Jayavarman VII: The Buddhist King Who Rebuilt Angkor

After the Cham sack of Angkor in 1177, the Khmer Empire faced its greatest crisis. But from the ashes rose Jayavarman VII, a prince in his fifties who led a counterattack, drove out the invaders, and launched the most ambitious building program in Cambodian history. This episode traces the life of Jayavarman VII from his youth at the court of Suryavarman II to his exile, his return, and his transformation into a Mahayana Buddhist monarch. We explore the meaning behind his massive constructions: the temple-mountain of Bayon with its serene faces, the sprawling hospital temples, and the rest houses along the empire's highways. We also examine the controversies: Did his piety drain the treasury? Did his shift from Hinduism to Buddhism destabilize the devaraja cult? And what does the famous inscription at Ta Prohm, which records the temple's enormous staff of 12,640 people, tell us about the scale of his vision? Drawing on recent archaeological work and the inscriptions of Jayavarman VII's reign, we paint a portrait of a king who saw himself as a bodhisattva, building a 'city of victory' that would last for eternity. #JayavarmanVII #AngkorThom #Bayon #KhmerEmpire #MahayanaBuddhism #TaProhm #PreahKhan #ChamInvasion #1177 #Devaraja #Bodhisattva #CambodianHistory #SoutheastAsianHistory #FexingoHistory #HistoryPodcast #MedievalHistory #AngkorWat #Archaeology Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo