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Part of History of Thailand. The history of Thailand begins with the migration of the Thais from their ancestral home in southern China into mainland southeast Asia around the 10th century

Prehistoric Thailand
Early history of Thailand
Initial states of Thailand (3 BCE-1238)
Sukhothai Kingdom (1238-1448 )
Ayutthaya Kingdom (1351-1767)
Thonburi Kingdom (1768-1782)
Rattanakosin Kingdom (1782-1932)
Kingdom of Thailand
Regional history
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The kingdom of Ayutthaya (Thai: อยุธยา) was a Thai kingdom that existed from 1351 to 1767. Prehistoric Thailand may be traced back as far as 1000000 years ago from the Fossils and Stone tools found in northern and western Thailand an Archaeological The known early history of Thailand begins with the earliest major archaeological site at Ban Chiang; dating of artifacts from this site is controversial but Before the southward migration of the Tai people from Yunnan in the 10th century the Indochinese peninsula had been a home to various indigenous animistic communities Suvarṇabhumī or pali Suvaṇṇabhumī, is the name of a land mentioned in many ancient sources such as the Chronicle of Sri Lanka (" Mahavamsa " Funan (Old Khmer Bnam, Modern Khmer Phnom, Khmer script នគរភ្នំ (i See Dvaraka for the Yadava capital of the Mahabharata. The Dvaravati kingdom of the early Thai existed from the 6th to Known as Lavo during most of its history Lopburi province is one of the most important cities in Thai history. Hariphunchai (or Haribhunjaya)(Pali Haripunjaya was a Mon kingdom in the north of present Thailand in the centuries before the Thais moved into the area The ancient Lanna society of the Northern Thailand is considered more progressive than societies in other regions of the same period in that the Lanna people recorded their history Pan Pan is a lost small Hindu Kingdom believed to have existed around 3rd-7th Century CE Raktamaritika is one of the lost kingdoms of Thai history. Raktamaritika is a Sanskrit name meaning red earth land while in Chinese records it is named Langkasuka (- langkha Sanskrit for "resplendent land" - sukkha of "bliss" was an ancient Hindu Malay kingdom located Srivijaya or Sriwijaya was an ancient Malay kingdom on the island of Sumatra, Southeast Asia which influenced much of the Malay Archipelago. Tambralinga was an ancient Malay kingdom located on the Malay Peninsula that at one time came under the influence of Srivijaya. The Sukhothai kingdom was an early kingdom in the area around the city Sukhothai, in north central Thailand. Thon Buri (Thai ธนบุรี was the capital of Thailand for a short time during the reign of King Taksin the Great after the ruin of capital Ayutthaya by the Myanmar From 1768 to 1932 the area of modern Thailand was dominated by Siam, an absolute monarchy with capitals briefly at Thonburi and later at The Kingdom of Thailand (ˈtaɪlænd ราชอาณาจักรไทย, râːtɕʰa-ʔaːnaːtɕɑ̀k-tʰɑj The history of Thailand from 1932 to 1973 was dominated by Military dictatorships which were in power for much of the period The history of Thailand since 1973 has seen a difficult and sometimes bloody transition from military to civilian rule with several reversals along the way including the most recent military Hariphunchai (or Haribhunjaya)(Pali Haripunjaya was a Mon kingdom in the north of present Thailand in the centuries before the Thais moved into the area The history of Isan has been determined by its geography situated between Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. Nakhon Si Thammarat Kingdom (or Kingdom of Ligor) was one of the major constituent city states ( Mueang) of the Siamese kingdoms of Sukhothai The lands situated in the present-day Phitsanulok Province of Thailand were inhabited since the Stone age, although the Neolithic inhabitants of the region Thai (th ภาษาไทย, transcription: phasa thai, transliteration:; pʰāːsǎːtʰāj is the national and The Thai (or Tai) are the main ethnic group of Thailand and are part of the larger Tai ethnolinguistic peoples found in Thailand and adjacent countries King Ramathibodi I (Uthong) founded Ayutthaya as the capital of his kingdom in 1351 and absorbed poor Sukhothai, 640 km to the north, in 1376. King Ramathibodi I (1314 &ndash 1369 was the first king of the kingdom Ayutthaya (now part of Thailand) reigning from 1351 to 1369 Ayutthaya (full name Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, พระนครศรีอยุธยา aˡjutʰajaː also spelled "Ayudhya" city is the capital of The Sukhothai kingdom was an early kingdom in the area around the city Sukhothai, in north central Thailand. Over the next four centuries the kingdom expanded to become the nation of Siam,whose borders were roughly those of modern Thailand, except for the north, the Kingdom of Lannathai. The Kingdom of Thailand (ˈtaɪlænd ราชอาณาจักรไทย, râːtɕʰa-ʔaːnaːtɕɑ̀k-tʰɑj The Kingdom of Thailand (ˈtaɪlænd ราชอาณาจักรไทย, râːtɕʰa-ʔaːnaːtɕɑ̀k-tʰɑj Ayutthaya was friendly towards foreign traders, including the Chinese, Vietnamese (Annam), Indians, Japanese and Persians, and later the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and French, permitting them to set up villages outside the city walls. Han Chinese ( are an Ethnic group native to China and by most modern definitions the largest single Ethnic group in the world. Vietnam (ˌviːɛtˈnɑːm Việt Nam) officially The are the dominant Ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent of these approximately 127 million are residents of Japan layout and formatting it should ensure no clashes with the top of the infobox The Portuguese people (os Portugueses literally the Portuguese) are the Ethnic group or Nation native to the country of Portugal, in the west The Dutch people ( Dutch:) are the dominant Ethnic group of the Netherlands. Legal residents and citizens To be French according to the first article of the Constitution is to be a citizen of France regardless of one's origin race or religion ( The court of King Narai (1656-1688) had strong links with that of King Louis XIV of France, whose ambassadors compared the city in size and wealth to Paris. Narai (Son of Prasat Thong ( สมเด็จพระนารายณ์มหาราช 1629 - July 11, 1688) became king of the Ayutthaya Early years Birth and ancestry Louis XIV was born in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye on September 5 1638 and bore the Heir apparent Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city When Ayutthaya fell to Burmese attack in 1767, its territory included the Northern Shan states of Burma, Lanna (Chiang Mai), Yunnan & Shan Sri (China), Lan Xiang (Laos), Cambodia, South Vietnam and some of Malaya.

