Jayavarman VIII ( km, ជ័យវរ្ម័នទី៨), posthumous name Paramesvarapada, was one of the prominent kings of the Khmer empire. His rule lasted from 1243 until 1295, when he abdicated. One of his wives was Queen Chakravartirajadevi. He reverted to

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

from his father's religion of

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

and attempted to destroy

while patronized

throughout his regime. It was during the

reign A reign is the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation (e.g., Saudi Arabia, List of Belgian monarchs, Belgium, Co-prince of Andorra, Andorra), of a people (e.g., List of Frankish kings, the Franks, List of ...

of Jayavarman VIII that the

Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...

forces under the command of Kublai Khan attacked the

Angkor Angkor ( km, អង្គរ , 'Capital city'), also known as Yasodharapura ( km, យសោធរបុរៈ; sa, यशोधरपुर),Headly, Robert K.; Chhor, Kylin; Lim, Lam Kheng; Kheang, Lim Hak; Chun, Chen. 1977. ''Cambodian-Engl ...

empire in 1283. In 1281, Jayavarman VIII had imprisoned emissaries of the Mongol generalissimo in Champa. In 1283, he decided to pay tribute and buy peace and thus his rule survived. Chinese annals record that in 1291, "the king of Lohu" ambodiasent a mission who presented “the usual tribute of gold, elephant ivory and other things”. In 1290, the

Mon people The Mon ( mnw, ဂကူမည်; my, မွန်လူမျိုး‌, ; th, มอญ, ) are an ethnic group who inhabit Lower Myanmar's Mon State, Kayin State, Kayah State, Tanintharyi Region, Bago Region, the Irrawaddy Delta, and se ...

regained their independence.Cœdès, George. (1964) ''Les États hindouisés d'Indochine et d'Indonésie Paris''. Jayavarman VIII suffered a devastating war against the Sukhothai Kingdom. Jayavarman VIII was a

Shivaite Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangi ...

. Many of the Buddhist images were destroyed by him, who re-established previously Hindu shrines that had been converted to Buddhism by his predecessor. Carvings of the Buddha at temples such as Preah Khan were destroyed, and during this period the

Bayon The Bayon ( km, ប្រាសាទបាយ័ន, ) is a richly decorated Khmer temple related to Buddhism at Angkor in Cambodia. Built in the late 12th or early 13th century as the state temple of the King Jayavarman VII ( km, ព្រ� ...

Temple was made into a temple of Shiva, and cast the central 3.6 meter tall statue of the Buddha into the bottom of a nearby well. He also endowed a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

shrine Mangalartha in 1295, just before he was overthrown by his son-in-law

Indravarman III Indravarman III ( km, ឥន្ទ្រវរ្ម័នទី៣), also titled Srindravarman ( km, ស្រីន្ទ្រវរ្ម័ន) was a ruler of the Khmer Empire from 1295 to 1308. He rose to power after the abdication of his f ...

(Srindravarman), a devout

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

and the kingdom reverted to Buddhism.

References

13th-century Cambodian monarchs Hindu monarchs Khmer Empire Cambodian Hindus Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown {{Cambodia-royal-stub