the four contestants, who had each been supported by a section of the army, was Vespasian. Fortunately he was also the only one who was suited for the role, a man eminently sensible and normal in outlook. Though educated enough to quote Homer and Menander, and even to joke in Greek, his low birth made him particularly conscious of the need to give the principate real permanence. This he contrived to do by means of a strict law of succession, which was certainly at variance with Augustan principles and what in the founder's time would have been willingly accepted by Senate and people. But now it was readily accepted because it was recognized that for the good government of the empire such a move was necessary. With this end in view Vespasian made two innovations, which remind us forcibly of what the Khmers by the corresponding period had already done or were certainly going to do. Firstly, in place of the simple family names borne by the earlier princeps, Vespasian introduced an official title distinguishing the emperor from the ordinary citizen, and expressing the continuity of office. Secondly, all future emperors devoted much attention to genealogy, and in every inscription (how like the Khmers!), a royal pedigree was recited so designed as to disguise any breaks in continuity. At the same time great stress was laid on the deification of ancestors. Vespasian introduced strict measures to restore financial stability, and also strengthened military discipline so as to make sure that the army remained subordinated to the principate. In all else he was content to model his actions on those of Augustus, and to carry on the measures the founder had initiated. This included the avoidance of anything savouring of autocratic rule: he was careful to maintain a friendly attitude to the Senate, whose function was largely to keep him in touch with public opinion. The principate thus restored by Vespasian, his successors of the Flavian line were able to maintain it without further difficulty. Their lasting achievement was the re-establishment of confidence in the permanence of the system. Architecture, under the Julio-Claudian emperors had remained subdued, because of the continuing influence of Augustan moderation. A great change had come about with the splendours of Nero's extravagant palaces. Vespasian gave back part of Nero's Golden House to the people. His artistic tastes have been called middleclass and old-fashioned, but in building his Temple of Peace, which is no longer extant, he intended to make it a symbol of the restored pax Augusta, and so he followed Augustan styles. Painting of his day too, the so-called Pompeian "fourth style", harked back to the Pompeian "second style" that belonged to the early Augustan period. But then architecture made a great step forward, in keeping with the quickening of local genius. We see this in the beautiful arch of Titus, with its first use of vivid commemorative reliefs; above all in the Colosseum which, in the force and power of its mighty elevation, introduced a hitherto unattained degree of Romanization. In Kambuja, the example set by Jayavarman II was worthily carried on Until A.D. 921. A much larger enclosure for the city of Angkor, surrounded by moats over two hundred yards wide, and with Mount Bakeng as its centre, had been marked out towards the end of the ninth century. In 921, taking advantage of the minority of two young princes, their uncle the regent seized Angkor. He was driven out by forces supporting the princes, and established a new capital at Koh Ker about a hundred miles north of Angkor. It is more than a matter of incidental interest that he tried to transplant the Royal God, taking with him the chief priest. Obviously he realized the importance of associating his rule with the established basis of Khmer kingship, and indeed he proceeded to set up on a tall pyramid the largest linga that http://amekhmer.free.fr 2001-2005

