Bhavavarman I ( km, ភវវរ្ម័នទី១) was a king of

Chenla Chenla or Zhenla (; km, ចេនឡា, ; vi, 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 Indoc ...

, which would later become the Khmer Empire. Though the full dates of his reign are unknown, it is known that he reigned around the year 550. From his reading of the

Ta Prohm Ta Prohm ( km, ប្រាសាទតាព្រហ្ម, UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ; "Ancestor Brahma") is the modern name of the temple in Siem Reap, Cambodia, built in the Bayon style largely in the late 12th and early 13th centuries and origin ...

Stèle,

George Coedès George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Preside ...

understood a princess named Kambuja-raja-lakshmi ( :km:កម្វុជរាជលក្ឝ្មី (ចេនឡា)) to have been Bhavavarman's queen, and that it was through her that he inherited the royal lineage. Coedès thought he was also very likely the grandson of the king of

Funan Funan (; km, ហ៊្វូណន, ; vi, Phù Nam, Chữ Hán: ) was the name given by Chinese cartographers, geographers and writers to an ancient Indianized state—or, rather a loose network of states ''(Mandala)''—located in mainla ...

, a neighbouring and more powerful Cambodian kingdom. However subsequent research by the epigraphist Claude Jacques revealed that Kambuja-raja-lakshmi was the queen of another king,

Harshavarman I Harshavarman I ( km, ហស៌វរ្ម័នទី១; or Rudraloka, died in 923) was an Angkorian king who reigned in 910–923 CE. He is mentioned by David P. Chandler, who is one of the foremost western scholars of Cambodia's modern histo ...

, who reigned in 910–923 AD, long after the Funan period and so she could not have passed on the royal lineage to Bhavavarman. According to Coedès, the main accomplishment of Bhavavarman's reign was the expansion of Kamboja into the

Mekong The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's List of rivers by length, twelfth longest river and List of longest rivers of Asia, the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , ...

river valley, attacking both Funan. The reasons for these attacks are not clear, but most likely revolve around the accession of Rudravarman to the throne of Funan; Rudravarman killed the legitimate heir to the throne, and Bhavavarman may have seen himself as a rightful member of that lineage. It is not clear, however, if he wanted to claim the throne of Funan for himself, or to simply see Rudravarman unseated so that the next legitimate heir could take it. He was succeeded by his brother, Chitrasena, who took the reign name Mahendravarman.Higham, C., 2014, Early Mainland Southeast Asia, Bangkok: River Books Co., Ltd., Chinese records of the time indicate that Chitrasena was responsible for the conquest of Funan. The Chinese records also indicate that, around this time, the king of Funan was replaced, and that the new king was a 'wicked king' who did not support

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

. Bhavavarman belonged to the traditional

Shaivite Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangin ...

religion of Kamboja.

References

* George Coedès, "The Making of South-east Asia." London: Cox & Wyman Ltd, 1962. * George Coedès, "La Stèle de Ta-Prohm", ''Bulletin de l'École française d'Extrême-Orient (BEFEO),'' Hanoi, VI, 1906, pp. 44–81. * Claude Jacques, “'Funan', 'Zhenla'. The reality concealed by these Chinese views of Indochina”, in R. B. Smith and W. Watson (eds.), ''Early South East Asia: Essays in Archaeology, History, and Historical Geography,'' New York, Oxford University Press, 1979, pp. 371–9, p. 373. * Ha Van Tan, "Óc Eo: Endogenous and Exogenous Elements", ''Viet Nam Social Sciences,'' 1-2 (7-8), 1986, pp. 91–101, pp. 91–92. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhavavarman 01 6th-century Cambodian monarchs Hindu monarchs 600 deaths Year of birth unknown Chenla