Banteay Samré

Banteay Samré
The central tower of the temple
Banteay Samré Location in Cambodia
Name
Proper name	Prasat Banteay Samré
Geography
Coordinates	13°26′32″N 103°57′33″E / 13.44222°N 103.95917°E / 13.44222; 103.95917Coordinates: 13°26′32″N 103°57′33″E / 13.44222°N 103.95917°E / 13.44222; 103.95917
Country	Cambodia
Province	Siem Reap
Locale	Angkor
Architecture
Architectural styles	Khmer (Angkor Wat style)
History and governance
Date built	Fist half of the 12th century
Creator	Suryavarman II, continued by Yasovarman II

Banteay Samré (Khmer: ប្រាសាទបន្ទាយសំរែ) is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, located 400 metres to the east of the East Baray. Built during the reign of Suryavarman II and Yasovarman II in the early 12th century, it is a Hindu temple in the Angkor Wat style.

Named after the Samré, an ancient people of Indochina, the temple uses the same materials as the Banteay Srei.

Banteay Samré was excellently restored by Maurice Glaize from 1936 until 1944. The design of its single ogival tower is immediately recognizable as Angkor Wat style along with other temples in the region such as Thommanon and Chau Say Tevoda. Due to this temple looks familiar with a few monuments of north-east Thailand, it has very much appearance of a compacted Phimai. While there are no inscription describing about its foundation, it seems likely to be built by a high official of the court during the reign of King Suryavarman II.

It has a single tower over the shrine and this is connected by an antarala to a mandapa. All of this is flanked by two libraries and two concentric gallery enclosures surround the ensemble. Banteay Samré is approached by a long raised causeway's length 200m to the east, suggests that this temple enclosed a reasonably sized town as well as the temple at its heart. An avenue of 350m leads from the East Baray, ending in another cruciform terrace at the west side of the temple. The outer enclosure wall is 6 metre high and inner enclosure have gopuras at the cardinal points.