Of Temples and History of Thailand
if there's something I learned from this trip, it's to know more about the history of Thailand and I find it really interesting.
Thailand means “land of the free.” True to its name, Thailand is the only country in Southeast Asia that was never ruled by European powers.
Thailand is located in the center of mainland Southeast Asia. The country consists of two broad geographic areas: a larger section in the north and a smaller section in the south. The Thai often describe their land as being shaped like an elephant’s head. The trunk is the south, the elephant’s ear is the northeast, and the top of the head is the north.
Thai peoples moved into the area from China about the 900s. In the 1200s they founded the kingdom of Sukhothai in northern Thailand. Sukhothai defeated the Khmer. In the 1300s the kingdom of Ayutthaya rose to power. The kingdom came to be known as Siam. It was officially know as Thailand only in 1939.
At 513,120 km², Thailand is bigger than Spain (505,990 km²) but smaller than France (543,940 km²). It's capital Bangkok (1,569 km²) is double the size of Singapore.
Sukhothai Kingdom (1238-1438)
Sukhothai Kingdom was founded when a local Tai ruler led a revolt against Khmer rule in 1238. Before the Sukhothai Kingdom began the majority of the region that is now Thailand was under the rule of the Khmer Empire. As the Khmers were based in modern-day Cambodia, they may be considered to have been a foreign power.
The First Ruler of the Kingdom of Sukhothai
Pho Khun Bang Klang Hao was the chief of Bang Yang, a small principality in the westernmost region of the Khmer Empire (now the northern-central region of Thailand). As a result of the heavy taxes imposed by the Khmers, Pho Khun Bang Klang Hao decided to rebel against his overlords, and declare his principality’s independence.
The rebels seized Sawankhalok and defeated the governor of Sukhothai, who was a representative of the Khmer ruler. The Khmers failed to respond to the Tai rebellion, possibly because they were concentrating their energies on the monumental construction projects in their capital.
Having expelled the Khmers from his lands, Pho Khun Bang Klang Hao established the Kingdom of Sukhothai, and adopted a new name, Sri Indraditya, which, translated from Sanskrit, means ‘The Sun King with the Power of Indra’.
His popularity among his subjects is reflected in the title that was conferred upon him, Phra Ruang, which means ‘Glorious Prince’. This title was used by all subsequent kings of Sukhothai and became the name of the dynasty established by Pho Khun Bang Klang. The Phra Ruang dynasty of Sukhothai is considered to be the first royal dynasty of Thailand, and therefore the beginning of the nation’s history.
Sri Indraditya ruled the Kingdom of Sukhothai until his death in 1270. Throughout his 32 years on the throne, the Sukhothai Kingdom existed as a minor local state. In fact, it would remain as such during the reign of Sri Indraditya’s successor, Ban Mueang, the king’s second son.
Compared to his father, Ban Mueang had a short reign, ruling the Kingdom of Sukhothai for about nine years. Ban Mueang was succeeded by Ramkhamhaeng, his younger brother. It was during his reign, which lasted until 1298, that the Kingdom of Sukhothai emerged as a regional power.
Ramkhamhaeng was an exceptional ruler. Unfortunately, his successors were not as capable as he was and the kingdom quickly lost its power and influence in the region. Soon after Ramkhamhaeng’s death, the kingdom’s vassals, especially those farthest from its center, began to break away.
In 1349, Sukhothai was conquered by the Kingdom of Ayutthaya. Nevertheless, the Sukhothai and Ayutthaya continued to exist as two distinct states, and the former was only absorbed by the latter 1438. This marks the end of the Kingdom of Sukhothai.
Now, Sukhothai is a small city in Lower Northern Thailand, 427 kilometres north of Bangkok. Its attraction lies in the ruins of the ancient city Sukhothai, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The name translates as "the dawn of happiness.
Whereas Sukhothai was an independent kingdom for only about 200 years, its successor, the kingdom of Ayutthaya existed over 400 years from the 1350 to 1767.
Ayutthaya Kingdom (1438 - 1767)
Ayutthaya at first was only a small city-kingdom on the northwestern edge of the powerful Khmer empire. Within less than a century, however, Tai kings succeeded in pushing back the Khmer, and in 1431 they sacked their great capital of Angkor. Wars against neighbouring powers continued throughout the Ayutthayan period. In 1438 a greatly weakened Sukhothai was made a province of Ayutthaya. 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.
