Funan
Funan was a pre-
Angkor Indianized kingdom located around the
Mekong delta, probably established by
Mon-Khmer settlers speaking an
Austro-Asiatic language. We know very little about it, except that it was a powerful trading state. This is evidenced by the discovery of
Roman,
Chinese and
Indian goods during archaeological excavations at
Oc Eo in southern
Vietnam. The capital was initially located at
Vyadhapura, near modern
Phnom Penh, though it may have been moved to Oc Eo at a later time.
According to reports by two Chinese envoys,
K'ang T'ai and
Chu Ying, the state was established by an Indian
Brahimin named
Kaundinya, who in the
first century C.E. was given instruction in a dream to take a magic bow from a temple and defeat a Khmer queen,
Soma. Soma, the daughter of the king of the
Nagas, married Kaundinya and their lineage became the royal dynasty of Funan. The myth had the advantage of providing the legitimacy of both an Indian Brahmin and the divinity of the cobras, who at that time were held in religious regard by the inhabitants of the region.
The Funanese Empire reached its furthest extent under the rule of
Fan Shih-man in the early
third century C.E., extending as far south as
Malaysia and as far west as
Burma. The Funanese established a strong system of mercantilism and commercial monopolies that would become a pattern for empires in the region. Fan Shih-man expanded the fleet and improved the Funanese bureaucracy, creating a quasi-feudal pattern that left local customs and identities largely intact, particularly in the empire's farther reaches.
The kingdom is said to have been heavily influenced by Indian culture, and to have employed Indians for state administration purposes.
Sanskrit was the language at the court, and the Funanese advocated
Hindu and, after the
fifth century,
Buddhist religious doctrines. Records show that taxes were paid in silver, gold, pearls, and perfumed wood. K'ang T'ai reported that the Funanese practiced slavery and that justice was rendered through
trial by ordeal, including such methods as carrying a red-hot iron chain and retrieving gold rings and eggs from boiling water.
K'ang T'ai's report was unflattering to Funanese civilization, though Chinese court records show that a group of Funanese musicians visited China in 263 C.E. The Chinese Emperor was so impressed that he ordered the establishment of an institute for Funanese music near
Nanking. The Funanese were reported also to have extensive book collections and archives throughout their country, demonstrating a high level of scholarly achievement.
Funan's political history is little known apart from its relations with China. A brief conflict is recorded to have happened in the
270s when Funan and its neighbor
Champa joined forces to attack the Chinese province of
Tongking. In
357, Funan became a vassal of China, and would continue as such until its disintegration in the
sixth century. The
Sailendras who later ruled in
Java and
Srivijaya claimed descent from the Funanese dynasty.
*
Fan Shih-Man *
Fan Chin-Sheng*
Fan Chan *
Fan Hsun*
Cambodia*
Chenla*
Khmer empire*
List of monarchies
