completed.

But he probably saw it in the later stages of construction.

What did the king feel

as he saw this magnificent structure taking shape?

It was a palace fit for a god.

And he must have known it would also become his tomb.

Only fragments of the wood

that once covered the interior stone walls still remain.

It's believed the wood was highly decorated,

inlaid and ornamented with a wide variety of patterns.

Gilded doors divided the chambers.

and the gallery walls and ceilings

would have been lavishly adorned.

Since the king first set eyes on these galleries,

millions more have journeyed to admire these dramatic scenes.

The carvings encircle the entire outer gallery,

from floor to ceiling.

Measuring 2,600 feet,

it is the longest continuous bas relief in the world.

In the north gallery,

this famous relief called the Battle of Kurushetra

depicts an ancient combat scene from Indian history

retold in the epic work, the Mahabharata.

Angkor Wat's walls are covered

with 12,900 square feet of bas relief carvings.

Executed with great skill and artistic sophistication,

the reliefs are considered a masterpiece in their own right.

These carvings cover multiple blocks of sandstone

and are so perfectly fitted together

that the seams are almost invisible.

Even the detailed lintels at the top of the walls

are carved from the same stone blocks.

Each artist would cut away layers of the wall

and then carve the reliefs directly into the stone.

Hundreds of highly skilled carvers worked side by side

to complete the work in only decades.

Experts admire not only

the expressive human figures in the carvings,

but also the remarkable perspective

these early artists were able to achieve.

Continuing along to the southern gallery,

visitors encounter a 260-foot depiction

of Suryavarman II's full royal procession.

Military leaders, priests, musicians, standard bearers,

servants, and royalty all take their place in this carving.

The carving's centerpiece is the famous portrait

of Suryavarman II himself.

Lingering traces of gold hint at its former splendor.

Leisen: Maybe the king was partly gilded.

We can see some of the gildings on the relief of Suryavarman II.

Kwon: The famous portrait of the king was gilded

and surrounded by red--

the color symbolizing protection and strength.

Continuing to the east side gallery,

a visitor finds perhaps the most famous and revered

of all the reliefs--

the churning of the sea of milk.

It depicts Vishnu and Devas,

the benevolent Hindu gods,

and the Ashuras, the evil gods,

all pulling on a great snake

to churn the cosmic sea in search of eternal life.

Their struggle released countless deities,

including the beautiful nymphs called Apsaras.

In the northern gallery is a battle of the gods and demons.

This epic battle scene illustrates

the pantheon of 21 Hindu gods

battling alongside human warriors.

Led by Vishnu, the gods of good defeat the evil gods.

And as Suryavarman II was considered

an earthly avatar of Vishnu,

the scene celebrates his reign as well.

It could be said that the entire temple of Angkor Wat

is a single work of art.

The artifacts and engraved scenes aren't simply ornaments

installed in the temple,

They're carved into the very structure itself.

Once the enormous blocks were in place,

artists chiseled symbols, figures and deities

into virtually every surface of the sandstone.

All of this dazzling creation

forged into one extraordinary and sacred sculpture.

Of all the carvings, these are some of the most popular.

They're called Apsaras, or in English, celestial nymphs--

supernatural women who were said to dance for the gods.

They supposedly had the power to change their shapes

or influence whether a gambler won or lost.

But someone wasn't taking any chances.

There are nearly 1,800 of them depicted all around the temple.

1,796 full body sculptures of divine women

were carved at Angkor Wat.

With a wide variety of facial features,

hairstyles and headdresses, no two are exactly alike.

These temple guardians and dancers

were probably based on actual women

residing near the temple in the 12th century.

Apsaras are everywhere you look in the temple,

standing alone in meditation or sometimes in pairs or groups.

Each pose of these dancers has a meaning,

and together, the movements of the dance tell a story.

It's a form of dance still very much alive in modern Cambodia.

Called the Apsara dance,

this art form has passed from generation to generation

in an unbroken line

from the time of Suryavarman II and before.

According to hindu mythology,

the gods made 600 million Apsaras

when they created the universe.

And these celestial nymphs were released to the world

when the deities churned the cosmic sea of milk.

The temple of Angkor Wat probably had 3,000 or more

Apsara dancers assigned to it,

to entertain the king and his visitors, as well as the gods.

