Angkor was the site for a series of capitals belonging to the Khmer empire for much of the ninth through fifteenth centuries. These ruins are located amid forests and farmland to the north of the Great Lake (Tonle Sap), near present day Siem Reap, Cambodia, and are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The temples of Angkor, now partially restored, constitute the premier collection of Khmer art and architecture. The resplendent monuments of the Khmer were constructed from AD 879 - 1191, although the site, itself, was inhabited by the Khmers from AD 802 through AD 1431. Yet it was during the twelfth century, when the last temples were built, that the Khmers reached their peak during the reigns of Suryavarman II and Jayavarman VII. And it was from Angkor that these god-kings ruled their grand empire, stretching from the south of Vietnam to Yunan, China and from the western edge of Vietnam to the Bay of Bengal. The monumental temples they built not only proclaimed the king's wealth and status, but they also helped solidify his rule as a god-king by providing a sanctuary of worship for his cult after aligning himself with a deity, such as the Hindu god Vishnu or the Buddhist Bodhisattva Avalokiteshavara.