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had ever been made in Kambuja. Taking the title of Jayavarman IV, he maintained his independence during the very short reigns of each of the two princes, who set up their own Devaraja linga in charge of another priest. On their death the usurper succeeded to the rule of all Kambuja. Although he was able to pass on the succession to his son, the latter reigned but a short time. In 944 he was deposed by a cousin, Rajendravarman II, who had the great advantage of being able to claim descent from the old legitimate rulers. And it is noteworthy, that, like Vespasian, he gave much attention to recording his genealogy, thus providing a sound title for his descendants. In the words of an inscription "having obtained his throne and dispersed his enemies" Rajendravarman soon returned to Angkor, with the descendants of the old family of Sivakaivalya who ministered to the Royal God. There is little doubt that the praise he receives in inscriptions as restorer of the city is well merited: For example one says: "He restored the holy city long deserted, and rendered it superb and charming, by erecting there houses ornamented with shining gold, palaces glittering with precious stones, like the palace of Indra." During his reign of twentyfour years he built many temples and showed great religious tolerance. The architecture of those typically Khmer structures, the pyramid-shrines, made enormous progress. Besides these, and dating from the end of Rajendravarman's reign, a temple especially worthy of mention is the beautiful and justly famous little Banteay Srei, "Citadel of the Women", universally acknowledged as a gem of Angkorian architecture. The style of this temple combines certain important innovations with a curious harking back to influences which must have been introduced from Java in Jayavarman II's reign. This invites comparison with the harking back of Vespasian's art, suggesting that this is a characteristic to be expected in such a period of restoration. Despite the troubled times in which he succeeded, there had been no loss of territory, and under Rajendravarman's vigorous rule there was peace and prosperity. The same may be said of his son Jayavarman V who, coming to the throne at an early age, reigned for thirtyfour years. Like his father he received a full mead of praise, and the names of many of his distinguished ministers are known. It was an age of erudition, and it is said that perhaps at no other period were there more distinguished scholars and dignitaries at court. While local tendencies and interpretations were ever gaining ground, interest in Indian "science", epic literature, and the ability to write inscriptions in correct Sanskrit, remained in high esteem. One piece of evidence as to the growth of local trends is provided by the elevated social and political position now occupied by women in Kambuja. Chinese writers mention that they held important political posts, and were even judges, with good knowledge of astrology and administration. From what has been said above, I think we should be right in concluding that it was not so much outright usurpation as the civil war that usually accompanied a disputed succession, that most threatened the stability of the realm. But in both the Khmer and Roman cases the new constitution had weathered a critical period of danger and had emerged further strengthened. Nevertheless a royal house might deteriorate, or a particular ruler show himself so unworthy as to indicate that the gods disavowed him. Then outright usurpation might prove beneficial, once the preservation of the constitution had been recognized as the first duty of all. Though after Vespasian and Rajendravarman there was peace and prosperity once more, it seems that some new stimulus was needed that would raise each empire to the peak of its grandeur. In each case this was provided by a virtual outsider: an interloper who, while anxious to act in the best interests of the State, and uphold its wellestablished traditions (could he easily have done otherwise as things now stood?) would be the means of transfusing new blood into the body politic. Only such a one could plan http://amekhmer.free.fr 2001-2005

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with sufficient freedom and vision to undertake whatever expansion might be needed to raise the State to the greatest heights of which it was capable.

CHAPTER V THE GRANDEUR THAT WAS ... The Grandeur that was “Rome “ and “Angkor” is our theme. Rome's period of supreme grandeur Tunder the emperors lasted for only eighty-two years (98-180.AD) A.D.), while that of the Khmer Empire lasted more than twice as long (1002-1215 A.D) A.D.). In each case we can discern three natural phases of grandeur, namely of introduction, of development, and of preservation, meaning by the latter term something more positive than passively maintaining the status quo. We can tabulate the human agents of these phases as follows: Introducers Trajan, 98-117 A.D.

Developers Hadrian 117-138

Preservers Marcus Aurelius 161-180

Suryavarman I, 1001-1050

Suryavarman II, 1113-1150

jayavarman VII, 1181-1215

These rulers were agents of change, change that is to say within the limits of what may in its entirety be called the period of greatness. Besides these there were rulers of small historical significance, of whom we shall need to say little or nothing. The archetype for such would be the only Roman example, Antoninus Pius, who followed Hadrian as a stopgap but remained for twentythree years, without so far as can be easily observed making any contribution. It has been said of him that he lacked both ambition and energy, but it might be truer to say that he ruled so placidly because at the time no novel contribution was really needed. An outsider introduced the period of supreme grandeur in each empire, and we shall begin with Trajan, although here is no special reason for giving priority to the Roman. It happened like this: In the year A.D. 97 the government of the Roman Empire had come into the hands of the weak and elderly Nerva, and civil war again seemed imminent. This was averted by the timely action of Nerva, shortly before his death, aided by his equally elderly advisers. He decided to adopt as his son and successor Trajan, the commander of the army in Upper Germany. What actuated their choice is unknown, for Nerva passed over several of his own kinsmen; but Trajan was in the best position to march on Rome if some other general from a more remote province had been summoned. Henceforth in Rome adoption was to play an important part in securing an orderly succession. Trajan was a provincial of Spanish descent, but the Romans of Spain were regarded as second only to the Italian-born. He came to Rome as rather a stranger, for his long military service abroad had placed him somewhat apart from the intrigues of Rome senatorial http://amekhmer.free.fr 2001-2005

