| Angkor Thom, the inner royal city, was
built by the end of the 12th century during the reign of King Jayavarman
VII (1181-1219), shortly after Angkor had been conquered and burnt down by the
Chams. It is a quadrangle of defensive walls totaling 12 kilometers that once
protected the Khmer this capital. The walls are divided by two axes
running north-south and east-west. The entrance gates are in the
centre of each wall, four in total, connecting, through a bridge over the
moat, the royal city with the outside. An additional gate, called the
"Gate of Victory", pierces the east wall just north of the
"Gate of the Dead", the east gate along the central
axis. This gate provided access to a terrace of the royal palace.
Temples inside the walls of the city are: Bayon,
Baphuon, Phimeanakas,
Terrace of the Elephants, Terrace
of the Leper King, Preah Palilay,
Tep Pranam and Prasat Suor Prat. The
Royal Palace situated within the city of Angkor Thom is of an earlier date
and belonged to kings of the tenth and first half of the 10th and first
half of the 11th centuries.
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The south gate of Angkor Thom is the best preserved. It is approached
from outside via a causeway that extends about fifty meters across a
moat. On each side of the causeway are railings fashioned with 54
stone figures engaged in the performance of a famous Hindu story: the myth
of the Churning of the Ocean. Zhou Daguan the Chinese
emissary, who provided the only first-hand account of the Khmer,
described the splendor of Angkor Thom:
At the
center of the Kingdom rises a Golden tower Bayon flanked by more than
twenty lesser towers and several hundred stone chambers. On the eastern
side is a golden bridge guarded by two lions of gold, one on each side,
with eight golden Buddhas spaced along the stone chambers. North of the
Golden Tower of Bronze Baphuon, higher even than the Golden tower. a
truly astonishing spectacle. With more than ten chambers at its base. A
quarter of a mile further north is the residence of the King rising
above his private apartments is another tower of gold, These are the
monuments which have caused merchants from overseas to speak so often of
"Cambodia the rich and noble "
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