Page:History of Indian and Eastern Architecture Vol 2.djvu/446

 374 FURTHER INDIA. BOOK VIII. of this dynasty was Jayavarman. From his death to the commencement of the Qth century there are no records, owing probably to internal dissensions, but in 802 A.D. 1 Jayavarman II., who may have been a descendant of the older dynasty, formed a new dynasty of eighteen sovereigns, a list of whom, with the dates of their accessions, are given at the head of this chapter. To this monarch is attributed the foundation of the Cambodian kingdom, whose capital was Angkor Thorn, situated in the valley of the Me-kong about 14 miles north of the lake known as Tonle Sap. Jayavarman II. settled at first at Prah-khan north of Angkor Vat, and in the tenth year of his reign is supposed to have laid the foundations of the great city of Angkor Thorn, as also those of the Royal palace in its centre, the pyramid temples of Phimeanakas, the great temple of Bayon and other structures. To him, therefore, according to Aymonier, 2 must be ascribed the inauguration of those colossal construc- tions which were raised during the four centuries following and which constitute the great Cambodian style. There are some small earlier temples built towards the end of the 6th or the commencement of the /th centuries, in which the origin of the style may be found, but they are of comparatively small importance. It is, however, interesting to note that according to Aymonier, Jayavarman may have come into the country from Java, and therefore brought over some acquaintance with the great temple of Boro-Budur of the /th or 8th centuries, to which there is a striking resemblance, so much so that some of the sculptures of the latter have been assumed in error to be those of Angkor Vat. The third king, Indravarman, besides building the temples of Baku and Bakong, completed and consecrated the temple of Bayon in Angkor Thorn, the chef d'ceuvre of Cambodian architecture. The erection of the great capital, on account of its magnitude and the numerous temples and other structures it contained, would seem to have stretched over a long period, as it was not until the reign of Ya^ovarman, the fourth king, that the official capital was shifted about 900 A.D. from Hariharalaya, which, since the death of the first king, had hitherto held that position, to Angkor Thorn. To Ya^ovarman is attributed also the temple of Lolei and the pyramid temple of Phimeanakas in the centre of the Palace enclosure. He is said to have been a man of prodigious strength, but in about Lower Cochin China and Siam as far north as Uttaradih (Lat. 17 39' N.). (5) Ramanya-dej-a, on the west, com- prised Pegu and Tenasserim. And (6) The Malay peninsula was designated . Fournereau, ' Le Siam Ancien,' pt. i, pp. 506. 1 The dates are those taken from the Indian 3aka, to which is added 78 : thus 724 -S'aka is 802 A.D. 2 Aymonier, loc. cit. tome iii. p. 468,