Jayavarman II, a 9th century king of Cambodia, is widely recognized as the founder of the Khmer Empire, which ruled much of the Southeast Asian mainland for more than six hundred years. Historians formerly dated his reign as running from 802 A.D. to 850 A.D., but many scholars now have set it back to 770-835 A.D. Before Jayavarman II came to power, there was much fighting among local overlords who ruled different parts of Cambodia. The country was not unified under one ruler. An inscription from the Sdok Kak Thom temple recounts that on the top of the Kulen Hills, Jayavarman instructed a Brahman priest named Hiranhadama to conduct a religious ritual known as the cult of the devajara which placed him as a chakravartin, universal monarch. The cult established him as the supreme ruler of the land, and therefore he succeeded in unifying the country.... More • http://en.wikipedia. ... avarman_II View • Books • Images • Videos • Search Related • Founders • Royalty • Cambodia • Khmer • Middle Ages • 8th Century AD • 9th Century AD • People