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circles. Setting no store on worldly honours he was open-hearted and natural, his power was firmly based on the loyalty of his legions, and he quickly won the support of the Senate. Indeed the senators , knowing their own in capacity, were glad to place full power in his hands. His genius for leadership, coupled with his wisdom in listening to the advice of his friends, fitted him to fulfil his role of enabling Rome to achieve her full destiny. Ideas of duty and discipline were inculcated among officials on a sounder basis than had been the case for many a long year. Trajan is usually thought of as primarily a warrioremperor whose exploits recall the heroic deeds of Julius Caesar. But his lasting conquests were not just the results of mere military adventure but the outcome of a well-conceived policy, suggested by the needs of the State, which must indeed have become obvious. The need was primarily to secure the Danube frontier, in view of the increasingly threatening attitude of the barbarians beyond. The kingdom of Dacia (modern Rumania) occupied a position which a glance at a map will show to have constituted a menace to Italy as well as to Greece and Asia Minor. Its king was known to be preparing for war. So after two campaigns Dacia was finally subdued in 105, and reduced to the status of a Roman province. This latter fate was brought upon the king by his own action in violating a treaty after the first campaign, a treaty which had secured him more lenient treatment. The speed and promptitude with which the new territory was organized suggests that Trajan was following a carefully prepared policy, which could be implemented in whatever degree was required. His careful reorganization of the Danube frontier brought peace and prosperity to the region for half a century, and indicates the sound basis on which Trajan began his career of conquest. The same cannot be said of his conquests to the east, where he far exceeded the practical measures needed for safeguarding the frontiers. He seems to have been carried away by a desire to emulate Alexander, and this led him into a war of aggression against Parthia. We need not follow his conquests of Armenia in 114, and subsequently of Mesopotamia, which only led to widespread revolts. These he lacked the power or the physical strength to suppress. Obliged by ill-health to turn homewards, he died on the way in 1' 7. As the chronicler remarks "All in vain were the toils and the dangers". Trajan himself worked hard, and was well served by a band of hard-working administrative officials, and above them by his own intimates to whose influence he was sensitive. At least prior to his eastern campaigns he allowed no desire for personal fame to cloud his judgment. Foremost among his personal advisers and confidants was L. Licinius Sura, a Spaniard like himself, who had been with him in Germany and throughout the Dacian wars. The efforts of the enemies, who to one in his position were inevitable, to undermine the emperor's confidence in him were doomed to failure. It has been said that his death about 1 1 0 was an evil day for Rome; for he had the influence that could have dissuaded Trajan from undertaking his Parthian campaigns. Trajan shunned the extravagant palace-building that had been a feature of some of his predecessors' reigns. Instead he was responsible for some outstanding public works, mainly in the period between his Dacian and Parthian wars. Even before this time he had constructed a new canal to carry off dangerous flood water, and had also made constructions to tap better water supplies for the Aventine. In 109 he opened to public use the Baths on the Oppian, as well as the Naumachia, the latter probably situated near the castle of Sant'Angelo, and fed by the Aqua Traiana bringing water from Lakc Bracciano. Similarly in the provinces the first concern of Trajan's administration, while he was also responsible for much valuable governmental reform and social legislation, was for public utility: aqueducts, harbours, roads and bridges. In Rome the completion of his great http://amekhmer.free.fr 2001-2005