Contents

Historical overview

Buddha head overgrown by fig tree in Wat Mahatat, Ayutthaya historical park
Buddha head overgrown by fig tree in Wat Mahatat, Ayutthaya historical park

Origins

The Siamese state based at Ayutthaya in the valley of the Chao Phraya River grew from the earlier kingdom of Lavo, which it absorbed, and its rise continued the steady shift southwards of the centre of gravity of the Tai-speaking peoples as other kingdoms in this area such as the kingdom of Supannaphum (Dvaravati) or, the kingdom of Sukhothai. Ficus is a Genus of about 850 Species of woody Trees Shrubs Vines Epiphytes and hemi-epiphytes in the family Ayutthaya (full name Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, พระนครศรีอยุธยา aˡjutʰajaː also spelled "Ayudhya" city is the capital of The Chao Phraya (แม่น้ำเจ้าพระยา is a major River in Thailand, with its low alluvial river plain marking the mainland of the country Known as Lavo during most of its history Lopburi province is one of the most important cities in Thai history. In 1350, to escape the threat of an epidemic, King U Thong moved his court south into the rich floodplain of the Chao Phraya. King Ramathibodi I (1314 &ndash 1369 was the first king of the kingdom Ayutthaya (now part of Thailand) reigning from 1351 to 1369 The Chao Phraya (แม่น้ำเจ้าพระยา is a major River in Thailand, with its low alluvial river plain marking the mainland of the country On an island in the river which is the seaport city of Ayothaya was settled before, and he founded a new capital, which he called Ayutthaya, after the Hindu holy city Ayodhya in northern India, the birth city of the Hindu god Rama who is the hero in the Hindu epic Ramayana. A Hindu ( Devanagari: हिन्दू is an adherent of the philosophies and scriptures of Hinduism, a set of religious, Philosophical Ayodhya (अयोध्या IAST Ayodhyā) is an ancient city of India, the old capital of Awadh, in the Faizabad district India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Rama ( IAST: rāma Devanāgarī: राम Khmer: Phreah Ream Thai: Phra Ram Lao: Phra Lam Tagalog: The Rāmāyaṇa ( Devanāgarī: sa रामायण is an ancient Sanskrit epic attributed to the Hindu sage ( Maharishi) Valmiki U Thong assumed the royal name of Ramathibodi in 1350.

