The Funan Period

The Funan Period, roughly the first to sixth centuries AD, was the era of Funan, generally considered the earliest major state in mainland Southeast Asia, centered in the lower Mekong Delta region of present-day Vietnam and Cambodia. Known mainly through Chinese historical records and the archaeological site of Oc Eo, Funan grew wealthy as a hub of Indian Ocean trade linking China, India and the Malay world, and it was among the first Southeast Asian polities to adopt Indian religious and political models, including Hinduism and Sanskrit court culture. Funan's power declined by the sixth century as the rising inland kingdom of Chenla, its former vassal, absorbed its territory, and Chenla is generally regarded as a direct forerunner of the later Khmer Empire.