Jayavarman VII: The Savior King of the Khmer Empire

The most prestigious of the ancient Khmer kings in Cambodia's history remains without a doubt King Jayavarman VII (1128-1219), who reigned from 1178 to 1219 and significantly expanded the Khmer Empire.

Jayavarman VII

The Khmer Empire covered Cambodia (Khmer), Thailand (Ayutthaya), South Vietnam (Champa), Laos, Burma, and certain regions of Malaysia. King Jayavarman VII restored this empire between 1178 and 1191 after a devastating Cham invasion that had sacked the capital Angkor in 1178. The king was also a fervent Buddhist and established its precepts as the state religion, while showing some tolerance for Hinduism during his reign.

Accomplished Archer

Jayavarman VII was the son of King Dharanindravarman II, who reigned peacefully from 1150 to 1160. The future king grew up among the 1,000 princes who lived in Angkor. As a child and young man, Jayavarman mastered the art of archery perfectly. He particularly enjoyed standing on the back of an elephant to hunt or train with his bow. Khmer princes traditionally served as archers mounted on elephants, as it was the most honorable and expected position for a prince in battle. Jayavarman VII was not expected to become king and never thought during his youth that he would one day rule the Khmer Empire.​

Buddhist

A fervent Buddhist, Jayavarman rejected the state religion, which was then Hinduism, causing him to lose favor in Angkor even during his father's reign. The young man wanted to follow Buddha's example, who rejected the idea of being a prince or king to achieve enlightenment. All the busts, statues, and images from this era show King Jayavarman VII in peaceful Buddhist meditation. He was also reprimanded several times for rejecting the caste system and befriending servants. He seemed to prefer the company of the lower castes over other princes and royalty. For this reason, Jayavarman's father, King Dharanindravarman II, chose his cousin Yashovarman II as successor to become king instead of his son.

Jayavarman married two deeply pious Buddhist sisters, Princess Jayarajadevi and then her sister Indradevi when Jayarajadevi died.

Hostage of Champa

In 1165, Champa demanded a Khmer prince as a hostage as a guarantee of the new monarch's peaceful intentions. King Yashovarman II then sent Jayavarman. There is no doubt that this choice stemmed from his bold adherence to Buddhism. Moreover, King Yashovarman probably wanted to get rid of Jayavarman, despite his lack of interest in the throne, because he was the son of the previous king, making him a threat. King Yashovarman II, who reigned from 1160 to 1167, created a succession problem in 1167.

The monarch at the end of his reign had then sent all his sons with the Khmer army to regain control of Champa. He had decreed that the bravest son in battle would inherit the throne. However, all of King Yashovarman's sons perished in the clash with the Chams. A Khmer general named Tribhuvanadityavarman then took control of the army and returned to Angkor to seize the throne after assassinating Yashovarman. With this takeover, the Burmese, Laotians, and Chams freed themselves from Khmer control in 1178. The Khmer Empire collapsed, and the Chams saw the opportunity to seize the capital Angkor.

Attempts to Invade Angkor

Angkor Wat was built by King Suryavarman II during his reign from 1113 to 1150. Angkor Wat was a vast Hindu temple built as the earthly representation and replica of Mount Meru, the home of the Hindu gods. The temple was covered in gold and representations of the deity Vishnu. The Khmers and other nations of the Khmer Empire believed that whoever controlled Angkor Wat would have access to the heavenly paradise, power, wealth, and glory.​

In 1177, King Jaya Indravarman of Champa decided to launch a land attack using a powerful army against the Khmer capital. King Tribhuvanadityavarman gathered as many warriors and war elephants as he could to face the Cham threat before heading to Angkor. A desperate and bloody battle took place in the jungle and marshy terrain. The Chams and Khmers lost the majority of their elephants, with thousands of dead and wounded. The Chams failed to overwhelm the Khmer army. The battle ended with both armies totally exhausted. The Chams retreated, and the exhausted Khmer soldiers let them go.​

This Cham attempt to invade Angkor in 1177 is found in some Chinese writings. The story mentions that two Chinese officers had shipwrecked off Champa at that time. They became military advisors to King Jaya Indravarman. One of the Chinese officers suggested a new attempt to invade Angkor using cavalry armed with crossbows. According to him, this tactic would allow the Chams to defeat the Khmers, who had few cavalry forces themselves. King Jaya was seduced by this idea and sent the Cham fleet to Hainan Island to capture horses. However, too few were found to form a sufficient cavalry force.