Ramathibodi tried to unify his kingdom. In 1360 he declared Theravada Buddhism the official religion of Ayutthaya and brought members of a sangha, a Buddhist monastic community, from Ceylon to establish new religious orders and spread the faith among his subjects. History Origin of the school The Theravāda school is ultimately derived from the Vibhajjavāda (or 'doctrine of analysis' grouping which was a continuation This article concerns the concept of Sangha in Buddhism. For information on other senses see Sangha (disambiguation. Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( Sinhalese:, இலங்கை known as Ceylon before 1972 is an Island He also compiled a legal code, based on the Indian Dharmashastra (a Hindu legal text) and Thai custom, which became the basis of royal legislation. A Code is a type of legislation that purports to exhaustively cover a complete system of laws or a particular area of law as it existed at the time the code was enacted by a Dharmaśāstra is a genre of Sanskrit texts and refers to the śāstra, or Indic branch of learning pertaining to Hindu Dharma, religious Composed in Pali -- an Indo-Aryan language closely related to Sanskrit and the language of the Theravada Buddhist scriptures -- it had the force of divine injunction. Pali ( ISO 15919 / ALA-LC: Pāḷi is a Middle Indo-Aryan language or Prakrit of India. Sanskrit (sa संस्कृता वाक् saṃskṛtā vāk, for short sa संस्कृतम् saṃskṛtam) is a historical Supplemented by royal decrees, Ramathibodi's legal code remained generally in force until the late nineteenth century.

Conquests

By the end of the fourteenth century, Ayutthaya was regarded as the strongest power in Indochina, but it lacked the manpower to dominate the region. Indochina, or the Indochinese Peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. In the last year of his reign, Ramathibodi had seized Angkor during what was to be the first of many successful Thai assaults on the Khmer capital. Angkor is a name conventionally applied to the region of Cambodia serving as the seat of the Khmer empire that flourished from approximately the 9th century to The Khmer Empire was the largest empire of South East Asia based in what is now Cambodia. The policy was aimed at securing Ayutthaya's eastern frontier by preempting Vietnamese designs on Khmer territory. Vietnam (ˌviːɛtˈnɑːm Việt Nam) officially The weakened Khmer periodically submitted to Ayutthaya's suzerainty, but efforts to maintain control over Angkor were repeatedly frustrated. Thai troops were frequently diverted to suppress rebellions in Sukhothai or to campaign against Chiang Mai, where Ayutthaya's expansion was tenaciously resisted. Eventually Ayutthaya subdued the territory that had belonged to Sukhothai, and the year after Ramathibodi died, his kingdom was recognized by the emperor of China's newly established Ming Dynasty as Sukhothai's rightful successor. The Ming Dynasty ( or Empire of the Great Ming ( was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol -led

The Thai kingdom was not a single, unified state but rather a patchwork of self-governing principalities and tributary provinces owing allegiance to the king of Ayutthaya under the mandala system. Mandala is a word that means "circle of kings" The mandala is a model for describing the patterns of diffuse political power in early Southeast Asian history These countries were ruled by members of the royal family of Ayutthaya who had their own armies and warred among themselves, as well as self governing but subservient Malay states in the south. The king had to be vigilant to prevent royal princes from combining against him or allying with Ayutthaya's enemies. Whenever the succession was in dispute, princely governors gathered their forces and moved on the capital to press their claims.

