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Jayvarman established the Khmer Empire in Cambodia and declared himself a 'god king'. He used wars, alliances and marriages to expand the area under his control. In addition to this, he also built Hindu temples for people to pray.
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After the death of the first Khmer king, his son Jayavarman III took to the throne and reigned for about 40 years. Very little is known about this leader, except that he may have built the Prei Monti temple.
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During Indravarman I reign (887-889), he built two primitive Khmer temples, the Preah Ko temple and the Bakong. The architecture of these two temples was an inspiration to the later temples of the Angkor civilization. Indravarman I also built a large reservoir named Indratataka.
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As the empire began to rise, Yasovarman (889-900) constructed the water reservoir, Yasohodharataka, to support the needs of the people. Including the growing of crops and general water supply.
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During Rajendravamen II reign (944-968), he built temples at Angkor and the Khmer's had their first war with Champa. Although he encountered difficulties in keeping his crown, Rajendravamen had a strong military power as he did not only wage civil war with his rivals, but even sacked the Champa Kingdom and the Thai tribal states.
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Jayvarman V reigns (968-1001) and changed the Khmer court into a centre for scholars and artists. This shows how the escalating population resulted to the introduction of more occupations and an improvement to education
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Suryavarman II extended the Khmer Empire by conquering Haripunchai and south-western Thailand up to the borer with Bagan. In the east and north, he took several provinces of Champa and expanded north to the border of Laos. Suryavarman also commenced the construction of Angkor Wat.
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Suryavarman II dies after reign of 32 years. After Cham invaded the Khmer Empire, they sacked the capital and killed the current leader, King Tribhuvanadityavarman. This shows how the king was unable to control his empire and in return allowed the enemy to enter.
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During Jayavarman VII reign (1181-1215), he waged war against Champa for twenty-two years and conquered much of its land. The Khmers began building Angkor Thom, along with many other temples, infrastructure and rest-houses.
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After Jayavarman VII death, no other temples were built. The Khmer lost much of the territory they had conquered in Champa. Several Thai nobles rebelled, establishing the first Thai kingdom at Sukhothai in 1238.
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During Jayavarman VIII reign (1243-1295), the Khmer Empire was threatened by the more powerful Mongol Empire. In 1283, he paid tribute to the Mongols to avoid war.
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Jayvarman VIII was overthown by his son-in-law, Srindravarman (1295-1309) who introduced Theravada Buddhism to the Khmer Empire. His reign ended after Indrajayavarman took over (1309-1327). There were no more inscriptions of the accession of kings and no more temples were built, possibly because the Theravada Buddhism did not demand such buildings.