Funan

Funan
Funan
50 – 627 CE
	Map of Indianized kingdoms of Indochina (1st to 7th centuries CE)
Capital	Vyadhapura
Common languages	Proto-Khmeric; (common); Sanskrit; (court and religious);
Religion	Hinduism; Buddhism;
Government	Mandala kingdom
Historical era	Classical era
• Establishment	50 CE
• Chenla secession	550 CE
• Chenla conquest	627 CE
Currency	Native coins
	Succeeded by
Chenla
Today part of	Cambodia; Thailand; Vietnam;

Funan was a loose network of ancient Indianized states (Mandala) located in Mainland Southeast Asia, covering parts of present-day Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam, that existed from the 1st to the 7th century CE.

The name appears in Chinese historical texts describing the kingdom, and the most extensive accounts are largely based on reports by two Chinese diplomats, Kang Tai and Zhu Ying, who represented the Eastern Wu dynasty and sojourned in Funan during the mid-3rd century CE.

Funan is known in the ancient languages of the region as Suvarnabhumi (Sanskrit), meaning "land of gold", and in Chinese as 扶南 (pinyin: Fúnán). However, the name Funan does not appear in any locally produced texts from the period, and it remains unknown what name the people of Funan used for their polity. Some scholars argue that ancient Chinese scholars derived their understanding from records in the Yuán Shǐ, the historical records of the Yuan dynasty: "Siem Kok and Lo Hu Kok, formerly the Kingdom of Funan, were located to the west of Linyi Kok (the Champa Kingdom in central Vietnam). The maritime distance from the capital of Linyi Kok to the capital of Funan Kok was about 3,000 li."

Some scholars suggest that Funan may itself have been an endonym used by its inhabitants and perhaps a Chinese rendering of the Proto-Khmeric term bnaṃ ("mountain"). Funan is generally considered the first known kingdom in Southeast Asia. It was located southwest of Linyi, the Chinese designation for the historical region of Champa in present-day central and southern Vietnam.

Like the kingdom's name, the ethno-linguistic identity of its people remains a subject of considerable scholarly debate. The leading hypotheses suggest that the Funanese were primarily Mon–Khmer, primarily Austronesian, or part of a multi-ethnic and multi-linguistic society. The available evidence remains inconclusive. Michael Vickery argued that, although identifying the language of Funan with certainty is impossible, the evidence strongly suggests that the population was Khmer. However, several studies indicate that the inhabitants of Funan may have spoken Austroasiatic languages, while Malayo-Polynesian languages were spoken in neighboring Champa.

Archaeological findings at Óc Eo have demonstrated "no true discontinuity between Óc Eo and pre-Angkorian levels", suggesting Khmer linguistic dominance in areas under Funan's control.

Based on Chinese historical accounts, Funan is believed to have been established in the 1st century CE in the Mekong Delta. However, archaeological research indicates that extensive human settlement in the region may date back as far as the 4th century BCE. Although Chinese authors described Funan as a single unified polity, some modern scholars argue that it may instead have been a collection of city-states that were at times in conflict and at other times politically united.

Archaeological evidence, including Roman, Chinese, and Indian goods excavated at the ancient mercantile center of Óc Eo in southern Vietnam, indicates that Funan was a powerful trading state. Excavations at Angkor Borei in southern Cambodia have likewise revealed evidence of an important settlement. Because Óc Eo was connected both to a coastal port and to Angkor Borei through a system of canals, it is possible that these locations together formed the heartland of Funan.