| Jayavarman II | |
|---|---|
| Chakravartin | |
| King of the Khmer Empire | |
| Reign | 802 – 850 |
| Predecessor | Himself as King of Lower Chenla |
| Successor | Jayavarman III |
| King of Lower Chenla (Water Chenla) | |
| Reign | c. AD 780–802[1] |
| Predecessor | Mahipativarman |
| Successor | Himself as King of the Khmer Empire |
| King consort ofSambhupura | |
| Tenure | c. 780s |
| Born | c. 770 Java |
| Died | 850 (aged 79–80) Angkor,Khmer Empire (now inSiem Reap,Cambodia) |
| Spouse | Hyang Amrita,Jayendrabhā |
| Issue | Jyeṣṭhāryā,Jayavarman III |
| Religion | Hinduism |
Jayavarman II (Khmer:ជ័យវរ្ម័នទី២;c. 770 – 850, reignedc. 802–850)[2] was aKhmer prince who founded and became the ruler of theKhmer Empire after unifying the Khmer civilization. The Khmer Empire was the dominant civilization inmainland Southeast Asia from the 9th century until the mid-15th century. Jayavarman II was a powerful Khmer king who declared independence from a polityinscriptions named "Java", which most probably refers to the island of Java in the Indonesian archipelago.[3] Jayavarman II founded many capitals such asMahendraparvata,Indrapura,Amarendrapura, andHariharalaya. Before Jayavarman II came to power, there was much fighting among local overlords who ruled different parts of Cambodia, and much of the area fell under the orbit of theShailendra dynasty ofSrivijaya.[4] As a child, Jayavarman II had been held in captivity or exile in Java, and was installed as Java's vassal around 800.[5] By starting off with small weak kingdoms, he built himself up from there eventually leading to the Khmer Empire. No inscriptions by Jayavarman II have been found. Later kings of the Khmer Empire described him as a warrior and the most powerful king from that time frame that they could recall.[6] Historians formerly dated his reign as running from 802 CE to 835 CE.[7]
Mahipativarman, the king ofChenla, expressed his desire before his courtiers, to see the chopped head of the king ofZabag which is identified with Java. This information was known toDharanindra, the king of Java, so he conquered the Water Chenla and beheaded Mahipativarman. And then, the king ofZabag installed a new king, Jayavarman II, on the throne as his vassal. Jayavarman first remained subordinate to Java for some time and thereafter declared independence.[1][better source needed]
Jayavarman II became king inIndrapura by 781, and he marriedJayendrabhā, thequeen regnant ofSambhupura inChenla, in order to unite Cambodia under one king.[8] Jayavarman II becameKing consort of Sambhupura by marrying her.[9]
Jayavarman II is widely regarded as the king that set the foundation of theAngkor period in Cambodian history, beginning with the grandiose consecration ritual he conducted in 802 on MountMahendraparvata, now known asPhnom Kulen.[10] At that ceremony, he was proclaimed a universal monarch (Kamraten jagad ta Raja in Khmer) ordevaraja (ទេវរាជ in Khmer).[11]: 58–59 [12]An inscription from theSdok Kak Thom temple recounts that at Mahendraparvata, Jayavarman II took part in a ritual performed by thebrahmin Hiranyadama, and his chief priest Lord Sivakaivalya, which consecrated him as achakravartin, or Lord of the universe.[13]: 99–101
Records suggest that Jayavarman and his followers moved over the course of some years from southeast Cambodia to the northwest, subduing various principalities along the way.[11]: 54 Jayavarman II foundedHariharalaya near present-dayRoluos, the first settlement in what would later become the Khmer Empire.[13]: 98 Historian Claude Jacques writes that he first seized the city ofVyadhapura in the southeast, then pushed up theMekong River to takeSambhupura. He later installed himself at another city state, now known asBanteay Prei Nokor,[11]: 54 near present-dayKompong Cham. Jacques believes that from there he pressed on to Wat Pu, seat of a city-state in present-day southernLaos, then moved along theDangrek Mountains to arrive in the Angkor region. Later he brought pressure on local Khmer leaders located to the west, but they fought back and drove him to the summit of present-dayPhnom Kulen, about 50 kilometers east of Angkor, where he declared independence[clarification needed]. Jacques suggests that this step might have been intended to affirm Jayavarman's authority in the face of strong resistance.
