The temple was built at the behest of Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in Yaśodharapura ( យសោធរបុរៈ, present-day Angkor), the capital of the Khmer Empire, as the state temple for the empire. It lies within an outer wall 3.6 kilometres ( 2 + 1⁄ 4 miles) long and a moat more than five kilometres (three miles) long.
The temple has three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of four towers surrounding a central spire that rises to a height of 65 m (213 ft) above the ground. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks or boxes, misplaced vowels or missing conjuncts instead of Indic text.Īngkor Wat ( / ˌ æ ŋ k ɔːr ˈ w ɒ t/ Khmer: អង្គរវត្ត, lit.'temple city / city of temples' ), located in northwest Cambodia, is the largest religious structure in the form of a temple complex in the world by land area, measuring 162.6 hectares ( 401 + 3⁄ 4 acres). Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Khmer script.