During much of the fifteenth century Ayutthaya's energies were directed toward the Malay Peninsula, where the great trading port of Malacca contested its claims to sovereignty. The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula (Semenanjung Tanah Melayu (คาบสมุทรมลายู is a major Peninsula located in Southeast The Sultanate of Malacca was founded by Parameswara in 1402 and later married the princess of Pasai in 1409. Ayutthaya's conquests were unsuccessful, however, due to the military support of Ming China, who backed the Sultanate diplomatically and economically. The Ming Admiral Zheng He had established one of his bases of operation in the port city, so the Chinese could not afford to loose such a strategic position to the Siamese. Zheng He ( Birth name 馬三寶 / 马三宝; Arabic / Persian name حجّي محمود شمس Hajji Mahmud Shams) (1371&ndash1433 was a Hui Under this umbrella of protection, Malacca flourished into one of Ayutthaya's great rivals, until its conquest in 1511 by the Portuguese.

Malacca and other Malay states south of Tambralinga had become Muslim early in the century, and thereafter Islam served as a symbol of Malay solidarity against the Thais. Tambralinga was an ancient Malay kingdom located on the Malay Peninsula that at one time came under the influence of Srivijaya. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. Malays (Melayu are an Ethnic group of Austronesian peoples predominantly inhabiting the Malay Peninsula, the east coast of Sumatra, the coast As it failed to make a vassal state of Malacca, Ayutthayan control of the strait was gradually displaced by Malay and Chinese.

Ruins of the old city, Ayutthaya, after the Burmese invasion.
Ruins of the old city, Ayutthaya, after the Burmese invasion.

Fall

In 1767 Burma invaded Ayutthaya, while totally destroying Ayutthaya. Burma, officially the Union of Myanmar ( pjìdàunzṵ mjàmmà nàinŋàndɔ̀ is the largest country by geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia. Ayutthaya (full name Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, พระนครศรีอยุธยา aˡjutʰajaː also spelled "Ayudhya" city is the capital of This forced the government to relocate to Thon Buri, near present day Bangkok. Thon Buri (ธนบุรี was capital of Thailand for a short time during the reign of King Taksin, after the previous capital Ayutthaya was sacked Bangkok, known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (krūŋtʰêːp máhǎːnákʰɔn) or Krung Thep ( for short is the Capital, largest It was the last of many Burmese invasions of Ayutthaya.

Thai kingship

Thai rulers were absolute monarchs whose office was partly religious in nature. They derived their authority from the ideal qualities they were believed to possess. The king was the moral model, who personified the virtue of his people, and his country lived at peace and prospered because of his meritorious actions. At Sukhothai, where Ramkhamhaeng was said to hear the petition of any subject who rang the bell at the palace gate to summon him, the king was revered as a father by his people. But the paternal aspects of kingship disappeared at Ayutthaya. The king was considered chakkraphat, the Sanskrit-Pali term for the chakravartin who through his adherence to the law made all the world revolve around him. A Chakravartin (sa चक्रवर्तिन् cakra-vartin, a Sanskrit Bahuvrihi, literally "whose wheels are moving" in the sense of As the Hindu god Shiva was "lord of the universe," the Thai king also became by analogy "lord of the land," distinguished in his appearance and bearing from his subjects. According to the elaborate court etiquette, even a special language, Phasa Rachasap, was used to communicate with or about royalty.

