Angkor

Archaeological site in northwestern Cambodia which was the capital of the Khmer empire in Kampuchia and founded in c 9 AD (c 802). The name, from Sanskrit 'nagara', means "royal city, the capital". As the capital of the Khmer empire form the 9th-15th centuries its most imposing monuments are Angkor Wat a temple complex built in the 12th century by King Suryavarman II (reigned 1113-c. 1150 AD) and Angkor Thom a temple complex built about 1200 by King Jayavarman VII (1181-c 1215 AD). These monuments were lost in jungle and rediscovered in the last century. In total there are more than 250 monuments built almost exclusively in sandstone. The Thais conquered Angkor in 1431 and it was abandoned.

[from Sanskrit nagara". ‘royal city, the capital’]. A complex of more than 250 monuments, dating from the 9th to the 13th century and built almost exclusively in sandstone, on a plain just north of the present town of Siem Reap in northwestern Cambodia. Here were the capitals of the Khmer empire from its foundation in 802 to the conquest of Angkor by the Thais (Siamese) in 1431.