The archaeological complex of Preah Khan (de) Kampong Svay (Khmer: ព្រះ ខ័ន នៅ កំពង់ស្វាយ) or Prasat Bakan (according to local pronunciation) or Bakan Svay Rolay is located 100 km east of Angkor in the province of Preah Vihear, in Cambodia. It is the largest religious complex ever built during the Angkoran era, since its outer enclosure is approximately 5 square kilometers [1], even if the isolated location makes it one of the less visited Angkorian sites.

History

There are few historical data on Preah Khan Kompong Svay. French scholars argued that it had been founded in the 11th century, probably by Suryavarman I. [2]: 136 [3]: 95 It was a royal residence during the reign of Suryavarman II and even Jayavarman VII lived here, before recovering the capital of Yasodharapura of Chams invading in 1181, and improved the complex.

The rediscovery of the complex

After some French missions at the turn of the 19th century, Victor Goloubew in 1937 conducted aerial surveys that revealed the actual extent of the complex.

Many famous Khmer sculptures come from here, such as the putative head of Jayavarman VII that is displayed in the National Museum of Phnom Penh. The sculptures and sculptures of Kompong Svay's Preah Khan are among the peaks of Khmer art and temples were largely looted in the past by official expeditions such as Louis Delaporte's, while thieves damaged many structures by looting sculptures and sculptures from the second half of the 1990s.