Once established in the Angkor region, Jayavarman II appears to have reigned not only in Hariharalaya, located just north of theTonle Sap lake, but also at a place that inscriptions callAmarendrapura.[13]: 99 It has not been identified, though some historians believe it to be a now lost settlement at the western end of theWest Baray, the eight kilometer-long holy reservoir that was built about two centuries after his death. No single temple is associated with Jayavarman, but some historians suggest he may have builtAk Yum, a brick steppedpyramid, now largely ruined, at the southern edge of the West Baray. The temple was a forerunner to the mountain-templearchitectural form of later Khmer kings.[11]: 57
Despite his key role in Khmer history, few firm facts survive about Jayavarman. No inscriptions authored by him have been found, but he is mentioned in numerous others, some of them written long after his death. He appears to have been of aristocratic birth, beginning his career of conquest in the southeast of present-dayCambodia. He may have been known as Jayavarman Ibis[clarification needed] at that time. "For the prosperity of the people in this perfectly pure royal race, great lotus which no longer has a stalk, he rose like a new flower," declares one inscription.[14] Various other details are recounted in inscriptions: he married a woman named Hyang Amrita;[15] and he dedicated a foundation at Lobok Srot, in the southeast.[11]: 54–56
The most valuable inscription concerning Jayavarman II is the one dated to 1052 CE, two centuries after his death, found at theSdok Kak Thom temple in present-dayThailand.[13]: 97 [16]: 353–354 The inscription states "When His Majesty Paramesvara came from Java to reign in the royal city of Indrapura,...Sivakaivalya, the family'spurohit, was serving as his guru and held the post of royal chaplain to His Majesty," using the king's posthumous name.[17] In a later passage, the text says that a brahmin named Hiranyadama, "proficient in the lore of magic power, came from Janapada in response to His Majesty's having invited him to perform a sublime rite which would release Kambujadesa [the kingdom] from being any longer subject to Java." The text also recounts the creation of the cult of the devaraja, the key religious ceremony in the court of Jayavarman and subsequent Khmer people.
The word in the inscription that has often been translated as "Java" has caused endless debate. Some early scholars, such asGeorge Coedès and Lawrence Palmer Briggs, have established the notion that it refers to the island ofJava in present-dayIndonesia. The mythical stories of battles between the Khmers and Javanese correspond in their view to theShailendra dynasty that ruled both Java and SumatranSrivijaya.
Later scholars such asCharles Higham doubt that the word refers to the island. Michael Vickery has re-interpreted the word to mean "the Chams", the Khmers' neighbors to the east, described achvea.[11]: 56
Other scholars like Takashi Suzuki suggest that "Java" is on the Malaysia Peninsula instead,[18] or particularly Kedah which has been the center of Srivijaya's realm under Sailendra.
More broadly, debate continues as to whether Jayavarman II's rule truly represented a seminal turning point in Khmer history, the creation of an independent unified state from small feuding principalities, or was instead part of a long process toward that end. Inscriptions indicate that later Khmer kings treated him as the august first in their line and font of their own legitimacy, but Hindu civilization had existed already for centuries in the region; the fact that Jayavarman was the second monarch to carry that name is a sign that there was already long line of kings of significant states in the region.[19]
Jayavarman II died in 850 CE[11]: 59 and received the posthumous name ofParameshwara,[13]: 103 "the supreme ruler", an epithet ofShiva. After him, the throne was held by his sonJayavarman III and two other kings of the family into which he had married. He was formally honored along with these two kings and their wives in thePreah Ko temple in Rolous, built by KingIndravarman I and inaugurated in 880 CE.
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)Jayavarman II Born: 770 Died: 850 | ||
| Preceded by Bosakak Reach | Khmer Empire 802–835 | Succeeded by |
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