Via the Tonlé Sap

With his herd of elephants decimated and few horses available for cavalry, King Indravarman knew that another land attempt to seize Angkor was hardly feasible.

In 1178, King Indravarman sent the Cham fleet up the river intending to attack Angkor. The morning fog concealed the Cham fleet. The inhabitants of the Khmer capital were completely surprised, and Angkor was ravaged. Panic and chaos seized the city as tens of thousands of Khmers were killed in the streets and houses. Everything was looted or destroyed. The survivors were enslaved. King Tribhuvanadityavarman and most of the 1,000 Khmer princes were also hunted down and killed. The most humiliating of all was the loss of Angkor Wat, the capture of the Sacred Fire Ark, and the seizure in the temple of the 1,000 Apsara dancers. The Chams built a large fort with log walls over 20 meters high and decided to keep the Sacred Fire Ark, the Apsara dancers, and the most precious captured treasures inside this fortification. Everything seemed lost and hopeless for the defeated Khmer people, who no longer had a king to lead them and restore hope. King Indravarman felt satisfied with having taken Angkor Wat and eliminated the succession of Khmer princes who could potentially claim the throne. But he then thought of his hostage in Champa. Jayavarman VII could be dangerous, and King Indravarman thought he should kill him too.

Jayavarman the Savior

Jayavarman VII had spent twelve years in Champa as a hostage meditating, studying Buddhism, and seeking enlightenment. In 1178, when he learned of Angkor's destruction, he fled up the Mekong until he found a group of fleeing and discouraged Khmer warriors. Jayavarman inquired about the king and the other Angkor princes and was told they were all dead. The warriors asked the "Khmer stranger" who he was, and he revealed that he was Jayavarman VII, son of King Dharanindravarman II. The warriors prostrated themselves and proclaimed him king.

The new king then sent runners throughout the Khmer empire to the dispersed army troops to meet him on the Mekong to gather all the warriors, warships, elephants, and horses that could be found. Khmer and Thai soldiers from across the empire responded to their king's call. The Thais (Ayutthaya) were the only ones not rebelling against the Khmer Empire at that time, and they remained loyal. The Thais brought thousands of warriors, many elephants, and some horses to join the Khmers in hopes of retaking Angkor from the Chams. Representations of this historical event can be observed today in the Bayon temple at Angkor. Hundreds of warships and a large herd of elephants were thus gathered to rebuild a powerful Khmer army.​

Reconquering Angkor

A formidable land force consisting of war elephants, cavalry, and a Khmer/Thai army would set out first and head overland toward Angkor. King Jayavarman would lead the war fleet to confront the Chams on Tonlé Sap Lake, then join the land army at Angkor. The Battle of Tonlé Sap Lake in 1178 remains the most documented battle of the Angkor period. It is depicted in detail in the great Bayon complex.

The Khmer and Cham fleets engaged in a fierce battle on the lake. The Khmers were furious about the humiliation suffered from the sacking of their capital and the desecration of their holy sites. Khmer warships proved faster and more powerful than the Cham ships. Jayavarman's warriors boarded the Cham ships, killing and throwing their occupants into the lake. Even the rowers used their oars to strike their enemies and make them stumble so Khmer soldiers could kill them more easily. The Khmers also used harpoons to capsize Cham ships.

