A Shaivite sanctuary on an extinct volcano, reached by a stone causeway and a stair, with the temple of Muang Tam and its four L-shaped ponds on the flat below.
The works of three centuries stand together here, and the work of this reign is a Buddhist king's gifts to a Shaivite place: the pavilion where he changed his dress, a hospital chapel and a rest house on the road. It shows how the reign treats the older gods, which is by building round them and not by tearing them down. The two library halls are assigned to the 13th century; whether either stands on 1 January 1200 is not known.
The sanctuary turned Buddhist at some later date. The family that held the place is a regional line of the Angkor court, and no name stands for this winter.
Who holds it
- Title
- Keeper of the sanctuary and its foundations (not named)
- Since
- not known
- Born
- not known
- Family
- not known
- Confidence
- low
English Wikipedia (Phanom Rung Historical Park; Prasat Muang Tam): two brick sanctuaries of the 10th century, a sandstone Prang Noi of the 11th, the central sanctuary of the 12th, two library halls assigned to the 13th; under Jayavarman VII the pavilion where the king changed his dress, the hermitages (Kudi Rishi) of Nong Bua Ray, a hospital chapel and the rest house at Prasat Ban Bu. Neither page names a priest.
Overlord
The king, through the local princely line of the campaign board (see the lords' record); the line is not named for 1200.
What it holds
- The sanctuary, its causeway and stair
- Muang Tam with its ponds and reservoir
- Endowed villages between them (not located)
How things stand that morning
In use and recently favoured; the king's own additions are fresh.
Places of note
- Prasat Muang Tam: The temple on the flat below, four L-shaped ponds (board placement agrees with Wikipedia to under 1 km).
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Monument phases and the king's additions from English Wikipedia; staff and lands unknown.
On the map: A disc over both temples; the endowed villages are not located.
Primary sources for Khmer empire
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The Abridged History of Viet, Anonymous (attributed by some to Su Hy Nhan) (about 1377, probably as an abridgement of Le Van Huu's lost history of 1272). The oldest surviving Vietnamese history, a century older than the Complete Annals and in places fuller for the Ly dynasty, which fills its second and third books.
- The Complete Annals of Dai Viet, Ngo Si Lien, drawing on Le Van Huu's Dai Viet su ky (1272) and Phan Phu Tien; continued by Pham Cong Tru and Le Hi (1479; printed 1697 in the standard Chinh Hoa edition). The main narrative source for Dai Viet in 1200, compiled in 1479 from Le Van Huu's lost history of 1272. Read online
- The later Tai, Lao and Mon chronicles of the north, Ratanapanna (Jinakalamali); Bodhiramsi (Chamadevivamsa); anonymous monks and court scribes (the Chamadevivamsa about 1410; the Jinakalamali 1516 to 1528; the Chiang Mai Chronicle in its surviving form 1827; the Nithan Khun Borom 16th to 17th century). There is no text of 1200 for the Mon kingdom of Haripunjaya, the Tai muang of Ngoenyang (Chiang Saen), Chiang Rung, the Yom and Nan valleys, or the Lao middle Mekong.
- History of Song, chapters 488 and 489: Jiaozhi, Dali, Champa, Zhenla, Pagan, Srivijaya, Java, Brunei, Chola and Tambralinga, Toqto'a (Tuotuo) and the Yuan history office, from the Song court records (1343 to 1345, from Song veritable records and court diaries). The Chinese court's record of its southern neighbours, compiled from Song archives. Read online
- History of the Song, the chapters on Xia and on foreign states, Toqto'a (脫脫) and the Yuan history office (1343 to 1345). The Song court's accounts of its neighbours, each arranged as an annal of embassies and wars. Read online
- Corpus of the Inscriptions of Campa (EFEO and ISAW), Various (the Cham kings and their officers), edited by Arlo Griffiths, Amandine Lepoutre, William Southworth and Thanh Phan (inscriptions of the 4th to 15th centuries; the online corpus from 2012). The online edition of the Cham inscriptions, with photographs, texts and translations, keyed to the C. numbers. Read online
- The Inscriptions of Cambodia, Various (the Khmer kings and their officers), edited by George Coedes (inscriptions of the 6th to 14th centuries; edited 1937 to 1966). The Khmer empire of 1200 is known almost entirely from the great foundation stelae of Jayavarman VII (reigning from 1181), which Coedes edited: the Ta Prohm stele of 1186 (K. Read online
- The Sanskrit inscriptions of Cambodia and Champa (ISCC), Various (Khmer and Cham kings), edited by Auguste Barth and Abel Bergaigne (inscriptions of the 7th to 12th centuries; edited 1885 to 1893). The founding edition of Khmer and Cham Sanskrit epigraphy, public domain and online, which Coedes's later corpus supersedes but does not replace. Read online
Sources and studies
- English Wikipedia, Phanom Rung Historical Park
- English Wikipedia, Prasat Muang Tam
- English Wikipedia, Jayavarman VII
- OMNIA board notes for the Khmer and Lao area (a lead, not a source)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.