Angkor Thom
1181 CE – 1431 CE
The last great walled capital of the Khmer Empire, built by King Jayavarman VII at the end of the 12th century CE as the centrepiece of a massive Buddhist building programme following decades of warfare. At its heart stands the Bayon Temple, its 54 towers carved with 216 enormous, serenely smiling stone faces — among the most instantly recognisable images in world archaeology — surrounded by the Terrace of the Elephants, the Terrace of the Leper King, and the royal palace precinct of Phimeanakas.
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