from the 9th to the 14th centuries,when Europe was still struggling out of dark ages, the cambodian empire of angkor covered most of present-day cambodia, laos, vietnam, and thailand. the heart of this empire during the 12th century was the ancient capital of angkor thom, near present day siem reap, the site of thevworld's largest temple complexes, which were rediscovered in 1861. this spectacular city was built over 30 years under the reign of king suryavarman II (1113-1150). the area covers about 400