Construction of Borobudur by the Sailendra dynasty

Date

c. 780 to 840 CE

Category

Culture, arts & philosophy

Region

Java (Indonesia)

Era

Post-Classical / Medieval

Significance

Begun around 780 in central Java under the Sailendra dynasty and completed over roughly six decades, Borobudur is the largest Buddhist monument in the world.

Built from more than two million stone blocks without mortar, it is not a temple of enclosed worship but a colossal stepped stupa and mandala in stone: nine stacked platforms, six square and three circular, crowned by a central dome and ringed by hundreds of Buddha statues and more than a kilometre of narrative relief panels. Pilgrims ascending its terraces pass symbolically through the Buddhist realms of desire, form and formlessness toward enlightenment. The monument testifies to the wealth, organisation and Mahayana devotion of the Sailendra rulers and to the rich Indianised culture of early Java. Abandoned and partly buried by volcanic ash after the centre of Javanese power shifted east, it was rediscovered in the 19th century and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an enduring symbol of Indonesia's Buddhist heritage.

Empires active in c. 780 to 840 CE

• Tang Dynasty
  618 CE to 907 CE
• Byzantine Empire
  330 CE to 1453 CE
• Abbasid Caliphate
  750 CE to 1258 CE
• Kanem-Bornu Empire
  700 CE to 1900 CE
• Uyghur Khaganate
  744 CE to 840 CE
• Khazar Khaganate
  650 CE to 969 CE

Related culture, arts & philosophy events

• House of Wisdom and the Graeco-Arabic Translation Movement under al-Ma'mun
  c. 830 CE
• The Carolingian Renaissance revives classical learning
  c. 787 to 820 CE
• High Tang flowering of Chinese poetry: Li Bai and Du Fu
  c. 750 CE (High Tang, fl. 744-770)
• Orkhon Inscriptions: Earliest Substantial Turkic Texts
  732 CE
• Igbo-Ukwu Bronze Florescence and West African Long-Distance Trade
  c. 850 CE
• Construction of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem
  691 CE

Essential reading

• Brahmagupta codifies zero and arithmetic of negatives (Brahmasphutasiddhanta)
  628 CE
• Official Introduction of Buddhism to Japan
  552 CE (traditional date; 538 CE in some sources)
• Volcanic Winter of 536 and Onset of the Late Antique Little Ice Age
  536 to 537 CE
• Banu Hilal Migration Arabises the Maghreb
  c. 1050 onward (11th century)

Further reading

The Story of Art

The wider story

The Story of Art

E. H. Gombrich

The best-selling art history ever written, from cave paintings to the modern age.

Get it on Amazon →

As an Amazon Associate, Human Saga earns from qualifying purchases.