Jayavarman

They say construction of this complex began in 967, and was one of the few temples not to be commissioned by a king, but by a Brahman who may have been a tutor to Jayavarman V.

BANTEAY SREI Will 2009

“This temple was unique in that it has a collection of 54 gothic towers decorated with 216 smiling enormous faces of Avalokiteshvara that supposedly have a great resemblance of Jayavarman VII.”

Bayon Will 2009

*These devata are a different style and appear to have been added during the reign of Jayavarman VII or later.

Angkor Wat Devata Inventory | Angkor Wat Apsara & Devata: Khmer Women in Divine Context 2010

The Khmer kings Suryavarman II and Jayavarman VII enshrined images of more than 4,000 sacred women in their temples.

Chau Say Tevoda - A Key Khmer Devata Temple Reopens | Angkor Wat Apsara & Devata: Khmer Women in Divine Context 2010

In meticulous detail, and sensibly using line drawings rather than photographs for the greater clarity this achieves, he deals with the entire gamut of military aspects associated with the royal armies that existed during the reigns of Suryavarman II and Jayavarman VII and which were depicted on three key temples: Angkor Wat, the Bayon and Banteay Chhmar.

Armies of Angkor - Siam Society Book Review by Milton Osborne | Angkor Wat Apsara & Devata: Khmer Women in Divine Context 2010

On the other hand, inscriptions discovered from of the reign of Jayavarman VII 1180-1201 AD indicate that the large temple was already finished at that time.

Banteay Chhmar 1937 - Ancient Khmer City in Cambodia | Angkor Wat Apsara & Devata: Khmer Women in Divine Context 2010

Finally, Jayavarman VII ruling 1,181-1,215 AD added new decorative elements to harmonize with the religious transformation he initiated converting the state from Hinduism to Buddhism.

Chau Say Tevoda - A Key Khmer Devata Temple Reopens | Angkor Wat Apsara & Devata: Khmer Women in Divine Context 2010

At the temple of Bayon, comissioned by the revered god-king Jayavarman VII, dozens of these placid Buddhas smile down on you.

Angkor « Wanderings 2007

Jayavarman VII is well-known for having been one of the first Khmer Kings to embrace Mahayana Buddhism, rather than the Hinduism that reigned previously.

Angkor « Wanderings 2007

King Jayavarman VII built Ta Som late in the 12th century and dedicated it to his father, King Dharanindravarman II, who ruled the Khmer Empire from 1150 to 1160 following the death of King Suryavarman II.

Ta Som Devata - Sacred Khmer Women in 12th Century Cambodia | Angkor Wat Apsara & Devata: Khmer Women in Divine Context 2009