Chenla

Chenla ចេនឡា (Khmer) Chénla
550–802
Mainland Southeast Asia in 700 CE
Capital	Chenla: Champasak (according to George Cœdès) Land Chenla: Sambhupura (according to Paul Pelliot) Water Chenla: Vyadhapura (according to Paul Pelliot)
Common languages	Khmer, Sanskrit
Religion	Hinduism, Buddhism
Government	Absolute monarchy
Historical era	Middle Ages
• Vassal state of Funan	550
• Embassy to China	616/617
• Independence	627
• Separation of Water-Land	c. 707
• Jayavarman II proclaimed as chakravatin	802
Currency	Native coins
Preceded by Succeeded by Funan Khmer Empire
Today part of	Laos Thailand Vietnam Cambodia

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Chenla or Zhenla (simplified Chinese: 真腊; traditional Chinese: 真臘; pinyin: Zhēnlà; Wade–Giles: Chen-la; Khmer: ចេនឡា, Chénla [ceːnlaː]; Vietnamese: Chân Lạp) is the Chinese designation for the successor polity of the kingdom of Funan preceding the Khmer Empire that existed from around the late sixth to the early ninth century in Indochina. The name was still used in the 13th century by the Chinese envoy Zhou Daguan, author of The Customs of Cambodia.^[1] It appears on the Mao Kun map. However, modern historiography applies the name exclusively to the period from the late 6th to the early ninth century.^[1] This period of Cambodian history is known by historians as the Pre-Angkor period.^[2] It is doubted whether Chenla ever existed as a unitary kingdom, or if this is a misconception by Chinese chroniclers. Most modern historians assert that "Chenla" was in fact just a series of loose and temporary confederations of principalities in the pre-Angkor period.^[3][4]