Ayutthaya’s rulers adopted many of the Hindu ideas and practices that had been followed by the Khmer, including the concept of the ruler as god-king (devaraja). The king acquired power to determine the life and death of all his people. None but members of the royal family might gaze upon his face. He could be addressed only in a special language used exclusively for royalty, while those speaking to the king referred to themselves as “the dust beneath your majesty’s feet.”
The kings of Ayutthaya also issued formal codes of civil and criminal law based on the ancient Indian body of jurisprudence called the Dharma-shastra. At the same time, a formal and highly complex hierarchical system assigned to each social status a specified number of units (called sakdi na) that determined the rank within society of the person occupying the status. At the bottom of the scale, a slave was worth 5 units, freemen were ranked at 25 and above, and the heir apparent to the throne was assigned no fewer than 100,000 units.
The city of Ayutthaya was the capital of a mighty empire that once controlled large parts of Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
Ayutthaya in the 17th century, according to European visitors, was one of the wealthiest and most cosmopolitan cities in the world. Although it lay inland, it was easily accessible to oceangoing vessels traveling up the Chao Phraya River, and it became a thriving international trade emporium. It was during this period that European traders and travelers started coming to Siam. The Portuguese reached Siam as early as 1511, following their conquest of the sultanate of Malacca (Melaka) on the Malay Peninsula; they were followed in the 17th century by Dutch, English, Spanish, and French traders and missionaries. Ayutthayan kings permitted Chinese, Indian, Persian, and European traders to establish settlements, employed Japanese warriors, and allowed Western missionaries to preach within Ayutthayan domains. In addition to engaging in extensive trade with China, Southeast Asia, and India, the rulers of Ayutthaya also sent triennial tribute missions to the Chinese imperial court, established Buddhist missions in Sri Lanka, and sent emissaries abroad as far afield as Europe. King Narai (reigned 1656-88) initiated a series of diplomatic exchanges between Ayutthaya and the French court at Versailles and even appointed a Greek adventurer, Constantine Phaulkon, as his chief minister. Eventually, however, the Europeans became overly zealous in their efforts to convert Buddhist Siamese to Christianity. In 1688 the Siamese expelled the French from Ayutthaya and all but closed their doors to the West for the next 150 years.
The primary threat to Ayutthayan sovereignty came not from Europe, however, but from Burmese kingdoms. In 1569 a force from the Burman state of Toungoo overran Ayutthaya and devastated the countryside for miles around. Ayutthaya under Naresuan (reigned 1590-1605) recovered its independence. Conflict with the Burmese kingdom persisted, however, and in the mid-18th century Burman armies once again captured Ayutthaya. This time the city did not recover. In 1767, the Burmese attacked Siam, destroyed and burned the capital, leaving only ruins. The king and members of the royal family, along with thousands of captives, were deported to the Burmese kingdom. The city was no longer subject to restoration as a capital. The capital was first transferred to Thonburi, and later to Bangkok.
Almost all of the Buddha statues were beheaded by the Burmese. By this, they tried to break the spirit of the Thais, since Buddhists believe that the human soul is in the head.
In 1991 Ayutthaya was included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list. The Thai government is currently trying to rebuild Ayutthaya.
Thon Buri (1767 - 1782)
A new era in Thai history began with the rise to power of Taksin, a military commander of great skill and charismatic personality who succeeded within a decade after the fall of Ayutthaya in expelling the Burmans and making himself king of Siam. In 1767 Taksin established his new capital at Thon Buri, on the opposite side of the Chao Phraya River from present-day Bangkok. The new location was less accessible to the armies of Myanmar than Ayutthaya had been and was ideally situated for the conduct of seaborne trade and commerce. Capitalizing on the trade relations that Siam had already developed with China, Taksin encouraged Chinese merchants and craftsmen to take advantage of the economic opportunities offered by the site of his new capital. Large numbers of Chinese settled permanently in Siam, where their involvement in business and trade-coupled with the tax revenues that these activities provided-helped restore the kingdom’s devastated economy.