Bloody Battle

King Jayavarman was at the forefront of the battle, using his bow, whipping and encouraging his warriors. The blood in the water and the men screaming as they fell into the lake attracted hundreds of crocodiles that lived in the Tonlé Sap. The crocodile feast began as hundreds of warriors were dismembered and devoured alive in the lake. The lake turned into a gigantic pool of blood, with torn bodies floating everywhere on the surface. King Indravarman and the surviving Chams were terrified and took refuge in the fortification they had built in Angkor. The Khmer and Thai forces regrouped and pursued the Chams to the palisade. As the Cham army crowded to pass through the gates of their fortification, the Khmer army began fighting the Cham soldiers still outside. King Indravarman then ordered the gates closed, with part of the Cham army trapped outside and fighting desperately for survival. Khmer archers mounted on elephants, led by King Jayavarman, massacred the last Chams trapped in front of the palisade while other elephants were equipped with ropes to tear down the palisade logs. Other Khmer warriors used ladders to scale the fortification walls. The elephants managed to open a breach as Khmer and Thai forces rushed inside to massacre the Cham fighters.​

Battle against Cham

The End of Indravarman

King Jayavarman had spotted his rival Indravarman in the fort surrounded by his bodyguards. He headed straight for him. Overwhelmed with anger after being a prisoner of Indravarman for 12 years and then seeing how Angkor had been profaned and destroyed, the Khmer king then attacked Indravarman violently and relentlessly.

Legend has it that Jayavarman shot "a million arrows" at Indravarman. The king was so angry that he continued shooting arrows at Indravarman's lifeless, arrow-riddled body. An unusual violence for a monarch described as peaceful and adept at Buddhist philosophy.​

Rebuilding Angkor

Angkor needed to be rebuilt. The Sacred Fire Ark was recovered and the Apsara dancers rescued, but Angkor Wat was devastated. The gold covering the exterior and some interior parts of the temple had to be replaced. It took three years to rebuild the city-temple. Angkor Wat became a Buddhist sanctuary under the king's impetus. In 1181, all preparations were ready for his coronation. The Sacred Fire Ark was brought back to Angkor Wat, and the Apsara dancers, who had been spiritually purified in the sacred waters of the Kunlun mountains, danced at the coronation.

By 1191, Jayavarman had reconquered and restored the Khmer Empire. Jayavarman then had more than 80 Buddhist temples built in the Angkor region, but also in Thailand and Laos to show his gratitude to Buddha. The number of Apsara dancers increased to 3,000 to properly honor the new temples he had built.​

The End of the Empire

These ambitious projects imposed a heavy burden on the population, both in labor and taxes. In the early 1200s, as King Jayavarman aged and struggled to manage the empire, many rice fields were abandoned. The canals and irrigation systems in poor condition did not bring enough water to Angkor and its crops. The people began to grumble toward the end of Jayavarman VII's reign. He was also reproached for Angkor Wat no longer being a Hindu sanctuary. The Hindu gods (mainly Vishnu) were therefore brought back and venerated alongside Buddha. Due to the king's efforts to promote a Buddhism tolerant of Hinduism, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, and Burma today practice a type of Buddhism mixed with many Hindu gods and beliefs.​

King Jayavarman VII died in 1219, at the age of 91. The Khmer Empire began its decline due to constant rebellions. The capital had to move to Phnom Penh in the 1400s because Angkor's canal and irrigation systems were no longer sufficient for the population there. After King Jayavarman's death, the Thais (Ayutthaya) freed themselves from the Empire and constantly warred with the Khmers until they captured and sacked Angkor in 1431. Except for Angkor Wat, which remained a Buddhist/Hindu sanctuary, the city of Angkor was then almost completely abandoned.

By Steven JohnsonSteven Johnson has taught history in South Carolina for over 20 years. He has regularly contributed to the magazine Heritage and Strategy & Tactics, and is the author of Unknown Wars of Asia, Africa, and the Americas that Changed History. He currently lives in Cambodia.

Angkor

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Illustrations of the battles by Maurice Fievet