Jayavarman VI dies in Angkor

1113

The Cambodian king's death triggered a succession war in which his young cousin Suryavarman II seized the throne, reportedly leaping from one war elephant to another to kill his rival in single combat. The victor would build Angkor Wat. Suryavarman's violent accession inaugurated one of the greatest building campaigns in human history, transforming the Cambodian plain into a forest of sandstone temples stretching to the horizon.