Кох Кер: Забытая столица Кхмерской империи

Capital of the Khmer Empire

Koh Ker (, Prasat Kaôh Ké ) is a remote archaeological site in northern Cambodia about away from Siem Reap and the ancient site of Angkor. It is a jungle filled region that is sparsely populated. More than 180 sanctuaries were found in a protected area of (translated as city of glance, or as iron tree forest). of Jayavarman IV. Really impressive too are the shrines with the twometer high lingas. Under Jayavarman IV, the style of Koh Ker was developed and the art of sculpture reached a pinnacle. A great variety of statues were chiseled. Because of its remoteness, the site of Koh Ker was plundered many times by looters. Sculptures of Koh Ker can be found not only in different museums, but also in private collections. Masterpieces of Koh Ker are offered occasionally at auctions. These pieces, in present times, are considered stolen art. The site is about two and half hours away from Siem Reap, and guests can stay in the nearby village of Seyiong, 10 km from the temples where there is a number of guests houses. Travellers can also stay in Koh Ker Jungle Lodge Homestay, a sustainable tourism project built in the village of Koh Ker in 2009, by booking in advance of arrival. The Koh Ker community in May 2019 open a basic wooden community rest house in the village. The site of Koh Ker was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List on 17 September 2023 during the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Koh Ker is situated between the southern slopes of the Dangrek mountains, the Kulen mountains (Phnom Kulen) in the south west, and the Tbeng mountain (Phnom Tbeng, near Tbeng Meanchey) in the east. Most parts of the hilly ground are covered by jungle, but most of the trees shed their leaves seasonally. The city of Koh Ker was on the most important strategic route of the Khmer empire. Coming from Angkor and Beng Mealea to Koh Ker this road led to Prasat Preah Vihear and from there to Phimai in Thailand and Wat Phu in Laos to seize the statue that they purport was illegally removed from the site. A twin statue, also linked to the Koh Ker site, is on display at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California.

Before Koh Ker became capital of the Khmer empire (928 AD), numerous sanctuaries with Shiva lingas existed already. Koh Ker was a cult site where Shiva had been worshipped a long time. Also Jayavarman IV was an ardent worshipper of this Hindu god. As later kings (whose residence was not in Koh Ker) changed from Hinduism to Buddhism they gave orders to make the necessary adjustments at their temples. Because of its remoteness, the sanctuaries at Koh Ker were spared from these interventions.

Several inscriptions were found which mention Koh Ker as capital of the empire in Siem Reap, Battambang, Takeo and Kampong Cham (city). From inscriptions discovered at Koh Ker, it is estimated that more than ten thousand people lived at Koh Ker when it was the capital (928 – 944 AD). The inscriptions explain how manpower was organised: taxes in form of rice were raised in the whole country and served to provide for the workers who came from different provinces. An inscription at Prasat Damrei says that the shrine on the top of the state temple (Prang) houses a lingam of about and that the erection of this Shiva symbol gave a lot of problems". A Sanskrit inscription at Prasat Thom gives evidence of the consecration of a Shiva lingam 921 AD which was worshipped under the name of Tribhuvaneshvara ("Lord of the Threefold World").

south of the double sanctuary Prasat Thom/Prang is a basin dug into the earth with a length of It has steps of laterite on all sides. During the rainy season the water is standing to a depth of The Trapeang Andong Preng does not belong to a temple, but it could have been a royal bath, because near this place was once the wooden palace of the king. An early 10th century temple dedicated to the Hindu deity Shiva. The temple's fire damaged (black) outer surface probably gave it its name (Neang Khmau means the "Black Lady" in Khmer). The name of the temple is also said mean "Black Virgin" and legend says it might once have been heaven to Kali, the Dark Goddess of Destruction.

This sanctuary is the most north of this group and lies too on the west side of the street. It has two enclosures. The main entrance door (now collapsed) was itself a sanctuary with a square central room (one side measured ). Three laterite towers (partially collapsed) stand on the same platform. In front of them are the remains of two brick libraries. The statue of the two fighting monkey kings Sugriva and Valin (figures of the Hindu epic Ramayana) was found at this site and is now in the National Museum in Phnom Penh. A fragment of a multi armed statue of Vishnu was found in front of the tower in the middle. In this temple are five inscriptions. They mention the names of all the numerous peoples connected to the temple site and their function.

A small path leads from the ring road to the Prasat Damrei (damrei = elephant). This sanctuary has an enclosure and stands on a high platform. On each of its four sides is a staircase with about ten steps. Eight stone lions once flanked the stairs but only one remains in its original place. A beautiful elephant sculpture once stood at each of the four corners of the platform but only two remain. The sanctuary is built of brick and is in good condition. A Sanskrit inscription found at the temple offers evidence that an erstwhile lingam was once erected on the top of the pyramid (Prang).