Friday Forum: Darith Ea – Koh Ker: The 10th Century Angkorian Capital City

Koh Ker: The 10th Century Angkorian Capital City of Jayavarman IV and His Son, Harshavarman II

Darith Ea
Visiting Professor, Cornell University
Deputy Director,  Angkor International Center for Research and Documentation, Apsara Authority, Cambodia

Jayavarman IV and his son, Harshavarman II moved the Angkorian capital to Koh Ker from 928-944. Koh Ker is approximately 90 km northeast of Angkor. The city layout includes an iconic 35m tall, 7-tiered, sandstone mountain temple dedicated to Siva (Prasat Thom); a large water reservoir (Rohal); numerous temples and shrines encircling the Rohal; the largest ancient dam in Southeast Asia, and an unusual north-south orientation. Koh Ker sculpture and architecture are unusually large-scale and dynamic – defining a unique style in Khmer art history. The architectural and artistic styles, as well as inscriptional data, indicate a 10th century boom in temple construction and art production at Koh Ker coinciding with Jayavarman IV’s reign. However, archaeological evidence obtained through joint research between APSARA Authority, Preah Vihear National Authority and the Nalanda-Sriwijaya Centre in 2015 and 2016 revealed occupation began from the 7th and 8th centuries CE and continued well beyond the 14th and 15th centuries.