Hariharalaya was the ancient capital of the Khmer empire situated near Siem Reap City, Cambodia at a location known today as Roluos. What remains of the city are the ruins of a number of regal temples: Preah Ko, the Bakong, Lolei. The name "Hariharalaya" was taken from the name of Harihara, a Hindu lord prominent within pre-Angkorian Cambodia. The name "Harihara" in fact, is the blend of "Hari", one of Vishnu's names outlined in Vishnu Sahasranama and "Hara", meaning the Hindu lord Shiva.
Cambodian representations of Harihara were of a male deity who bore the attributes of Vishnu on one side, and those of Shiva on the other. For instance, the deity's headdress contains the mitre-type hat of Vishnu on one side and the twisted locks of Shiva’s hair on the other. The Bakong is a regal temple hill created by King Indravarman I on Hariharalaya.
Toward the end of the 8th century A.D., the Cambodian king Jayavarman II vanquished vast territories close to the great lake Tonle Sap. During this period, he built his capital on Hariharalaya. But, when he proclaimed himself the universal monarch of the country in 802 A.D., he did so not at Hariharalaya, but at the Kulen Plateau. Later, he moved the main city to Hariharalaya, where he eventually died in A.D. 835.
Jayavarman II was succeeded by Jayarvarman III and next by Indravarman I, who was responsible for the completion of the regal hill temple named the Bakong, as well as Indratatakabaray. Indravarman I consecrated the temple's dominating religious symbol, a lingam known as Sri Indresvara (the name is an amalgamation of the King's titleand that of Shiva), in 881. Indravarmanalso built a smaller temple today known as PreahKo, ("Sacred Bull"), in 880.
In 889, Indravarman I was succeeded by his son Yasovarman I, who created the temple of Lolei (the name is possibly a contemporary interpretation of "Hariharalaya") on an artificial isle in the center of Indratataka. Yasovarman also created a new city at the site of Angkor Thom, north of modern-day Siem Reap, and named it Yasodharapura. Yasovarmannamed this new city his capital and built another regal hill temple, named the Bakheng. Yasodharapura resided as the capitaluntil the 1170s, when it was sacked by invaders from Champa.
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