Koh Keh Temple

The history of Koh Ker temple is linked to the obscure figure of King Jayavarman IV, about whom scholars cannot agree whether he was an usurper or not. About five years before he became king, Jayavarman IV left the then capital of Angkor Yashodharapura (which was under the reing of his uncle) and he established at Koh Ker. By moving the capital to this distant area King Jayavarman IV divided the empire and to do so he must have have held considerable power as a military leader. In 1880 Louis Delapore visited the site whilst undertaking a broader study of the Angkor temples. There has not been restoration works at the temple and archaeological surveys were undertaken by cambodia teams in the 1960s but these studies were destroyed during the Khmer Rouge regime.