Angkor,also known as Yasodharapura,was the capital city of the Khmer Empire. The city and empire flourished from approximately the 9th to the 15th centuries. The city houses the Angkor Wat,one of Cambodia's most popular tourist attractions.
Angkor Wat is a Hindu-Buddhist temple complex in Cambodia,located on a site measuring 162.6 hectares. It resides within the ancient Khmer capital city of Angkor. The Guinness World Records considers it as the largest religious structure in the world. Originally constructed as a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu for the Khmer Empire by King Suryavarman II during the 12th century,it was gradually transformed into a Buddhist temple towards the end of the century;as such,it is also described as a "Hindu-Buddhist" temple.
Ban Chiang is an archaeological site in Nong Han district,Udon Thani province,Thailand. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1992. Discovered in 1966,the site first attracted interest due to its ancient red-painted pottery. More recently,it gained international attention in 2008 when the United States Department of Justice,following an undercover investigation begun in 2003,raided several museums for their role in trafficking in Ban Chiang antiquities.
The Phimai Historical Park is a historical park in Thailand,covering the ancient town of Phimai and the ruins of Prasat Phimai Thai:ปราสาทพิมาย,pronounced[prāː.sàːtpʰí(ʔ).māːj]) the largest ancient Khmer-Hindu temple in Thailand. It is located in the town of Phimai,Nakhon Ratchasima province. It is one of the most important tourist attractions in the province.
The early history of Cambodia follows the prehistoric and protohistoric development of Cambodia as a country in mainland Southeast Asia. Thanks to archaeological work carried out since 2009 this can now be traced back to the Neolithic period. As excavation sites have become more numerous and modern dating methods are applied,settlement traces of all stages of human civil development from neolithic hunter-gatherer groups to organized preliterate societies are documented in the region.
Phnom Bakheng is a Hindu temple in the form of a temple mountain in Siem Reap Province,Cambodia. Dedicated to Shiva,it was built at the end of the 9th century,during the reign of King Yasovarman (889–910). Located atop a hill,it is nowadays a popular tourist spot for sunset views of the much bigger temple Angkor Wat,which lies amid the jungle about 1.5 km to the southeast. The large number of visitors makes Phnom Bakheng one of the most threatened monuments of Angkor. Since 2004,World Monuments Fund has been working to conserve the temple in partnership with APSARA.
The history of Isan has been determined by its geography,situated as it is on the Korat Plateau between Cambodia,Laos,and Thailand.
Phimai is a township in Nakhon Ratchasima Province in northeast Thailand. As of 2005 the town had a population of 9,768. The town is the administrative center of the Phimai District.
Thai art refers to a diverse range of art forms created in Thailand from prehistoric times to the present day,including architecture,sculpture,painting,textiles,decorative arts,crafts,ceramics,and more. While Buddhism has played a significant role in Thai art,with many sculptures and paintings depicting Buddha images and religious themes,nature,including flora and fauna,as well as mythical creatures,has been a major inspiration for Thai art,with colorful motifs appearing in various types of art forms. In contemporary Thai art,traditional works remain significant and continue to influence artists' concepts.
Yasovarman I was an Angkorian king who reigned in 889–910 CE. He was called "Leper King".
Udayadityavarman II ruled the Angkor Kingdom from 1050 to 1066 A.D. He was the successor of Suryavarman I but not his son;he descended from Yasovarman I's spouse.
Suryavarman I was king of the Khmer Empire from 1006 to 1050. Suryavarman usurped King Udayadityavarman I,defeating his armies in approximately 1002. After a protracted war with Udayadityavarman's would-be successor,Jayavirahvarman,Suryavarman I claimed the throne in 1010. Suryavarman was a Mahayana Buddhist who was also tolerant of the growing Theravada Buddhist presence in the Khmer kingdom.
Alexandre Henri Mouhot was a French naturalist and explorer of the mid-19th century. He was born in Montbéliard,Doubs,France,near the Swiss border,but spent his childhood in Russia and,possibly,parts of Asia. He died near Luang-Prabang,Laos. He is remembered mostly in connection to Angkor. Mouhot's tomb is located just outside of Ban Phanom,to the east of Luang Prabang.
António da Madalena was a Portuguese Capuchin friar who was the first Western visitor to Angkor in 1586.
Jayavarman II was a Khmer prince who founded and became the ruler of the Khmer Empire (Cambodia) after unifying the Khmer civilization. The Khmer Empire was the dominant civilization in mainland Southeast Asia from the 9th century until the mid-15th century. Jayavarman II was a powerful Khmer king who declared independence from a polity inscriptions named "Java",which most probably refers to the island of Java in the Indonesian archipelago. Jayavarman II founded many capitals such as Mahendraparvata,Indrapura,Amarendrapura,and Hariharalaya. Before Jayavarman II came to power,there was much fighting among local overlords who ruled different parts of Cambodia. No inscriptions by Jayavarman II have been found. Future kings of the Khmer Empire described him as a warrior and the most powerful king from that time frame that they could recall. Historians formerly dated his reign as running from 802 AD to 835 AD.
Ban Non Wat is a village in Thailand,in the Non Sung district,Nakhon Ratchasima Province,located near the small city of Phimai. It has been the subject of excavation since 2002. The cultural sequence encompasses 11 prehistoric phases,which include 640 burials. The site is associated with consistent occupation,and in modern-day Ban Non Wat the occupied village is located closer to the Mun River.
Indravarman III,also titled Srindravarman was a ruler of the Khmer Empire from 1295 to 1308. He rose to power after the abdication of his father in law Jayavarman VIII,whose eldest daughter,Srindrabhupesvarachuda,he had married. Indravarman III was a follower of Theravada Buddhism and upon his ascension to power he made it the state religion.
Prehistoric Thailand may be traced back as far as 1,000,000 years ago from the fossils and stone tools found in northern and western Thailand. At an archaeological site in Lampang,northern Thailand Homo erectus fossils,Lampang Man,dating back 1,000,000 –500,000 years,have been discovered. Stone tools have been widely found in Kanchanaburi,Ubon Ratchathani,Nakhon Si Thammarat,and Lopburi. Prehistoric cave paintings have also been found in these regions,dating back 10,000 years.
Samrong Sen on the east bank of the Stueng Chinit River is a prehistoric archaeological site in the Kampong Chhnang Province,Cambodia. Consisting of a very large fluviatile shell midden,it flourished in particular from 1500 BC to 500 BC.
Joyce C. White is an American archaeologist,an adjunct professor of anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania,and executive director of the new Institute for Southeast Asian Archaeology. Her research primarily concerns decades-long multidisciplinary archaeological investigations in Thailand and Laos covering the prehistoric human occupation of the middle reaches of the Mekong River Basin. She is considered the world's leading expert on the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ban Chiang,Thailand,and directs an archaeological fieldwork program in the Luang Prabang Province of Laos. She has become a strong advocate of cultural heritage preservation and has served as an expert witness in an antiquities trafficking case for the U.S. Department of Justice.
