Suryavarman II

(died c. 1150) Khmer (Cambodian) king under whom Angkor Wat was built. Suryavarman established sole rule over Cambodia in c. 1113, reuniting the country after 50 years of unrest. He expanded his country to include much of what is now Thailand, portions of Vietnam, and part of the Malay Peninsula. He promulgated Vaishnavism (a form of Hinduism), rather than the Buddhism of his predecessors, as the official religion. Construction of Angkor Wat, the world's largest religious structure, began under Suryavarman, and he figures prominently in its decorations. He died during a campaign against the kingdom of Champa; the Chams eventually ravaged Angkor.

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