The kingdom of Funan was replaced by a kingdom called Chenla in the 6^th century AD. This kingdom was mostly made up of and ruled by Khmers. Chenla was located along the Mekong river and near a large lake called Tonle Sap.

At first, Chela was not a single, unified state/kingdom. Instead, it was composed of two separate kingdoms called Land Chenla (located inland) and Water Chenla (located on the southern coast of modern day Cambodia). In 802 AD, however, a powerful Khmer king named Jayavarman II unified the two Chenlas and eventually created a capital city called Angkor near the Tonle Sap river. Thus, the powerful Khmer Empire was founded (began) in 802 AD. This empire would last for 700 years and would control much of Southeast Asia until Angkor was taken over by Ayutthaya in the 14^th century.