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schemes of public works were celebrated by grand scale games and exhibitions. His own particular choice of sport was hunting, but undoubtedly the provision of these expensive games and exhibitions greatly enhanced his popularity with the masses. The introducer of Angkor's period of supreme grandeur was similarly an outsider: a son of the king of Tambra-linga a small State on the Malay Peninsula, which had recently become free from the suzerainty of Sumatran Srivijaya. His mother was a Khmer princess, but the probability that he was a usurper is ill-disguised by the attempts made by his ministers in inscriptions to provide genealogies tracing his descent from the early Khmer kings, claims which are remote and uncertain at best. It would seem that this young Tambralinga prince's chance came when there was a disputed succession at Angkor following the death of jayavarman V. After a considerable struggle he was successful in seizing the throne, with the title of Suryavarman I. We know nothing of the details of this first warlike venture on the part of one -who was perhaps the boldest strategist and greatest conqueror that South-east Asia has ever known. That considerable force was employed seems clear enough from the following reference to his accession in an inscription: "Enflamed by Sri (glory), Sri Suryavarman, whose sword broke the circle of his enemies, obtained, for the prosperity of the earth, the desired royalty." Despite the panegyric tone, in view of the subsequent record of his reign, we need not discount the suggestion that he was imbued with ideas beyond those of selfish gain. That Suryavarman I realized that a victory gained by force alone might soon prove illusory, is indicated firstly by the importance attached to his heriditary claims; even more so by the care with which he maintained the established royal religion of the Devaraja in the aspect of Siva. This is particularly noteworthy because his personal religion, as one would expect from one who came from within the ambit of the Srivijaya Empire, was Mahayana Buddhism. This was a religion that had not yet been brought into association with the Khmer Royal God cult, and any sudden attempts to do so would have been upsetting to the great hereditary families who controlled the priesthood and the royal religious rites. Suryavarman was only acting with the common prudence that the prestige of the established constitution demanded, when he confirmed all these high functionaries in office, as well as most of the lesser dignitaries. However an important change of farreaching consequence, which one imagines had to await the coming of a ruler with fresh ideas, came when early in the reign the chief priest of the Royal God died. His son succeeded him in office, but was shortly afterwards released from the sacerdotal service: he was married to the queen's sister and made minister of public works. Then he began a large programme of restoration of temples damaged in the recent fighting, the building of monasteries and the construction of irrigation works. One may see in this innovation a wise desire on Suryavarman's part to make a wider use of the abilities of the family of Sivakaivalya, the most able family of dignitaries in the land: in future none of them remained exclusively concerned with priestly duties. By the year 1001 Suryavarman had so far consolidated his rule over Kambuja, as to consider coolly those directions in which his warlike capacities could best be employed to expand the empire to what appeared to him to be its natural limits. This meant relatively a much larger undertaking than Trajan's legitimate conquests in Dacia, because so far Kambuja's territories had remained comparatively restricted. So far as the east was concerned Suryavarman evidently thought that the interests of the State would best be served by strengthening the peaceful relations existing with Champa and China. This left him free to turn his whole attention towards the west. It seems that his father was still reigning in Tambralifiga, and with the help of the latter who came from the south "with a large army and many ships", Suryavarman, undertook the conquest of the Môn kingdoms http://amekhmer.free.fr 2001-2005

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of the Menam valley as well as the Korat plateau. Thus he added to Kambuj a the whole of what is now central and eastern Siam. The Môns were Hinayana Buddhists, very different from their conqueror's personal religion, but he treated them with a toleration comparable with the wisdom he had shown in his attitude towards the Khmer State religion. Next the Khmer emperor extended his sway over the Malay Peninsula, down to the Isthmus of Kra, and in due course he inherited his father's small kingdom of Tambralifiga. Some traditions suggest that he carried on wars even further to the west, and he may have made raids into the Môn kingdom that then occupied the Irrawaddy Delta. But it would appear that he had the good sense not to attempt expansion into Burma. Had he done so his successors would have found themselves face to face with the great King of Pagan, Anuruddha: they would then have had no choice but a costly disengagement such as the ill-advised eastern wars of Trajan in Parthia entailed for his successor Hadrian. The mountains of western Burma formed a natural frontier for the Khmer Empire. In the field of temple architecture, Suryavarman I mainly concerned himself with finishing and embellishing the work of his immediate predecessors: this again suggests his desire to do all he could to sustain the State religion. Perhaps it was his expeditions far afield that gave him an appreciation of fine scenery, for it is a noteworthy characteristic of his later work that this consisted mainly of additions and improvements to temples situated in the midst of wild mountain scenery. From his knowledge of customs further west, he contributed the practice of gilding !owers and domes, which had not previously been mentioned in Khmer inscriptions. He made some improvements to the royal palace at Angkor, which as became the climate was built of timber. He surrounded it with a fine wall, and on one of the porches of access he caused to be carved the lengthy "oath of allegiance" which henceforth all high officials were required to take. He also made several constructions on the Grand Plaza fronting the palace enclosure. Here, as is indicated by later bas-reliefs on the enclosing wall, processions took place and there were entertainments for the populace. Nevertheless in the capital the fame of Suryavarman 1, and of his gifted minister of works, is chiefly associated with the wonderful system of waterways, water storage basins and fountains which for centuries aroused the admiration of all comers to the city. The conservation of water at Angkor had already been taken in hand more than a hundred years before his reign, and improved from time to time. But the fully developed system of canals, reservoirs and fountains is certainly to be attributed to Suryavarman. There was plenty of water in a country so favoured with heavy rain, but it needed proper distribution. Not only Angkor but other towns were provided with large artificial lakes fed by the river. These lakes at Angkor reached the enormous dimensions in some cases of eight by two kilometres, not dug but built up with raised dikes. An elaborate system of canals and sluices provided for irrigation and transport. Besides these there was a vast number of basins, at least a thousand at Angkor, which were scattered throughout the city, and partly used for drinking water or to breed fish. But during the dry season many of them were mainly used as public baths, for the heat of the dry season made frequent ablution a necessity. One of Suryavarman's most popular and extensive gifts to the Khmer people therefore ran a close parallel to that of Trajan and other Roman emperors: the provision of aqueducts and public baths. Suryavarman's government was strong, and his organization of the newly acquired territories efficient and lasting.' He brought Kambuja great prosperity. A recent historian of the Khmer Empire has written: "On the whole, in his skill as a warrior, organizer and ruler,

