Jayavarman VII.

Jayavarman VII ( 12th century *, † after 1206, possibly in 1220 ) was from 1181 to 1206 or after 1220 king of the Khmer Empire Kambuja, known as the kingdom of Angkor.

He was the son of Dharanīndravarman II, who probably never reigned, and his wife Cūdāmani, the daughter of the king Harshavarman III. (reigned from about 1067 to at least 1071/72 ). As a military leader he learned during a campaign ( against whom is not clear) of the throne by Yasovarman II and then ( about 1165 ) of his overthrow and death by the rebellion Bharata Rahu. As a result of this confusion then ascended the throne about 1165 Tribhuvanādityavarman. Jayavarman wanted by his own admission Yasovarman II come to the rescue, but the capital did not reach in time and retired with his soldiers during the following years to an unspecified place back.

On June 14, 1177 captured the Cham, surprisingly with ships from the west across the Tonle Sap Lake coming, the capital of the Khmer, which also Tribhuvanādityavarman met his death. Jayavarman finally managed to defeat the invaders. In 1181, he ascended the throne as Jayavarman VII. As a result, he continued to conduct campaigns against the Cham, she pushed further and further back, eventually conquered with the help of allied Cham - Prince Vijaya Vidyānandana their capital and put his brother, the Prince in when King Sūryajayavarmadeva one. At the same time also Vidyānandana sets up the kingdom of Champa in the south and took the royal name Suryavarmadeva. Around the year 1193 he took over the power in the entire kingdom of Champa and rebelled against the supremacy of Jayavarman VII. Until 1203 they now again led war against each other, which ended (see History of Vietnam ) that Jayavarman VII forced his opponent to flee to Dai Viet. As a result, Champa remained until about 1220 as a province under the rule of the Khmer.

Jayavarman VII is one of the most important and the last of the great kings of Angkor. During his long reign a new capital approximately 1.5 km north of Angkor Wat was built: the "big city " of Angkor Thom. The king was, in contrast to his predecessors, Hindu, Buddhist. So on his behalf created a number of Buddhist temples - including the famous for its meter-high towers Bayon faces new main temple - as well as monasteries and universities such as Ta Prohm.

The Khmer Empire reached, in accordance with various inscriptions from the period under Jayavarman VII its biggest expansion. In addition to the Champa Kingdom ruled intermittently over large parts of the Malay Peninsula, southern Laos and areas of the later Thailand.

In today's Cambodia, he is revered as a patron of Buddhism. A statue in the National Museum of Phnom Penh shows him in meditating posture - there are many copies of it all over the country.

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