Hero King Jayavarman IV

Jayavarman IV (924-944)

King Jayavarman IV was a brother-in-law of king Yasovarman I. During the year of 910 when king Yasovarman I died, Jayavarman IV attempted to seize power from his nephew king Hurshavarman I in Yasodharapura or Angkor. However, the ambition of king Jayavarman IV was failed, because there was not king Jayavarman IV moved to Koh Ker with his loyalist Brahmins, royal courts, soldiers and the other. Koh Ker was the site located to the north of Angkor for about 100 kilomenters. We do not know if Jayavarman IV moved by himself to set up a new kingdom to separate from his nephew in Angkor or to be forced moving out by the king in Angkor. After a bad accidental moment with his greedy uncle-in-lay had been resolved, king Hurshavarman I took throne of Cambodia in Angkor until he died in 923. Before he died, he had constructed some temples in Yasodharapura. Those temples include Baksei Chamkrong, Prasat Bei and Prasat Kravan so on. Then his brother king Isanavarman II occupied the throne of Cambodia. The new king in Angkor had power only one year then getting disappeared that made us to think if he got kill by his uncle or he died by himself of the illness? Because has no inscription mentioned more details about this. Anyways, then the throne of Cambodia was succeeded by king Jayavarman IV in Koh Ker. King Jayavarman IV had dreams of becomeing king of Cambodia for quite long time since the death of king Yasovarman I. Now his dreams became true. The Sdok Koh Thom inscription only says, “Koh Ker wa the capital city of Cambodia unger the reign of king Jayavarman IV, but the stone stele did not mention the date that Koh Ker was promoted as the capital city”. The another instruction found in Koh Ker itsedlf says the advent of king Jayavarman IV’s projects in 928. Those projects that mentioned in the inscription “the king ordered his Brahmins and his courts to unify and to pacify the nation at Yasodharapura into Koh Ker and constructed temples and water tanks so on. It also mentions about the king’s undertaken to build his new capital city into a powerful city for attractive people and merchants from Angkor moving to his new city of Koh Ker or Chzakakiyari”.