As devaraja (Sanskrit for "divine king"), the king ultimately came to be recognized as the earthly incarnation of Shiva and became the object of a politico-religious cult officiated over by a corps of royal Brahmans who were part of the Buddhist court retinue. In the Buddhist context, the devaraja was a bodhisattva (an enlightened being who, out of compassion, foregoes nirvana in order to aid others). In the Buddhist context a bodhisattva (बोधिसत्त्व bodhisattva;; Vietnamese Bồ Tát; बोधिसत्त bodhisatta In sramanic philosophy Nirvana (निर्वाण| Nirvāṇa; निब्बान Nibbāna; Prakrit: णिव्वाण The belief in divine kingship prevailed into the eighteenth century, although by that time its religious implications had limited impact. The French Abbe de Choisy, who came to Ayutthaya in 1685, wrote that, "the king has absolute power. He is truly the god of the Siamese: no-one dares to utter his name. " Another 17th century writer, the Dutchman Van Vliet, remarked that the King of Siam was "honoured and worshipped by his subjects more than a god. "

One of the numerous institutional innovations of King Trailokanat (1448-88) was to adopt the position of uparaja, translated as "viceroy" or "underking", usually held by the king's senior son or full brother, in an attempt to regularize the succession to the throne -- a particularly difficult feat for a polygamous dynasty. King Trailokanat (often short Trailok, สมเด็จพระบรมไตรโลกนาถ 1431-1488 was the king of Ayutthaya between 1448 and Ouparath, also Ouparaja, or Uparaja, are titles for viceregal positions reserved for of the Buddhist dynasties in Thailand, Cambodia, Burma In practice, there was inherent conflict between king and uparaja and frequent disputed successions.

Social and political development

The king stood at the apex of a highly stratified social and political hierarchy that extended throughout the society. In Ayutthayan society the basic unit of social organization was the village community composed of extended family households. Generally the elected headmen provided leadership for communal projects. Title to land resided with the headman, who held it in the name of the community, although peasant proprietors enjoyed the use of land as long as they cultivated it.

With ample reserves of land available for cultivation, the viability of the state depended on the acquisition and control of adequate manpower for farm labor and defense. The dramatic rise of Ayutthaya had entailed constant warfare and, as none of the parties in the region possessed a technological advantage, the outcome of battles was usually determined by the size of the armies. After each victorious campaign, Ayutthaya carried away a number of conquered people to its own territory, where they were assimilated and added to the labor force.

Every freeman had to be registered as a servant, or phrai, with the local lord, or nai, for military service and corvee labor on public works and on the land of the official to whom he was assigned. Thai royal and noble titles signify relationship to the King The system is somewhat complicated and usually not well understood even by most Thai people The phrai could also meet his labor obligation by paying a tax. If he found the forced labor under his nai repugnant, he could sell himself into slavery to a more attractive nai, who then paid a fee to the government in compensation for the loss of corvee labor. As much as one-third of the manpower supply into the nineteenth century was composed of phrai.

Wealth, status, and political influence were interrelated. The king allotted rice fields to governors, military commanders, and court officials in payment for their services to the crown, according to the sakdi na system. The size of each official's allotment was determined by the number of persons he could command to work it. The amount of manpower a particular nai could command determined his status relative to others in the hierarchy and his wealth. At the apex of the hierarchy, the king, who was the realm's largest landholder, also commanded the services of the largest number of phrai, called phrai luang (royal servants), who paid taxes, served in the royal army, and worked on the crown lands. King Trailok established definite allotments of land and phrai for the royal officials at each rung in the hierarchy, thus determining the country's social structure until the introduction of salaries for government officials in the nineteenth century.

Outside this system to some extent were the Buddhist monkhood, or sangha, which all classes of Siamese men could join, and the Chinese. MONK is a Monte Carlo software package for simulating nuclear processes particularly for the purpose of determining the neutron multiplication factor or k-effective China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Buddhist monasteries (wats) became the centres of Siamese education and culture, while during this period the Chinese first began to settle in Siam, and soon began to establish control over the country's economic life: another long-standing social problem. The Chinese were not obliged to register for corvee duty, so they were free to move about the kingdom at will and engage in commerce. By the sixteenth century, the Chinese controlled Ayutthaya's internal trade and had found important places in the civil and military service. Most of these men took Thai wives because few women left China to accompany the men.

Ramathibodi I was responsible for the compilation of the Dharmashastra, a legal code based on Hindu sources and traditional Thai custom. Dharmaśāstra is a genre of Sanskrit texts and refers to the śāstra, or Indic branch of learning pertaining to Hindu Dharma, religious The Dharmashastra remained a tool of Thai law until late in the 19th century. A bureaucracy based on a hierarchy of ranked and titled officials was introduced, and society was organised in a manner reminiscent of, though not as strict as, the Indian caste system. Castes are Hereditary systems of occupation, Endogamy, social culture, Social class, and Political power.

The sixteenth century witnessed the rise of Burma, which, under an aggressive dynasty, had overrun Chiang Mai and Laos and made war on the Thai. Burma, officially the Union of Myanmar ( pjìdàunzṵ mjàmmà nàinŋàndɔ̀ is the largest country by geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia. Chiang Mai (in Thai; locally (Kham Muang Jiang Mai also sometimes written as "Chiengmai" is the largest and most culturally significant In 1569 Burmese forces, joined by Thai rebels mostly royal family members of Siam, captured the city of Ayutthaya and carried off the whole royal family to Burma. Dhammaraja (1569-90), a Thai governor who had aided the Burmese, was installed as vassal king at Ayutthaya. Thai independence was restored by his son, King Naresuan (1590- 1605), who turned on the Burmese and by 1600 had driven them from the country. Naresuan ( 1555, April 25 - 1605 also sometimes called Naret or the Black Prince or Sanpet II, สมเด็จพระนเรศวรมหาราช

Determined to prevent another treason like his father's, Naresuan set about unifying the country's administration directly under the royal court at Ayutthaya. He ended the practice of nominating royal princes to govern Ayutthaya's provinces, assigning instead court officials who were expected to execute policies handed down by the king. Thereafter royal princes were confined to the capital. Their power struggles continued, but at court under the king's watchful eye.

In order to ensure his control over the new class of governors, Naresuan decreed that all freemen subject to phrai service had become phrai luang, bound directly to the king, who distributed the use of their services to his officials. This measure gave the king a theoretical monopoly on all manpower, and the idea developed that since the king owned the services of all the people, he also possessed all the land. Ministerial offices and governorships--and the sakdi na that went with them--were usually inherited positions dominated by a few families often connected to the king by marriage. Indeed, marriage was frequently used by Thai kings to cement alliances between themselves and powerful families, a custom prevailing through the nineteenth century. As a result of this policy, the king's wives usually numbered in the dozens.

Even with Naresuan's reforms, the effectiveness of the royal government over the next 150 years should not be overestimated. Royal power outside the crown lands--although in theory absolute- -was in practice limited by the looseness of the civil administration. The influence of central government ministers was not extensive beyond the capital until the late nineteenth century.

Economic development

The Thais never lacked a rich food supply. Peasants planted rice for their own consumption and to pay taxes. Rice is a Cereal foodstuff which forms an important part of the diet of many people worldwide and as such it is a staple food for many Whatever remained was used to support religious institutions. From the thirteenth to the fifteenth century, however, a remarkable transformation took place in Thai rice cultivation. In the highlands, where rainfall had to be supplemented by a system of irrigation that controlled the water level in flooded paddies, the Thais sowed the glutinous rice that is still the staple in the geographical regions of the North and Northeast. But in the floodplain of the Chao Phraya, farmers turned to a different variety of rice--the so-called floating rice, a slender, nonglutinous grain introduced from Bengal--that would grow fast enough to keep pace with the rise of the water level in the lowland fields.

The new strain grew easily and abundantly, producing a surplus that could be sold cheaply abroad. Ayutthaya, situated at the southern extremity of the floodplain, thus became the hub of economic activity. Under royal patronage, corvee labor dug canals on which rice was brought from the fields to the king's ships for export to China. In the process, the Chao Phraya Delta--mud flats between the sea and firm land hitherto considered unsuitable for habitation--was reclaimed and placed under cultivation.

Contacts with the West

Memorial plate in Lopburi showing king Narai with French ambassadors
Memorial plate in Lopburi showing king Narai with French ambassadors

In 1511 Ayutthaya received a diplomatic mission from the Portuguese, who earlier that year had conquered Malacca. These were probably the first Europeans to visit the country. Five years after that initial contact, Ayutthaya and Portugal concluded a treaty granting the Portuguese permission to trade in the kingdom. A similar treaty in 1592 gave the Dutch a privileged position in the rice trade.

Foreigners were cordially welcomed at the court of Narai (1657–1688), a ruler with a cosmopolitan outlook who was nonetheless wary of outside influence. Narai (Son of Prasat Thong ( สมเด็จพระนารายณ์มหาราช 1629 - July 11, 1688) became king of the Ayutthaya Important commercial ties were forged with Japan. Dutch and English trading companies were allowed to establish factories, and Thai diplomatic missions were sent to Paris and The Hague. By maintaining all these ties, the Thai court skillfully played off the Dutch against the English and the French, avoiding the excessive influence of a single power.

In 1664, however, the Dutch used force to exact a treaty granting them extraterritorial rights as well as freer access to trade. At the urging of his foreign minister, the Greek adventurer Constantine Phaulkon, Narai turned to France for assistance. Constantine Phaulkon (born Κωνσταντίνος Γεράκης or Constantinos Gerakis; Gerakis is the Greek word for Falcon, in French French engineers constructed fortifications for the Thai and built a new palace at Lopburi for Narai. Lop Buri (ลพบุรี is one of the central provinces ( changwat) of Thailand. In addition, French missionaries engaged in education and medicine and brought the first printing press into the country. Louis XIV's personal interest was aroused by reports from missionaries suggesting that Narai might be converted to Christianity.

Siamese embassy to Louis XIV in 1686, by Nicolas Larmessin.
Siamese embassy to Louis XIV in 1686, by Nicolas Larmessin. Early years Birth and ancestry Louis XIV was born in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye on September 5 1638 and bore the Heir apparent

The French presence encouraged by Phaulkon, however, stirred the resentment and suspicions of the Thai nobles and Buddhist clergy. When word spread that Narai was dying, a general, Phetracha, killed the designated heir, a Christian, and had Phaulkon put to death along with a number of missionaries. King Phetracha (alternative spellings Bedraja, P'etraja, Petraja, Petratcha; also called Phra Phetracha; สมเด็จพระเพทราชา The arrival of English warships provoked a massacre of more Europeans. Phetracha (reigned 1688-93) seized the throne, expelled the remaining foreigners, and ushered in a 150-year period during which the Thais consciously isolated themselves from contacts with the West.

During the early 20th Century, Thailand, after learning lessons from Burma–a militarily stronger neighbour that failed to protect itself from western powerhouse Britain in 1885–mostly used flexible and significantly compromising approach towards its counterparts including numerous western nations and Japan. Burma, officially the Union of Myanmar ( pjìdàunzṵ mjàmmà nàinŋàndɔ̀ is the largest country by geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom from 1 January 1801 until 12 April 1927 For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics.

The final phase

Three pagodas of Wat Phra Si Sanphet which house the remains of King Borommatrailokanat, King Borommarachathirat III and King Ramathibodi II
Three pagodas of Wat Phra Si Sanphet which house the remains of King Borommatrailokanat, King Borommarachathirat III and King Ramathibodi II

After a bloody period of dynastic struggle, Ayutthaya entered into what has been called its golden age, a relatively peaceful episode in the second quarter of the eighteenth century when art, literature, and learning flourished. There were foreign wars. The Ayutthaya fought with Nguyen Lords (Vietnamese rulers of South Vietnam) for control of Cambodia starting around 1715. The Nguyễn Lords ( Vietnamese: Chúa Nguyễn; 1558 - 1775 were a series of rulers of Southern Vietnam (then called Đàng Trong) But a greater threat came from Burma, where the new Alaungpaya dynasty had subdued the Shan states. Alaungpaya (အလောင်းဘုရား or Alompra or Alaung Mintaya (အလောင်းမင်းတရား(อลองพญา lit

In 1765 Thai territory was invaded by two Burmese armies that converged on Ayutthaya. The only notable example of successful resistance to these forces was found at the village of Bang Rajan. The village of Bang Rachan was historically located north of Ayutthaya, the old capital of Siam and the predecessor state to modern Thailand. After a lengthy siege, the city capitulated and was burned in 1767. Ayutthaya's art treasures, the libraries containing its literature, and the archives housing its historic records were almost totally destroyed, and Burmese brought the Ayutthaya Kingdom to ruin.

The country was reduced to chaos. Provinces were proclaimed independent states under military leaders, rogue monks, and cadet members of the royal family. The Thais were saved from Burmese subjugation, however, by an opportune Chinese invasion of Burma and by the leadership of a Thai military commander, Phraya Taksin.

All that remains of the old city are some impressive ruins of the royal palace. King Taksin established a capital at Thonburi, across the Chao Phraya from the present capital, Bangkok. Taksin the Great (สมเด็จพระเจ้าตากสินมหาราช;; Teochew: Dênchao was born in April 17, 1734 Thon Buri (ธนบุรี was capital of Thailand for a short time during the reign of King Taksin, after the previous capital Ayutthaya was sacked The Chao Phraya (แม่น้ำเจ้าพระยา is a major River in Thailand, with its low alluvial river plain marking the mainland of the country Bangkok, known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (krūŋtʰêːp máhǎːnákʰɔn) or Krung Thep ( for short is the Capital, largest The ruins of the historic city of Ayutthaya and "associated historic towns" in the Ayutthaya historical park have been listed by the UNESCO as World Heritage Sites. The Ayutthaya historical park covers the ruins of the old city of Ayutthaya, Thailand, which was founded by King Ramathibodi I in 1350 United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on November 16 A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex The city of Ayutthaya was refounded near the old city, and is now capital of the Ayutthaya province. Ayutthaya (full name Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, พระนครศรีอยุธยา pronounced eye-you-TEE-a) is one of the central provinces

List of rulers of Ayutthaya

Uthong Dynasty (first reign)

Suphannaphum Dynasty (first reign)

Uthong Dynasty (second reign)

Suphannaphum Dynasty (second reign)

Sukhothai Dynasty

Prasat Thong Dynasty

Ban Phlu Luang Dynasty

See also

List of notable foreigners in seventeenth century Ayutthaya

References

Further reading

Smithies, Michael. A Siamese Embassy Lost in Africa 1686: The Odyssey of Ok-Khun Chamman. Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books, 1999.

Dissertations Retrieved from ProQuest-Dissertations and Theses on Aug. 16,2006

Subject: Art History

Listopad, John A. "The art and architecture of the reign of Somdet Phra Narai. " Diss. U of Michigan, 1995.

Subject: Buddhist literature

Chrystall, Beatrice. "Connections without limit: The refiguring of the Buddha in the Jinamahanidana. " Diss. Harvard U, 2004.

Subject: History

Smith, George V. "The Dutch East India Company in the Kingdom of Ayutthaya, 1604-1694. " Diss. Northern Illinois U, 1974.

Subject: Buddhist literature

Chrystall, Beatrice. "Connections without limit: The refiguring of the Buddha in the Jinamahanidana. " Diss. Harvard U, 2004.

Subject:Urban planning

Peerapun, Wannasilpa. "The economic impact of historic sites on the economy of Ayutthaya, Thailand. " Diss. U of Akron, 1991.

Other historical sources

Phonsawadan Krun Si Ayutthaya

There are 18 versions of Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya (Phonsawadan Krun Si Ayutthaya) known to scholars[1].

Some of these are available in Cushman, Richard D. (2000). The Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya: A Synoptic Translation, edited by David K. Wyatt. Bangkok: The Siam Society.

Burmese Account

These below are Burmese historical account of Ayutthaya.

Western Account

Online Collection Southeast Asia Visions Collection by Cornell University Library [3]

References

  1. ^ Wyatt, David K. "Introduction", Chronicle of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya, Tokyo: The center for East Asian Cultural Studies for UNESCO, The Toyo Bunko, 1999, p. 14 ISBN 9784896566130
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