The Apsara dance almost died out in the 1970s

during Cambodia's Khmer Rouge regime.

Dancers at the time were targeted

as intellectuals and elitist, and they were killed.

Today, this ancient dance is once again

a visible part of Cambodian culture.

It has been recently revived by dancers studying apsara carvings

at Angkor Wat.

Leaving behind the outer galleries,

a visitor would next reach the second level of Angkor Wat.

Here, columns border a cross-shaped gallery

that mimics the layout of the temple's central level.

These galleries lead the way to a large pool

where the king and the brahmins purified themselves

before performing rituals to the gods.

Here, lingering traces of colors that covered the surfaces

suggest how the temple once looked.

Uchida: At the center of the cruciform gallery

is a column which is colored in five layers of paint

that alternates Between white and red.

First, they used red pigment on a white background.

In the next generation,

they painted using red pigment on a white background again.

Although we don't know why,

they finally covered everything in white,

so it currently looks pink.

Kwon: Every trace of ancient residue adds clues

to Angkor Wat's glory as its royal patron once saw it.

As in many Hindu temples,

the five towers of Angkor Wat represent the five peaks

of sacred Mount Meru,

the residence of the gods in the ancient tradition.

The highest tower soars as high as Notre Dame Cathedral.

In all, 10 stairways lead to the central tower--

a deviation from temples built earlier,

such as the 11th century Baphuon.

Pascal Royere [translated]: In the case of Baphuon,

the four stairways on the four sides were added later on

because of safety issues.

The stairways were added in order to solve problems

which arose during the construction of Baphuon.

But in Angkor Wat, they were included in the plans

from the very beginning of construction.

As a result, a new and very special style of architecture

was created.

Kwon: All the stairways except those in the central corridor

are too steep to climb with ease.

These features are thought to be a reminder

that the path to enlightenment is not easy.

The moat symbolizing the great cosmic sea

encloses 500 acres of land

where the temple of Angkor Wat sits at its majestic center.

Although it is now a Buddhist sanctuary,

Angkor Wat was built as a Hindu temple honoring Vishnu,

the Hindu god Suryavarman II was closely associated with.

As impressive and inspiring as they are now,

the towers were surely once even more so,

when their gold gleamed in the sun.

Inside the highest tower was a central sanctuary,

where the king built a shrine to Vishnu.

A golden statue of Vishnu reigned over the entire temple

from this place of honor.

Long after the reign of Suryavarman II,

when the Khmer empire became a Buddhist nation,

the statue of Vishnu was replaced

with a likeness of Buddha, which remains to this day.

In the mid 12th century,

when Suryavarman II visited his nearly completed masterpiece,

he was nearing the end of his life and his reign.

Suryavarman II's rule is considered

the golden age of the Khmer empire,

and Angkor Wat is the ultimate symbol of his dynasty.

It's not known exactly when the king died.

It was probably around the year 1150 A.D.,

not long after the completion of the temple.

What happened next is unclear,

because there are no records for the period after his death.

But what we do know is that it was a time of great turmoil.

The next king reigned only briefly

before war and discord began sapping the empire

of its strength.

Suryavarman had conquered his part of the world,

expanded his empire and successfully created

one of the world's greatest monuments.

But of all his achievements,

only Angkor Wat would stand the test of time.

The image of Angkor Wat has graced the Cambodian flag

since 1953, and it remains a source of great pride

for modern Cambodians.

Over the course of his four-decade rule,

Suryavarman II increased the Khmer empire

by more than 100,000 square miles,

establishing himself as a great warrior king.

When he was entombed in his own greatest creation,

he was given the posthumous name Paramavishnuloka,

or "He who has entered the heavenly world of Vishnu."

After he died, the Khmer empire fell into disarray.

Opposing factions vied for power,

and the country suffered invasions by neighboring forces.

Today Angkor Wat is a cherished reminder

of the khmer empire's past glory

and a source of great pride in modern Cambodia.

A UNESCO world heritage site,

it draws a million visitors per year from around the globe.

Symbol, temple, tomb, and treasure,

Angkor Wat is a masterpiece of ancient monumental architecture.

It has few rivals anywhere on earth.