7th century Isanavarman I reigned over the
Chenla Kingdom between 616 and 637 AD, taking Isanapura as his capital and it is argued that he built the main temple Prasat Sambor (Group N), as there is an inscription on the site attributed to his reign and dated 13 September 627 AD. The king is also known for sending his first embassy to the court of the
Sui dynasty in
China (616-617). Chenla conquered different principalities in the Northwest of Cambodia after the end of the Chinese reign period
yǒnghuī (永徽) (i. e. after 31 January 656), which previously (in 638/39) paid tribute to China. An inscription dating from the reign of Isanarvarman I claimed that he was, "the King of Kings, who rules over Suvarnabhumi". Vong Sotheara, of the Royal University of Phnom Penh, claimed that the inscription would "prove that
Suvarnabhumi was the
Khmer Empire." The last important king in Isanapura was
Jayavarman I, whose death caused turmoil to the kingdom at the start of the 8th century, breaking it in many principalities and opening the way to a new time:
Angkor. This site is also claimed as an early capital of
Jayavarman II (O'Reilly & Jacques, 1990).
20th century After the
Lon Nol's coup d'état to Prince
Norodom Sihanouk in 1970, US President
Richard Nixon ordered a secret bombing of Cambodia to fight the
Khmer Rouge guerrillas and any influence of
North Vietnam in the country. The US aircraft bombed positions inside the archaeological site, causing craters near the temples, while the guerrillas left several mines on the land that were cleared only in 2008. This site was added to the
UNESCO World Heritage list on 8 July 2017. == Gallery ==