Jayavarman II
| Preceded by — |
Jayavarman II Emperor of Angkor 802 – 835 |
Succeeded by Jayavarman III 835 – 877 |
| Religion: | Hindu (Shaivite) |
| Monuments: | Temples on Phnom Kulen, including Rong Chen Temple Temples around Roluos* |
| Relatives: | Father of Jayavarman III (reign 835 – 877 CE) |
Jayavarman II (Khmer: ជ័យវរ្ម័នទី២) was a 9th-century king of Cambodia, and founder of the Angkor Empire, the dominant civilisation in Southeast Asia until the mid 15th century.
Born in 770, Jayavarman II reigned from 802 until his death in 835 CE.
Jayavarman means "victorious protector". "Jaya" literally means "victorious", and "varman", a suffix used in the reign-names of the overlords of Funan and Chenla, and throughout Cambodian history, means “armour”; hence, “protection”.
Jayavarman II set the foundation of the Angkor period in Cambodian history. Before he came to power, there was much fighting among local overlords who ruled different parts of Cambodia, and the country had not previously been unified under one ruler. Subsequent kings came to honour Jayavarman II as a kind of ancestral founder-spirit, of the sort that every Cambodian village possessed until recently.
Jayavarman II built temples on Phnom Kulen and around Hariharalaya (present-day Roluos), which became his capital.
Jayavarman II died in 835 and received the posthumous name of Parameshwara, "the supreme ruler," an epithet of Shiva. He was succeeded by his son Jayavarman III.Also in Angkorpedia