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his fine spirit of toleration, his habit of surrounding himself with scholarly and high-minded advisers, his patronage of art and architecture and his promotion of public improvements, he rates high among the kings of Ancient Cambodia - perhaps the highest. Compared with his rivals [to the succession] his strength seems to have lain in his balanced judgment. He made few mistakes, exhibited no weaknesses. His work endured."' The correctness of this last statement is amply borne out by future long-term developments in Kambuja, and justifies our paying little attention to indications of internal unrest which can be culled from the scanty information provided by inscriptions during the next six decades. What is certain is that the extent of the Empire suffered no diminution, and there was no setback in the steady development of Khmer architecture during this period, both of which facts are good indications of prosperity.' In the early part of the period was built the gilded Baphuon, by far the largest temple-mountain so far constructed, and embellished with elaborate bas-relief and other decoration. The West Mebon temple was of the same style. Then, late in the eleventh century, followed the huge temple of Beng Melea, one of the grandest of Khmer temples though now much ruined. It was built all on one plane, but in other respects foreshadows Angkor Wat, the chef d'oeuvre of Khmer architecture. The newly incorporated territories to the west shared in the general prosperity, as lasting evidence of which we have the splendid temple of Phimai that was founded about this time in eastern Siam, as well as several other elaborate constructions. (1)L. P. Briggs, The Ancient Khmer Empire, Philadelphia, 1951, P. 168. (2)B. Groslier (Indocbiha, p. 120 seems to recognize the essentially cultural nature of the evolution when he writes: "After the Banteay Srei style Khmer art went on almost unaffected by political struggles, and the successive phases of its development never exactly correspond with changes of dynasty: a fact which, one may note, proves the power and vitality of Khmer civilization, from henceforth so solidly established that a change of persons on the throne could not hold back its elan For the Khmers the period of maximum development is certainly to be associated with the reign of Suryavarman II (1113-1150)- If I deal with him before I consider the corresponding Roman emperor Hadrian, it is because while both endeavoured to express symbolically through the form and grandeur of their architecture the achievement of "world empire", the Khmers were greater masters of the art. In fact it is they who enable us better to understand the concepts involved. The young emperor Suryavarman II took up the reins of government with vigour, after a ceremony of accession which is said to have surpassed in magnificence any similar Khmer inauguration. Throughout his reign he spent much of his time in the northern parts of the Empire, in what is now Siam and Laos, developing these provinces, and founding many temples, as is recorded in inscriptions found there. The care that he lavished on these outer regions must have been a means of winning the confidence of the local chiefs, and so he was able to expand his army very considerably by means of auxiliary forces, such as the Tai legion that is depicted under the command of their own officers on the bas-reliefs of Angkor Wat. This shows that a practice, paralleling that introduced by Hadrian in the Roman army, was being followed; in neither case was it foreseen at the time that it would ultimately bring trouble. The fact that former rulers had not over-reached themselves by invading Burma meant that Suryavarman 11 had nothing to worry about on that score; however he evidently had misgivings about the safety of the eastern frontier. He probably had good reason to fear the intentions of the now wealthy kingdom of Champa. Suffice here to say that the military http://amekhmer.free.fr 2001-2005