Taksin not only recovered the territories that had formerly been part of the Ayutthayan empire but also set out to extend Siamese control over new areas. His armies annexed part of what is now northeastern Cambodia and advanced up the Mekong River as far as present-day Vientiane in Laos. In the south they subdued the northern part of the Malay Peninsula, and to the north they pushed the Burmans out of the old northern Tai kingdom of Lan Na.
Within a few years of seizing power, however, Taksin showed signs of serious mental instability, and in 1782 he was overthrown and put to death. He was succeeded by his former military commander, known by his official name of Chao Phraya (“Great Lord”) Chakri. The new king founded the Chakri (or Chakkri) dynasty, which has continued to the present day.
The biography of Taksin at the beautiful Wat Arun temple.
Wat Arun or the Temple of the Dawn was named by King Thaksin to signify the rise of the new kingdom.
Chakri dynasty
In 1782 a royal family called the Chakri dynasty came to power in Siam. During the 1800s Siam stayed independent while Europeans took over neighboring countries.
One of the first acts of the new king-who would come to be known as Rama I (reigned 1782-1809)-was to move his capital across the Chao Phraya River to Bangkok, which at the time was still a small village.
King Rama I, also enlarged the Wat Pho temple so that statues that were recovered from Ayutthaya in 1801 could be placed in the temple.
Wat Pho is the oldest temple in the whole of Bangkok. In fact, the temple is older than Bangkok itself as it was in existence when Thailand was still in Ayutthaya, in the 17th century.
Along with housing one of the most famous reclining Buddha statues in the world, more than 1,000 other Buddha images are kept within the temple grounds. Wat Pho is the birthplace of Thai massage and still serves as an important center for studying traditional medicine.
By the mid-19th century, Bangkok had become a city of some 400,000 people, swelled by the huge numbers of Chinese who had poured into Siam during those years. In addition to settling in Bangkok, the Chinese established trading settlements inland, some of which grew into small towns. As time went on, the Chinese thus gained even greater control over both the internal and foreign trade of the country.
The Burmese kingdom continued to harass Siam throughout the early Chakri reigns. In 1785 it launched a massive invasion of the country, which was repelled only with great difficulty. Other lesser attacks followed. Not until the 1820s, when British encroachment on Burmese territory forced Burman attention inward, was Siam able to relax its vigilance along its western borders. In the east Rama I and later Rama III (reigned 1824-51) reduced Khmer territories to vassal status, and in the south Rama III strengthened Siamese control over tributary states of the Malay Peninsula. Rama III also put down a major uprising in the north led by Chao Anou, the young Lao ruler of the kingdom of Vien Chan (Vientiane). In 1827 Siamese armies razed and plundered Vientiane; thousands of Lao were taken prisoner and deported to central Siam.
Chulalongkorn (Rama V) ascended the throne as a minor at age 15 in 1868, and as King of Siam on 16 November 1873. As a prince, he had been tutored in Western traditions by the governess, Anna Leonowens.[a] Intent on reforming the monarchy along Western lines, during his minority he traveled extensively to observe western administrative methods. He transformed the monarchy along Western lines of an "enlightened ruler". He abolished the practice of prostration in front of the monarch, and repealed many laws concerning the relationship between the monarch and his people, while continuing many of the ancient aspects and rituals of the old kingship.[10] In 1874, he created a privy council copied from the European tradition, to help him rule his Kingdom. During his reign Siam was pressured to relinquish control of its old tributaries of Laos and northern Malaya to Western powers, Siam itself narrowly avoided being colonized. In 1905, 37 years after his coronation, Chulalongkorn ended slavery with the Slave Abolition Act. In 1867 slaves accounted for one-third of the Siamese population.
In 1932 a military revolt ended the Chakri dynasty’s absolute control over the country. Siam then became a constitutional monarchy. This means that the country still has a king from the Chakri dynasty, but his powers are limited. The country also has an elected legislature and a prime minister.
In 1939 the country was officially named the Kingdom of Thailand.
The current King of Maha Vajiralongkorn (King Rama X), is the 10th king in the Chakri dynasty. He turns 70 this year.
Buddhism is practiced by more than 95% of the population. Every man in Thailand is required to become a monk for a period of time before the age of 20. Though the expected time length is about three months, some will stay as little as a day or two. There are over 30,000 temples or wats all over Thailand.