Suryavarman II

Suryavarman II (, UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ), posthumously named Paramavishnuloka, was the ruler of the Khmer Empire from 1113 until his death in 1150. He is most famously known as the builder of Angkor Wat, the largest Hindu temple in the world, which he dedicated to Vishnu and Shiva. His reign's monumental architecture, numerous military campaigns and restoration of strong government have led historians to rank Suryavarman II as one of the empire's greatest rulers.

Early years Suryavarman appears to have grown up in a provincial estate in 1094 or 1098, “Leaving on the field of combat the ocean of his armies, he delivered a terrible battle,” states an inscription. “Bounding on the head of the elephant of the enemy king, he killed him, as Garuda on the edge of a mountain would kill a serpent.” Scholars have disagreed on whether this language refers to the death of the southern claimant or of King Dharanindravarman. Suryavarman II also sent a mission to the Chola dynasty of south India and presented a precious stone to the Chola Emperor Kulothunga Chola I in 1114 CE.

Suryavarman was enthroned in 1113 AD. An aged Brahmin sage named Divakarapandita oversaw the ceremonies, this being the third time the priest had officiated a coronation. Inscriptions record that the new monarch studied sacred rituals, celebrated religious festivals and gave gifts to the priest such as palanquins, fans, crowns, buckets and rings. The priest embarked on a lengthy tour of temples in the empire, including the mountaintop Preah Vihear, which he provided with a golden statue of dancing Shiva. The king’s formal coronation took place in 1119 AD, with Divakarapandita again performing the rites.

The first two syllables in the monarch's name are a Sanskrit language root meaning "sun". Varman is the traditional suffix of the Pallava dynasty that is generally translated as "shield" or "protector", and was adopted by Khmer royal lineages.

Life and reign Dvaravati began to come under the influence of the Khmer Empire and central-southeast Asia was ultimately invaded by King Suryavarman II in the first half of the 12th century.

During his decades in power, the king reunited the empire. Vassals paid him tribute. He staged large military operations in the east against the Chams, but these were largely unsuccessful. 20,000 soldiers against Dai Viet, but was defeated and chased out. The next year he sent a fleet of more than 700 vessels to attack its coast. In 1132, combined Khmer and Cham forces again invaded Dai Viet, with a final attempt in 1137, to no real success. Later, the Cham king Jaya Indravarman III made peace with Lý king of Dai Viet and refused to support further attacks. In 1145 AD, Suryavarman II appears to have invaded Champa, defeated its king Jaya Indravarman III, and sacked the capital Vijaya with the help of Kulothunga Chola II. On the Cham throne he placed a new king, Harideva, said to be the younger brother of the Khmer ruler's wife. In subsequent fighting, Cham forces under Jaya Harivarman I recaptured the capital and killed Harideva. A final expedition in 1150 ended in a disastrous withdrawal.

In addition to war, Suryavarman practiced diplomacy, resuming formal relations with China in 1116 AD. A Chinese account of the 13th century says that the Khmer embassy had 14 members, who after reaching Chinese soil were given special court garments. “Scarcely have we arrived to contemplate anear your glory than we are already filled with your benefits,” one of the ambassadors is quoted as telling the Chinese emperor. The embassy went home the following year. Another embassy visited in 1120; in 1128, the emperor conferred high dignities on the Khmer ruler, deeming him “great vassal of the empire.” Problems concerning commerce between the two states were examined and regulated.

The king's reign saw great innovations in art and architecture and it is believed that the sudden change was due to the presence of Cholas. He presided over the construction of Angkor Wat, the largest temple ever built in the capital, and in many modern minds the ultimate masterpiece of Khmer architecture. Its five central towers evoke the peaks of Mount Meru, home of the Hindu gods. It was resplendent with more than 1,860 carved apsara, or heavenly nymphs, and hundreds of meters of elaborate bas-reliefs depicting the Hindu legends and scenes from contemporary life. Other temples dating to his reign include Banteay Samre, Thommanon, Chau Say Tevoda, Wat Athvea and, east of the capital, the huge Beng Mealea complex.

Baker and Pasuk place the temple in a longer sequence. They describe the Mahidharapura line as a local family of the Khorat Plateau that took a Sanskrit name and built at Phimai a temple of precisely symmetrical plan whose main tower carries a curved lotus form found nowhere else, and hold that Angkor Wat was afterwards built with the same precision and the same lotus towers, on a far greater scale. His tomb was also placed in Angkor Wat.

A modern sculpture that adapts his court image in the Angkor Wat bas-reliefs today greets visitors arriving at the Siem Reap airport. Parasols shelter this image of the king, as they did the real Suryavarman almost nine centuries ago.