The name "Angkor" is well-known throughout most of the world. However, many assume the word refers to the spectacular temple complex that has left a vivid image in the collective mind of the world. Images of Angkor Wat have been popularized and homogenized by movies that play off the statues, towers and spires of the temple. Anyone who has seen Disney's animated version of The Jungle Book will likely recognize a certain similarity upon seeing photos of Angkor Wat. Unfortunately for Cambodia at this point, most people with only a peripheral knowledge of Angkor Wat likely believe the temple to be in India or elsewhere in Southeast Asia.
Angkor Wat is only one of many temple complexes within the city of Angkor. Built somewhere around the end of the 12th century by the Khmer king Suryavarman II as a tribute to the Hindu god, Vishnu, Angkor Wat is the largest temple complex in the remains of the city of Angkor.
The complex is the tallest and most spectacular in the city and is made up of many "pyramids." The city itself is over 400 square kilometers, with the Angkor Wat temple complex taking up an area over 1500 by 1300 meters and surrounded by a moat. The city of Angkor was a place of power for several centuries during the reign of the Khmer Empire, but upon the death of Suryavarman II a period of civil unrest ensued. His son, Jayavarman, should have taken over but deferred to a stronger king. By about 1200, rule of the Khmer Empire was divided among several kings, and the kingdom of Cambodia was beginning to go to pieces.
During the 13th Century, the Khmer Empire gradually declined as the Thai Empire took over. The period of rule by the Thai Empire did bring about a greater sense of stability in the land for a while, but it was not a period of great growth or development. In the year 1431 the Khmer Empire fell completely to the Thais and the city of Angkor was abandoned to the jungle. It would be over 400 years before the city and the temple complex of Angkor Wat would be seen again by the eyes of the world.
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