When Was Angkor Wat Built? Construction, Builder & Architecture

Angkor Wat was built in the early 12th century, during the Khmer Empire, most closely associated with King Suryavarman II.

Angkor Wat, Cambodia.

Country: Cambodia
Coordinates: 13.4125° N, 103.8667° E
Location: Near Siem Reap
Built: Early 12th century

Short answer

When was Angkor Wat built?

Angkor Wat was built in the early 12th century, during the Khmer Empire, most closely associated with King Suryavarman II.

It is located in Cambodia near Siem Reap and is one of the most important temple complexes in the world.

Country: Cambodia

Location: Near Siem Reap

Built: Early 12th century

Associated ruler: Suryavarman II

Type: Temple complex

Known for: Khmer architecture, scale, bas-reliefs, and religious history

See the answer as a place

Construction date, scale, and architectural form

This original editorial reconstruction is a visual aid, not a historical photograph. Use it to orient the construction and architecture sections below.

Original editorial reconstruction generated for WorldPlacesExplained; not a historical photograph.

What to look for

The five-tower central composition
The surrounding galleries and axial approach
The moat and large-scale site planning

Angkor Wat overview

Angkor Wat is a temple complex in Siem Reap Province, northwestern Cambodia, and a central symbol of Khmer cultural heritage. Its outer wall and surrounding moat enclose approximately 162.6 hectares, making it the world’s largest religious monument by enclosed area. Monumental architecture, extensive sculpture, and bas-reliefs embody religious and political authority while providing evidence for the study of premodern Southeast Asian state formation. The temple also appears on Cambodia’s national flag and several denominations of its currency.

Angkor Wat year of construction

Angkor Wat is best dated to the early 12th century. It is more accurate to give a construction period than one exact year, because large temple complexes were built across phases.

The temple is usually associated with King Suryavarman II and the Khmer Empire, which is why construction-date searches often connect with questions about dynasty, religion, and architectural scale.

What country Angkor Wat is in

Angkor Wat is in Cambodia, near Siem Reap. That is the direct country answer for searches asking where the temple is located.

Its Cambodian location matters because Angkor Wat is central to Khmer history and remains one of the strongest national symbols of Cambodia.

Angkor Wat coordinates

Angkor Wat is commonly mapped at approximately 13.4125° N, 103.8667° E, or 13.4125, 103.8667 in decimal degrees.

Degrees: 13.4125° N, 103.8667° E

Decimal: 13.4125, 103.8667

Where Angkor Wat is located

Angkor Wat stands on the Angkor plain in Siem Reap Province, northwestern Cambodia, within the protected Angkor Archaeological Park. Its position at approximately 13.4125° N, 103.8667° E places it on a low-lying floodplain in the Tonle Sap basin. A broad artificial moat surrounds the complex, with rice-growing plains beyond and forested uplands to the north. The site falls under provincial governance and the specialized agencies responsible for managing the park.

Why Angkor Wat is important

Angkor Wat is an outstanding example of classical Khmer architecture and sculpture and an important record of regional religious change. Its extensive bas-reliefs depict episodes from Hindu epics, while later Buddhist additions document the complex’s transformation. The architecture and surrounding landscape also offer evidence of Khmer state organization, large-scale labor mobilization, and integrated urban and water systems. Its scale, refined stonework, and coherent decorative program distinguish it among temple complexes.

History of Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat began as a royal temple complex during the high period of the Khmer Empire, in a polity centered on its capital. Its monuments and sculpture projected royal ideology and divine association. Buddhist practices were incorporated in subsequent periods alongside the earlier Hindu dedications. Later documentation by European and regional scholars expanded archaeological research and conservation, informing debates about construction techniques, social organization, and the complex’s changing place in Cambodian history.

Natural features of Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat is organized around concentric galleries, axial causeways, and a central tower group enclosed by a rectangular outer wall and broad moat. Its five principal towers form a quincunx that concentrates the plan’s vertical mass at the center. The complex is built chiefly of sandstone on laterite foundations; much of the sandstone came from the Phnom Kulen plateau by engineered waterways. Long colonnaded galleries and corbelled roofs frame carved lintels, pediments, and extensive relief panels.

Environment, protection, and monitoring of Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat lies within a legally designated archaeological park governed by national heritage statutes and international conservation frameworks. A national authority oversees protection, integrated planning, and architectural conservation with support from international partners. Work across the complex includes structural stabilization, documentation of carved surfaces, vegetation control, and hydrological monitoring. Aerial survey, mapping, and digital documentation also provide detailed records for research and the long-term preservation of the monument and its wider landscape.

Angkor Wat facts

It is the largest religious monument in the world by area enclosed within its outer wall and surrounding moat.
Much of the complex’s building sandstone was quarried from the Phnom Kulen plateau and transported to the site by engineered waterways.
The temple’s image appears on Cambodia’s national flag and on several denominations of national currency.
The five principal towers form a quincunx arrangement that reflects classical Khmer preferences for centralized vertical composition.
International teams have used aerial survey, mapping, and digital documentation to create detailed records of the complex for research and conservation.

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