Roluos (
Khmer: រលួស) is a
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
n archeological site about 13 km east of Siem Reap along
NH6. Once it was the seat of
Hariharalaya
Hariharalaya ( km, ហរិហរាល័យ, Hariharalay) was an ancient city and capital of the Khmer empire located near Siem Reap, Cambodia in an area now called Roluos ( Khmer: រលួស). Today, all that remains of the city are the r ...
,
first capital of
Khmer Empire north of
Tonlé Sap
Tonlé Sap (; km, ទន្លេសាប, ; or commonly translated as 'Great Lake'; vi, Biển Hồ, Chữ Hán: 湖海/壺海) is a lake in the northwest of Cambodia. It belongs to the Mekong, Mekong River system. It is the largest fres ...
(as the first capital in the strict sense of the term could have been
Indrapura, identifiable with
Banteay Prey Nokor
Banteay Prei Nokor ( km, បន្ទាយព្រៃនគរ) is an ancient temple complex in the northwest of Kompong Cham, Cambodia.
Known locally as temple of "Wat Nokor in Khum of Kompong Siem", or "Wat Angkor", around 2km from the prov ...
).
Among the "Roluos Group" of temples there are some of the earliest permanent structures built by Khmer. They mark the beginning of classical period of Khmer civilization, dating from the late 9th century. Some were totally built with bricks, others partially with laterite or sandstone (the first large Angkorian temple built with sandstone was possibly
Ta Keo
Ta Keo ( km, ប្រាសាទតាកែវ, ) is a temple-mountain in Angkor (Cambodia), possibly the first to be built entirely of sandstone by the Khmer Empire.
The site
Ta Keo was the state temple of Jayavarman V, son of Rajendrava ...
[ Freeman, Jacques 2006, p.26])
At present it is composed by three major temples:
Bakong
Bakong ( km, បាគង ) is the first Khmer temple mountain of sandstone constructed by rulers of the Khmer Empire at Angkor near modern Siem Reap in Cambodia. In the final decades of the 9th century AD, it served as the official state temp ...
,
Lolei
Lolei ( km, ប្រាសាទលលៃ) is the northernmost temple of the Roluos group of three late 9th century Hindu temples at Angkor, Cambodia, the others members of which are Preah Ko and the Bakong. Lolei was the last of the three tem ...
, and
Preah Ko
Preah Ko ( km, ប្រាសាទព្រះគោ, "The Sacred Bull") was the first temple to be built in the ancient and now defunct city of Hariharalaya (in the area that today is called Roluos), some 15 kilometers south-east of the main ...
, along with the smaller
Prasat Prei Monti Prasat ( km, ប្រាសាទ, th, ปราสาท) is a Khmer and Thai term meaning "castle", "palace", or "temple" (derived from the Sanskrit ' / ). It may refer to:
*''Prasat'', towers in Khmer architecture
*Prasat (Thai architecture), ...
. At both Bakong and Lolei there are contemporary
Theravada buddhist monasteries
''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
.
There is a town named
Roluos
Roluos, also Phumi Roluos Chas, is a small town and khum (commune) of Svay Chek District in Banteay Meanchey Province in north-western Cambodia. It is located on road 56, 24km north of Sisophon.
Villages
* Baek Chan Thmei
* Khvav Kaeut
* Stu ...
also Phumi Roluos Chas, which is a
khum
Administrative divisions of Cambodia have several levels. Cambodia is divided into 24 provinces (''Khaet''; km, ខេត្ត, ) and the special administrative unit Phnom Penh. Though a different administrative unit, Phnom Penh is at provin ...
(commune) of
Svay Chek District in
Banteay Meanchey Province in north-western Cambodia.
Notes
References
*
*
External links
Angkor Temple Guide: Roluos Groupby Canby Publications
Populated places in Siem Reap province
Angkorian sites in Siem Reap Province
Towns in Cambodia
{{Hindu-temple-stub