Khmer architecture
![The 12th-century temple of Angkor Wat is the masterpiece of Angkorian architecture. Constructed under the direction of the Khmer king Suryavarman II, it was to serve as the monarch's personal mausoleum and as a temple to the Hindu god Vishnu. Based on Dravidian architecture, it was designed as a pyramid representing the structure of the universe: the highest level at the center of the temple represented Mount Meru, the home of the Hindu gods, with the five towers on the highest level representing the five peaks of the mountain. The broad moat around the complex represented the oceans that surround the world.](/Images/godic/202501/22/Angkor_Wat0557.jpg")
![Khmer style architecture.](/Images/godic/202501/22/Chan_Chhaya_Pavilion0557.JPG")
![A cruciform gallery separates the courtyards at Angkor Wat.](/Images/godic/202501/22/Angkor_Wat,_Camboya,_2013-08-15,_DD_0380557.JPG")
![A gopura leads into the 12th-century temple compound at Ta Prohm.](/Images/godic/202501/22/Ta_Phrom,_Angkor,_Camboya,_2013-08-16,_DD_010557.JPG")
The period of Angkor is the period from approximately the latter half of the 8th century AD to the first half of the 15th century. If precise dates are required, the beginning may be set in 802 AD, when the founder of the Khmer Empire, Jayavarman II pronounced himself universal monarch (chakravartin) and declared independence from Java, and the end may be set in 1431 AD, when Thai invaders from the kingdom of Ayutthaya sacked Angkor and caused the Khmer elite to migrate to Phnom Penh.