Construction of Angkor Thom and the Bayon

In 1177 an army from Champa sacked the old Khmer capital. Jayavarman VII, who led the struggle against the invaders, became king in 1181 and launched building work on an unprecedented scale: a city of about 9 km² was enclosed by a wall and a moat crossed by causeways lined with figures of naga serpents, and at its center rose the state temple, the Bayon — a Buddhist sanctuary whose towers bear more than two hundred giant carved faces. His reign also saw the building of the temples of Ta Prohm and Preah Khan, as well as hospitals and rest houses for travelers along the roads.

There are no exact dates for the construction: the Bayon is dated to the late 12th and early 13th centuries, so the event is shown across the reign of Jayavarman VII (1181 – c. 1218). The most detailed description of the city was left by Zhou Daguan, who visited Angkor with an embassy of the Yuan dynasty in 1296–1297.