Brief History of Ancient Cambodia

Ancient Cambodia is most recognised for its religious architecture. The emphasis is necessarily on this feature because only the temples and religious structures were constructed of stone. These structured have withstood the test of time and remain with us today. Other structures were constructed using perishable materials, and as such did not survive to the present day.

The most famous period in Ancient Cambodian history has to be the Angkor period. This period is said to have started during the latter half of the 8th century AD to the first half of the 15th century AD. The Angkor period began when the Khmer King Jayavarman II declared independence from Java and made himself Chakravartin ("Universal Monarch"). The Angkor period ended when the Thai invaders from Ayutthaya sacked Angkor and caused the Khmer elite to flee to Phnom Penh.

Scholars have developed a periodization of Angkorian architectural styles, each named for a particular temple regarded as significant for that particular style. These are:

• Preah Ko style (877-886 AD), known for their small brick towers and for the great beauty of their lintels.
• Bahkheng style (889-923 AD), named after the first temple mountain constructed in the Angkor proper north of Siem Reap. It is so-called "temple mountain" because of its distinctive shape, which symbolizes Mount Meru, the abode of the Gods.
• Koh Ker style (921-944 AD)
• Pre Rup style (944-968 AD), named after the state temple mountain of Pre Rup, includes the East Mebon and Phimeanakas temples.
• Banteay Srei style (967-1000 AD), known for its small scale and extreme refinement of its decorative carvings, which feature scenes from Indian mythology.
• Khleang style (968-1010 AD)
• Baphuon style (1050-1080 AD), named after the massive temple mountain of King Udayadityaverman II, had unique relief carvings with a naive dynamic quality that contrasts the rigidity of the figures typical of some of the other periods.
• Classical or Angkor Wat style (1080-1175 AD) defines the classical style of Angkorian architecture. This temple is perhaps the greatest of the Angkorian temples. Other examples include Banteay Samre and Thommanon in Angkor, and Phimai in modern Thailand.
• Baroque or Bayon style (1181-1243 AD), named after the state temple of King Jayavarman VII. These elaborately decorated temples exhibit a hurriedness of construction that contrasts with the perfection of Ankor Wat.
• Post Bayon style (1243-1431 AD), exemplifies the decline of Angkorian architecture.