Angkor Thom, the last capital of Angkor Period (AD 802-1432) until the 15th century was indeed a Great City as it name implies and it served as the religious and administrative center of the vast and powerful Khmer Empire. The capital of King Jayavarman VII (AD 1181-1220), Angkor Thom is a microcosm of the universe divide into four parts by the main axes. Bayon temple stands as the symbolic link between heaven and earth. The wall enclosing the
city of Angkor Thom represents the stone wall around the universe and the mountain ranges around Meru. The surrounding moat suggest the cosmic ocean. This symbolism is reinforced by the presence of god Indra on his mount, the three headed elephant.
Angkor Thom is enclosed by an 8 meters high laterite rampart that is laid out on a square grid of 3 kilometers long on each side. A moat with a width of 100 meters surrounds the outer wall. The city is accessed along five great causeways, one in each cardinal direction - Death Gate (east), Dei Chhnang Gate (north), Takao Gate (west) and Tonle Om Gate (south)-plus an additional Victory Gate on the east aligned with the Terraces of the Elephants and the Leper King. A tall gopura distinguished by a superstructure of four faces bisects the wall in the center of each side.
Four small temples, all called Chhrung temple, stand at each corner of the wall around the city of Angkor Thom. Made of sandstone and designed in across plan, the temple built by King Jayavarman VII to worship Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. An inscription tells about its construction. The stone causeways, across the broad moat surrounding Angkor Thom with their unique gopuras, are flanked by a row of 54 stone figures on each side-gods on the left and demons on the right to make a total of 108 mythical beings guarding each of the five approaches to the city of Angkor Thom. The demons have a grimacing expression and wear a military headdress, whereas the gods look serene with their almond shaped eyes and conical headdresses. The gods and demons hold the scaly body of a naga on their knees.This composition defines the full length of the causeway. At the beginning of the causeway, the naga spreads its nine heads in the shape of a fan.
The five sandstone gopuras rise 23 meters to the sky and is crowned with four heads; one facing each cardinal direction. At the based of each gate are finely modeled elephants with three heads. Their trunks are plucking lotus flowers, in theory out of the moat. The god Indra sits at he center of the elephant with his consorts on each side. He hold a thunderbolt in his lower left hand. Stand in the center of the gopura, visitors will see a sentry box on each side. Also remains of wooden crossbeams are still visible in some of the gopuras. Beneath the gopura visitor can see the corbelled arch, a hallmark if Khmer Architecture.
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