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measures he took were both indecisive and provocative. The problem remained for future settlement. On the whole Suryavarman worthily fulfilled his obvious role of developing the assets and internal welfare of an Empire which seemed to have reached its natural limits of expansion. Within this framework his wise leadership is manifested for the good of the State in every direction of which we have any indication. In 1116 16 he re-opened diplomatic relations with China which had been in abeyance since the time of jayavarman II. While strongly supporting the cult of the Royal God, he was to some extent a religious reformer. Perhaps it was because he already sensed a slight change of emphasis on the future functions of the State deity that he preferred to worship the Deparaja under the aspect of Visnu, who in the Hindu trinity is the preserver. Throughout his reign he showed munificence in his generous gifts to temples and monasteries, and in his many new foundations. He was a great builder, and in his own temple-mountain, Angkor Wat, Khmer architecture reached its apogee. But this was only the most magnificent of a number of fine, but smaller, constructions in the same perfectly balanced style. A point worth noting is that from now on Khmer sculpture is much influenced by the Indian post-Gupta style that had lingered in the Menam valley of central Siam. This apparent revival of Indian influence in the realm of sculpture is due to the expansion of the Khmer dominion having brought artists in contact with the conservative styles that were still in vogue in the Môn country. A secondary characteristic, originating in Mesopotamia, of temples, royal palaces and cities in the ancient world was that they were held to represent microcosms, corresponding to the macrocosm of the universe. Humanity being under the influence of forces emanating from stars and planets, a condition of harmony in this world was obtained by organizing the microcosm in such manner that it was an image on a smaller scale of the universe. Though at first sight an abstract conception, this symbolism has really a very practical intention, since it was supposed that prosperity depended on the maintenance of this magical relationship. Such cosmological symbolism, attaching to temples, palaces and the royal city itself, was widespread in India and Southeast Asia in the case of Hindu and Buddhist temples; it was also well understood at the capitals of Burma, Java and, in later times, of Siam. In the Khmer temples of the Royal God, however, the idea was secondary to that whereby the great pyramid was regarded as the substitute body of the chthonic State deity. Nevertheless Angkor Wat was certainly conceived as a microcosm, and it is hardly by chance that this most harmonious and well-proportioned, most carefully built and delicately carved of all Khmer monuments was called into being at the peak of the Khmer Golden Age. Though the imperial palace at Angkor, being built of wood, has disappeared, there is no doubt that the same cosmological symbolism was applied to it: the throne was situated at a magically central point through which ran the axis of the universe, and by means of this the emperor remained constantly in touch with the divine sources of the State's fertility. It may by now have occurred to the reader that the qualifications needed in a developer were of a sort not likely to be rare in an empire approaching its zenith. It is what we should rather expect. And it so happens that, as concerns Rome, this thought is succinctly expressed by Warde Fowler: "Probably Hadrian was only one of many who might have done as well as he did, for there was now a spirit abroad of intelligent industry directed to the good e State."' But Hadrian happened to be Trajan's nephew.

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Although Hadrian shared Trajan's Spanish descent he was educated in Rome. He adopted a military career and gained much experience in Trajan's eastern campaigns. Hard as iron, when circumstances demanded it he could suddenly deal out death and destruction. But that was not his normal nature, for he had an essentially simple and kindly disposition. At the same time he cultivated such wide interests that he could as well set an example to his soldiers as associate on terms of equality with intellectuals. Trajan had not formally indicated his desire for his nephew to succeed him, but when the emperor died in 117, the army in Syria immediately accepted Hadrian as princeps, and this was followed by the Senate's formal acceptance. Hadrian at once showed himself to be primarily a statesman and a lover of peace, so he set about the task of restoring order in the disturbed eastern regions and consolidating the Empire. Of Trajan's conquests in the east only Arabia Petraea was kept; more important. by far was the retention of Dacia and the improved organization of that province. Further he constructed a great frontier barrier from the Danube to the Rhine. His first thoughts therefore were for consolidating, not for enlarging, the territories of the Empire. Beyond that his efforts were to be concentrated on directing the Empire's energies towards its own internal needs. Hadrian won the affection of the people by his lavish bounties, and indeed by his charitable work generally. The Senate soon did homage to the man "who had restored and enriched the circle of the earth", the being who had been called by the gods to work for the prosperity of all, and they lavished divine honours on him. So in order to understand the essential humility of his own outlook we must realize that he deliberately took Augustus as his model and kept that ideal steadfastly before him. It was in this role that he pursued the worship of Roman tradition, coupled with the appreciation of Greek learning but with greater energy than did Augustus. "Hadrian knew what tradition meant for the State and was on his guard against altering old forms. But these forms received ever fresh content."' Is not this passage that I have quoted a striking recognition of the ever growing power of the Roman local genius? A feature of Hadrian's reign, and one which closely parallels Suryavarman II's frequent absence in the provinces, is his restless journeying through the Empire. In all he devoted some twelve of his twenty-one years of rule to these travels, wishing as he did to make the theory of the emperor's omnipresence a reality. It was of course a prime necessity of this era of consolidation and development. That is dearly indicated by what he accomplished on these tours: inspecting troops, hearing petitions, initiating the building of roads, temples, town-halls and baths. His activities on their behalf everywhere won the hearts of a great diversity of peoples. To one result of this I have already alluded: Hadrian changed the basis of the Roman army which had hitherto been recruited from Rome and Italy. He decreed that henceforth the army should be raised and officers trained from the inhabitants of the provinces where the particular unit of the army was stationed. Furthermore he recruited frontiersmen as militia quartered in their own camps as nonRomanized units devoid of the spirit of Rome. At a later date this provincialization and decentralization of the army was to have serious repercussions. I have mentioned how the extension of the Khmer power over the Môn kingdoms in the Menarn valley brought about a revival of interest at Angkor in the Gupta or post-Gupta classical style. Now Hadrian's ravels, in this case to Athens, coupled with his admiration for the Greek civilization, resulted in a new desire at Rome to cultivate a purely Greek style of classical sculpture, though these were now produced with a freshness that makes them more than mere copies. http://amekhmer.free.fr 2001-2005

