Bhavavarman II

Bhavavarman II (Khmer: ព្រះបាទភវវរ្ម័នទី២ ) Chinese: 撥婆跋摩; pinyin: Bópóbámó) was King of the Chenla Kingdom, predecessor polity of the Khmer Empire, from 639 to 657.

Bhavavarman II
King of Chenla
Reign	639–657 AD
Predecessor	Isanavarman I
Successor	Jayavarman I
Died	657
Issue	Jayavarman I
Dynasty	Varman
Religion	Hindu

Biography

King Bhavavarman II reigned shortly from 639 to 657 AD between Isanavarman I and Jayavarman I. He was of unknown origin, neither the son nor the approved successor to Isanavarman I. He was the successor to the throne from King Isanvarman I (Khmer: ឦសានវម៌្មទី១), but there is no evidence as to whether he was the son of Ishavarman I. Scholars speculate that he may have been one of the princes in the royal family or was one of the sons of Issavaraman I, which still has no consensus on this assumption. He made many inscriptions, but none of them mentioned his history.^[1][2] Some suggests that the son of Si Thep king named Bhavavarman mentioned in the Ban Wang Pai Inscription (K. 978) founded in the Phetchabun province of Thailand was probably Bhavavarman II instead of Bhavavarman I (r.580–598) due to the inscription styles that potentially inscribed after 627.^[3]: 20

In this period, the Chinese leishu, Cefu Yuangui and the Book of Sui say that Chenla and the Zhū Jiāng Kingdom, one of the Dvaravati polities,^[4] who allied via royal intermarrige, wage wars against Tou Yuan to the northwest,^{[5]: 16 [6]} and successfully made it a vassal of Dvaravati in 647.^{[7]: 269 [8]: 15–16}

When King Bhavavarman II died, King Jayavarman I, his son, succeeded to the throne. When King Jayavarman I died without a male heir, his granddaughter, Jayadevi, ascended to the throne. During this time, the Chenla was in full swing with political turmoil, and her reign was disputed, leading to the division of the state of Upper Chenla and Lower Chenla.^[1]