The
Phimai historical park protects one of the most important
KhmerThe Khmer Empire was the third largest empire of South East Asia , based in what is now Cambodia. The empire, which seceded from the kingdom of Chenla, at times ruled over and/or vassalised parts of modern-day Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Malaysia...
temples of
ThailandThe Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia.It is bordered to the north by Laos and Burma, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Burma...
. It is located in the town of
PhimaiPhimai is a township in the Nakhon Ratchasima Province in the northeast of Thailand. The town is located at . As of 2005 the town has a population of 9,768. The town is the administrative center of the Phimai district....
,
Nakhon Ratchasima provinceNakhon Ratchasima , often shortened to Korat or Khorat , is one of the north-eastern provinces of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Chaiyaphum, Khon Kaen, Buriram, Sa Kaeo, Prachinburi, Nakhon Nayok, Saraburi, Lopburi.The capital of the province is The City of Nakhon Ratchasima located in...
.
The temple marks one end of the
Ancient Khmer HighwayThe Ancient Khmer Highway was a 225 km roadway going northwest between Angkor and Phimai . While it was not the only such road built by the Khmer, it was the most important one....
from
AngkorAngkor is a region of Cambodia that served as the seat of the Khmer empire, which flourished from approximately the ninth century to the thirteenth century...
. As the enclosed area of 1020x580m is comparable with that of
Angkor WatAngkor Wat , is a temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia, built for the king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation—first Hindu,...
, Phimai must have been an important city in the Khmer empire. Most buildings are from the late 11th to the late 12th century, built in the Baphuon, Bayon and Angkor Wat style.
The
Phimai historical park protects one of the most important
KhmerThe Khmer Empire was the third largest empire of South East Asia , based in what is now Cambodia. The empire, which seceded from the kingdom of Chenla, at times ruled over and/or vassalised parts of modern-day Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Malaysia...
temples of
ThailandThe Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia.It is bordered to the north by Laos and Burma, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Burma...
. It is located in the town of
PhimaiPhimai is a township in the Nakhon Ratchasima Province in the northeast of Thailand. The town is located at . As of 2005 the town has a population of 9,768. The town is the administrative center of the Phimai district....
,
Nakhon Ratchasima provinceNakhon Ratchasima , often shortened to Korat or Khorat , is one of the north-eastern provinces of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Chaiyaphum, Khon Kaen, Buriram, Sa Kaeo, Prachinburi, Nakhon Nayok, Saraburi, Lopburi.The capital of the province is The City of Nakhon Ratchasima located in...
.
The temple marks one end of the
Ancient Khmer HighwayThe Ancient Khmer Highway was a 225 km roadway going northwest between Angkor and Phimai . While it was not the only such road built by the Khmer, it was the most important one....
from
AngkorAngkor is a region of Cambodia that served as the seat of the Khmer empire, which flourished from approximately the ninth century to the thirteenth century...
. As the enclosed area of 1020x580m is comparable with that of
Angkor WatAngkor Wat , is a temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia, built for the king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation—first Hindu,...
, Phimai must have been an important city in the Khmer empire. Most buildings are from the late 11th to the late 12th century, built in the Baphuon, Bayon and Angkor Wat style. However, even though the Khmer at that time were
HinduHinduism is the predominant religion of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as ', a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal law", by its adherents. Generic "types" of Hinduism that attempt to accommodate a variety of complex views span folk and Vedic Hinduism to bhakti tradition, as...
, the temple was built as a
BuddhistBuddhism, as traditionally conceived, is a path of salvation attained through insight into the ultimate nature of reality. It encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha...
temple, as Buddhism in the Khorat area dated back to the 7th century. Inscriptions name the site
Vimayapura (which means city of
Vimaya), which developed into the Thai name
Phimai.
The first inventory of the ruins was done in 1901 by the French geographer
Etienne AymonierÉtienne François Aymonier was a French linguist and explorer. He was the first archaeologist to systematically survey the ruins of the Khmer empire in today's Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and southern Vietnam...
. They were put under governmental protection by announcement in the Government Gazette, Volume 53, section 34, from September 27, 1936. Most of the restorations were done from 1964 to 1969 as a joint Thai-French project. The historical park, now managed by the Fine Arts Department, was officially opened by Princess
Maha Chakri Sirindhornclass="infobox vcard" style="font-size: 88%; text-align: left; width: 22em;"|-! colspan="2" style="background: #bd10d4; color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 120%; text-align: center;" class="fn"|...
on April 12, 1989.
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