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It has only recently been recognized that the cosmological symbolism to which I have referred in the case of Angkor was also a feature, and with very similar aims in view, of Roman imperial architecture. Though the idea, of Mesopotamian origin, had probably been known since Etruscan times, it was not until the attainment of the period of maximum stability and grandeur that it flowered on Roman soil. Thus, while there are some indications of it in Nero's Golden House, it is in Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli that there can be no longer any doubt as to what was in the emperor's mind when he planned this amazing palace. Here he brought together the miniature representations of the most notable places he had seen in the course of his travels in the empire: the Vale of Tempe in Thessaly, the Canopus of the Nile Delta, Athens with its Academy, Lyceum, Prytaneum and the Stoa Poikile; but the microcosm would not have been complete without an Orcus (Hades) and Elysium as conceived by the poets. At one with the State deity, he tried to manifest the Supreme Unity by unifying his diverse interests, and one object of his continuous journeying was to unite the diverse regions of his Empire and show himself as both omnipresent and omniscient. It seems almost certain that that most perfect of all Roman buildings the Pantheon, rebuilt by Hadrian in the form known to us, was intended as a microcosm just as much as was his Villa. Apparently it was dedicated to the seven planetary deities, with its pierced dome as image of the celestial orb. The first Pantheon,, built by Agrippa in 27 B.C., contained the statues of Venus, Mars and Caesar, later honoured in the splendid temple of Mars Ultor, so the cosmological symbolism would have been secondary to the worship of the State fertility deities, just as was the case at Angkor. For irrefragable evidence of the application of the cosmological symbolism to a temple in Hadrian's time we have, however, to go to the temple of Bel at Palmyra, with its definitely stellar decoration. By whatever means, Hadrian's efforts to parallel the divine order on earth were certainly successful; and they were profoundly appreciated by Senate and People. In the year 137, after twenty years of reign, they paid homage to him, in a never-previously equalled demonstration, as the promoter of their welfare: "Thanks were given to the gods who protected him and helped him to maintain peace and security, who had given the Golden Age, the time of good fortune for Rome and the world."' We may pause here a moment to reflect that the cosmological symbolism which Khmer and Roman rulers made to serve them so well in the cause of imperial development, is by no means dead or forgotten in out time, and may well become a living force in global politics of the future. The reason for this is that it happens to form a not inconsiderable element in the traditional culture of many of the emergent nations. These, as I have already pointed out, tend to find moral strength in their own traditional beliefs, even though these must to a great extent operate beneath a Western cloak. Here I have particularly in mind China and Indonesia, to both of whom the idea of cosmic unity is simply a part of their age-old philosophy, in terms of which it seems perfectly natural to them to wish to shape their future. The danger is that they may fail to distinguish between attempting to achieve oneness in the world as it was known to them in earlier days, and the temptation to try to impose unity on their terms throughout our planet. The Communist theory of world revolution readily allies itself with such a goal, and the nuclear weapon holds out a means of attainment as alluring as once was the magic of cosmic symbolism. Well may India, non-Communist India, need such resources of inner strength as she can derive from the Bhagavad Gita in view of the stark dangers that lurk beyond or on her frontiers. http://amekhmer.free.fr 2001-2005

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