The God-King Who Walked Away: Jayavarman VII's Angkor

Angkor Wat was built by Suryavarman II, but the greatest builder of Angkor was his usurper successor, Jayavarman VII. This episode explores how a prince in his late 50s, after decades of exile and war, returned to reclaim the Khmer throne from Cham invaders. We trace his rise from a prince at Suryavarman's court to a wandering ascetic, his crushing defeat of Champa in 1181, and his unprecedented building spree: Angkor Thom, the Bayon with its 216 stone faces, Ta Prohm, Preah Khan, and the massive Neak Pean. We also discuss the controversy over whether his state religion shifted from Hinduism to Mahayana Buddhism, and how his public works—102 hospitals and rest houses across the empire—transformed Khmer society. The episode draws on the Preah Khan stele inscription (K. 908) and Chinese accounts to piece together the life of a king who built more than any other. We end with the mystery of why later kings, including his own son, erased his name from monuments. #JayavarmanVII #AngkorThom #Bayon #TaProhm #PreahKhan #Champa #Khmers #MahayanaBuddhism #Lokeshvara #NeakPean #K908 #1181 #CambodiaHistory #SoutheastAsia #TempleBuilder #AngkorEmpire #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo