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. Some scholars have suggested that Bhavavarman, identified in the Ban Wang Pai inscription (K. 978) discovered in
Phetchabun Province, Thailand, as the son of
Prathivindravarman, the ruler of Dvaravati
Si Thep, should be identified with Bhavavarman II rather than
Bhavavarman I (r. 580–598). This interpretation is based on palaeographic and stylistic features of the inscription, which indicate that it was likely composed after 627 CE. This hypothesis is consistent with interpretations concerning the origins of Bhavavarman II's successor,
Jayavarman I, who is described as the son of Chandravarman. Chandravarman () has been identified in Chinese sources as the ruler of
Gān Bì, a polity that maintained dynastic relations with
Xiū Luó Fēn and
Gē Luó Shě Fēn (the expanded Si Thep) within the
Dvaravati sphere. However, according to the undated Wat Kut Tae Inscription (K. 1150), Bhavavarman II was a younger brother of Śivadatta of Jyeṣṭhapura (Prasat Mueang Phai ), who was an elder son of
Isanavarman I. 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, who allied via royal intermarriage, wage wars against
Tou Yuan to the northwest, and successfully made it a vassal of Dvaravati in 647. 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. ==References==