r. 1113-1150

Khmer Emperor

Ruler of the Khmer or Angkor Empire in what is today Cambodia, Suryavarman II spent much of his reign battling for control of Southeast Asia. Despite his preoccupation with war, however, he managed to direct the building of the world's largest religious structure, the temple city called Angkor Wat.

Suryavarman's birth year is unknown, and for all practical purposes his biography begins with his ascension to the Khmer throne in 1113. Long before, the Buddhist emperor Suryavarman I (d. 1050) had ruled a powerful, united realm. Despite his many wars to subdue neighboring lands, this earlier Suryavarman had found time to plan numerous public works projects, including irrigation systems, monasteries, and several temples. But in the years since, Cambodia had fallen into disunity, and by the time Suryavarman II assumed the throne, the turmoil had lasted for half a century.

Consolidating his power in...