Initially, Angkor Wat was designed as a Hindu temple,
as that was the religion of the region’s ruler at the
Angkor Wat is an enormous Buddhist temple
complex located in northern Cambodia. It was originally
built in the first half of the 12th century as a Hindu
temple. Spread across more than 400 acres, Angkor
Wat is said to be the largest religious monument in the
world. Its name, which translates to “temple city” in the
Khmer language of the region, references the fact it was
built by Emperor Suryavarman II, who ruled the region
from 1113 to 1150, as the state temple and political
center of his empire.
Originally dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu, Angkor
Wat became a Buddhist temple by the end of the 12th
century.
Although it is no longer an active temple, it serves as
an important tourist attraction in Cambodia, despite the
fact it sustained significant damage during the
autocratic rule of the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s
and in earlier regional conflicts.
Angkor Wat is located roughly five miles north of the
modern Cambodian city of Siem Reap, which has a
population of more than 200,000 people.
However, when it was built, it served as the capital of
the Khmer empire, which ruled the region at the time.
The word “Angkor” means “capital city” in the Khmer
language, while the word “Wat” means “temple.”
time, Suryavarman II. However, by the end of the 12th
century, it was considered a Buddhist site.
Unfortunately, by then, Angkor Wat had been sacked
by a rival tribe to the Khmer, who in turn, at the
direction of the new emperor, Jayavarman VII, moved
their capital to Angkor Thom and their state temple to
Bayon, both of which are a few miles to the north of
the historic site.
As Angkor Wat’s significance within the Buddhist
religion of the region increased, so too did the legend
surrounding the site. Many Buddhists believe the
temple’s construction was ordered by the god Indra,
and that the work was accomplished in one night.
However, scholars now know it took several decades
to build Angkor Wat, from the design phase to
completion.
Vocabulary
1. enormous /ɪˈnɔː.məs/: extremely large:
2. complex /ˈkɒm.pleks/: involving a lot of different
but related parts
3. originally /əˈrɪdʒ.ən.əl.i/ : first of all:
4. spread /spred/ :o cover or reach a wider or increasing a
rea, or to make something do this.
5. religious /rɪˈlɪdʒ.əs/: relating to religion: 21. roughly /ˈrʌf.li/ : approximately
6. monument /ˈmɒn.jə.mənt/ : a structure or building that 22. autocratic /ˌɔː.təˈkræt.ɪk/ :
is built to honour a special person or event demanding that people obey completely,
7. reference /ˈrefərəns/: to refer to someone or something without asking or caring about anyone
8. rule /ruːl/ : to control or be the person in charge of else's opinions
something such as a country 23. significant /sɪɡˈnɪf.ɪ.kənt/ : important or noticeable:
9. region /ˈriː.dʒən/ : a particular area or part of the world, 24. decade /ˈdek.eɪd/ : a period of
or any of the large official areas into which ten years, especially a period such as 2010 to
a country is divided: 2019
10. empire /ˈem.paɪər/: a group of countries ruled by
a single person, government, or country
11. serve /sɜːv/ to work for; to do your duty to
12. dedicate /ˈded.ɪ.keɪt/ : to give all of your energy, time,
13. despite /dɪˈspaɪt/ without
being influenced or prevented by
14. sack /sæk/ : fire
15. rival /ˈraɪ.vəl/ : a person, group,
or organization competing with others for the
same thing or in the same area
16. accomplish /əˈkʌm.plɪʃ/ :
to finish something successfully or
to achieve something:
17. scholar /ˈskɒl.ər/ :
a person who studies a subject in great detail, esp
ecially at a university:
18. phase /feɪz/: any stage in a series of events or in
a process of development
19. initially /ɪˈnɪʃ.əl.i/ : at the beginning
20. acre /ˈeɪ.kər/ : a unit for measuring area, equal to
4,047 square metres or 4,840 square yards