At the root of the Chenla kingdom
The three distinct Sambor Prei Kouk temple sites is an important archaeological area. The complex is just north of today’s Kampong Thom city in central Cambodia. It shows the bridging development from the Funan Civilisation into the Angkor Khmer Empire.
These temples were state temples in the old capital Isanapura of the Chenla kingdom.
The Funan state was a loosely organized confederation of cities and lesser kingdoms with large population centres and advanced technology. It was established about 2000 years ago and lasted for about 500 years. Funan covered southern part of today’s Cambodia, Viet Nam, Thailand and northern part of Malaysia.
The Chenla kingdom marks the rapid development of architecture, culture and society building into a unified centralised kingdom and culture. The Chenla kings reach north into today’s Laos, Isaan and Burma.
Isanapura was the core city of this pre-Angkor kingdom for 250 years, between 550 and 800 CE. The first writings in Khmer are found here, marking a continuous writing culture lasting into modern times.
By the end of the Chenla Kingdom unrest and pressure from outside slowly weakened and destabilized the realm. In northwest the Angkor Khmer Empire was declared in 802 CE to finally replace the Khmer Chenla Kingdom.
The Isanapura area is beautiful, with its fauna and flora adding to the experience. In 2017 Sambor Prei Kouk was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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