Chenla Kingdom

Chenla (simplified Chinese: 真腊; traditional Chinese: 真臘; pinyin: Zhēnlà; Wade–Giles: Chēn-là; Khmer: ចេនឡា; Vietnamese: Chân Lạp) is the Chinese designation for the successor polity of Funan that existed from around the late 6th century until the early 9th century in Indochina, preceding the Khmer Empire. The name was still used in the 13th century by the Chinese envoy Zhou Daguan, author of The Customs of Cambodia. However modern historiography applies the name exclusively to the period from the late 6th to the early 9th century.

Although most of the Chinese recordings on Chenla, including that of Chenla conquering Funan ("derived from very weak sources"), have been contested since the 1970s as they are generally based on single remarks in the Chinese annals, the History of the Chinese Sui dynasty contains entries of a state called Chenla, a vassal of Funan, that had sent an embassy to China in 616 or 617 C.E., yet under its ruler Citrasena (given name) - Mahendravarman (royal title) conquered Funan after Chenla had gained independence.