76 members of the same family, or cousins, and a single individual may at times occupy multiple official positions. In the Angkor dynasty 26 kings ruled for around 550 years, and among them 18 won the throne and were crowned after wars of succession. This was by no means something limited to the royal family or royal lineage, but a system whereby native rulers or officials with aptitude could acquire the throne. The kingship was not a hereditary position, and the fact that he was referred to as “God King” did not ensure his status. A king who was possessed of the talent needed for the job was sought for and enthroned. That precisely was the reason why Angkor Wat was erected over a period spanning 35 years, for that was the type of political ability demanded of the king. We understood then that it was not essentially an issue decided by the family lineage or genealogy of the king, but rather by another factor, namely meritocracy. It is said that Angkor Wat was built by Suryavarman II and Angkor Thom by Jayavarman VII, at the height of the prosperity of the dynasty. How are these “II” and “VII” determined? On scrutinizing the historical inscriptional data, we see that several kings had the name “Jayavarman.” Hence, later researchers wrote the names of the kings as they emerged in the inscriptions in order, era-wise. For instance, if the king’s name was Jayavarman, on the first occasion his name appeared he was called Jayavarman I. Each king had the word “varman” affixed to this name, a word that means “great person.” The word “Jaya” means victory, and “Surya” means sun. As soon as the king is crowned, he is required to spend several years erecting a new capital city based on the Cambodian concept of the cosmos, a vast temple for the protection of the nation, and a luxurious royal palace. In the faith involving worship of the “God King” there existed a hereditary family line, whose members held responsibility for these ceremonies as a profession, and who monopolized the God King’s sacred rites. This “Devarāja” (the word Deva signifies God and Rāja signifies King), wherein worship was directed to the “God
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