Angkor Thom

Translated as 'Great City', Angkor Thom was the last and longest-serving capital of the Khmer Empire. The now abandoned city covers an area of 3.5 square miles (9 square kilometres) and was established by King Jayavarman VII as part of his grand and ambitious building programme. At the centre of Angkor Thom is King Jayavarman's state temple, Bayon, while within the city are the remains of an earlier Khmer capital, Yasodharapa, which the newer city overlapped, as well as buildings and temples established by successors to King Jayavarman. The impressive city was thought to have been home to as many as one million people at its peak, making it part of the largest pre-industrial settlement in the world.