Si Inthrathit
| Si Inthrathit ศรีอินทราทิตย์ | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Khun[1] | |||||
Statue of Si Inthrathit, Sawankhalok District, Sukhothai Province, Thailand | |||||
| King of Sukhothai | |||||
| Reign | 1238–1270 | ||||
| Predecessor | Khom Sabat Khlon Lamphong | ||||
| Successor | Ban Mueang | ||||
| Born | Bang Klang Hao c. 1188 Mueang Rat | ||||
| Died | 1270 (aged 81–82) Sukhothai Kingdom | ||||
| Spouse | Sueang | ||||
| Issue | Ban Mueang Ram Khamhaeng the Great Three other children | ||||
| |||||
| House | Phra Ruang | ||||
| Father | Chantha Racha | ||||
| Mother | Nang Nak | ||||
| Religion | Theravada Buddhism | ||||
Si Inthrathit (Thai: ศรีอินทราทิตย์, pronounced [sǐː ʔīn.tʰrāː.tʰít]; also spelt Śrī Indrāditya) was the first king of the Sukhothai Kingdom, a historical polity in what is now Thailand. He reigned from 1238 until around 1270 and is credited as the founder of the Phra Ruang dynasty, regarded as the first historical Siamese dynasty. His dynasty holds a dual claim to this distinction—having originated in the very region later designated by foreigners as "Siam", and for being the royal house that liberated the Thai principalities from the Khmer Empire.[2]
Difficulties in interpretation
[edit]Initially known as Pho Khun Bang Klang Hao (Thai: พ่อขุนบางกลางหาว), interpreted as ”the lord who rules the sky”, the controversy surrounding this names illustrates the limitations of epigraphy. This science studies inscriptions or epigraphs as writing, to identify graphemes, clarify their meanings, and classify their uses according to dates and cultural contexts. Texts inscribed on steles are often missing the top or bottom portions, just where one would expect dates, complicating the drawing of conclusions about the writing and the writers. Specifically excluded from epigraphy are the historical significance of an epigraph as a document, and the artistic value of a literary composition. These complications led to the ruler in his early life being known as simply Hao (หาว).[citation needed]
Biography
[edit]Origin
[edit]Pho Khun Bang Klang Hao was born to Sirisudhārājadevī (สิริสุธาราชเทวี), a queen consort of Candraraja,[3]: 15 [4] who relocated the seat from Kamphaeng Phet to Sukhothai.[3] The Ayutthaya Testimonies delineates his dynasty as the descendants of King Phatumsuriyawong,[3] whom certain historians have identified with the Khmer monarch Suryavarman II.[5] However, such an assumption appears chronologically inconsistent when juxtaposed with the genealogical account of an early Siamese royal line that ruled Xiū Luó Fēn, situated in the Phraek Si Racha region. The first monarch of this lineage, Visnuraja, who likewise claimed descent from King Phatumsuriyawong,[3]: 37–8 is recorded to have been born in 950 CE.[a] This temporal discrepancy therefore suggests that King Phatumsuriyawong could not have been identical with the Angkorian Suryavarman II, whose reign extended from 1113 to 1150 CE.
Polical legacy
[edit]Before the late 12th century, the Menam River basin comprised several independent polities, among which Xiū Luó Fēn,[6]: 22 [7][8] centered at Phraek Si Racha, held regional prominence.[b] This polity maintained its autonomy through successive generations and traced its lineage to the ancient house of Phatumsuriyawong.[3]: 37–8 In the late 12th century, the Angkorian Empire expanded northward under the Mahidharapura dynasty, reasserting its authority over Lavo and extending control into the central basin.[11] By 1180 CE, the domain of Xiū Luó Fēn had come under a new royal house that may have been connected to Angkor and was re-established as Chen Li Fu.[12]: 18 [13] During this period, Candraraja, a descendant of the Xiū Luó Fēn line and father of Si Inthrathit, ruled at Kamphaeng Phet before transferring the royal seat to Sukhothai.[3]: 11
Initially, Candraraja continued to pay tribute to Angkor, but under Si Inthrathit’s direction, the payments ceased[3]: 15–6 in response to Khmer control and its prohibitive taxes.[14] This led to armed conflict between Sukhothai and Angkor, in which Si Inthrathit commanded the Sukhothai forces to victory. The outcome ended approximately two decades of Angkorian domination and marked the restoration of Sukhothai’s independence.[3]: 15–6 Concurrently, the short-lived polity of Chen Li Fu, centered at Phraek Si Racha,[13]: 20–1 regained autonomy and dispatched a tributary mission to the Chinese court in 1200 CE, indicating the broader decline of Angkorian influence in the region.[15]: 3 [16]: 20
Following this triumph, Si Intharathit was appointed to govern Mueang Bang Yang, located in the present-day Nakhon Thai district,[17] which had previously served as the power base of his kinsman, Pra Poa Noome Thele Seri.[18] During his tenure there, Si Intharathit was potentially supported by Tai Yuan refugees who had fled to the region following the fall of Yonok.[19]: 30 He also married Nang Sueang, a Tai Lueang (ไทเลือง) princess and daughter of Sri Naw Nam Thum, the ruler of Mueang Rat (เมืองราด), situated in modern Lom Sak district, to the east of Mueang Bang Yang.[20] The Tai Lueang polity subsequently expanded its sphere of influence into Mueang Chaliang, which had been under the mixed Monic–Chinese Haripuñjaya dynasty, during the waning reign of Rajadhiraj II in the early 13th century.[21]: 15–6 [22]
After consolidating control over Mueang Chaliang, the Tai Lueang monarchs, led by Sri Naw Nam Thum and his son Pha Mueang, extended their dominion southward toward Sukhothai in 1219,[23]: 4 [24] overthrowing the Mon ruler E Daeng Phloeng.[25]: 115 However, the remnants of the older Monic aristocracy, led by Khom Sabat Khlon Lamphong, staged a successful revolt, reclaiming control of Sukhothai.[26] In response, a coalition of Siamese forces led by a local chieftain, Bang Klang Hao—later known as Si Intharathit—recaptured the city and re-established it as an autonomous Siamese polity in 1238. Si Intharathit was militarily aided by his brother-in-law, Pha Mueang, a son of Sri Naw Nam Thum.[27]: 195–196 Pha Mueang was given Mueang Chaliang following this event.[28]
Pho Khun Bang Klang Hao was then declared king at Sukhothai, taking a regnal name of Sanskrit origin, Si Inthrathit, translated from Adityan Indra.[29] His skill and bravery greatly impressed the people of the kingdom, who thus conferred him the title Phra Ruang (glorious prince). This title was given to all subsequent rulers of Sukhothai, thus giving rise to the first Thai royal dynasty of Phra Ruang.[30]
Si Inthrathit and his queen, Sueang, had three sons. The eldest died at a young age, and the second was named Ban Mueang. His third son defeated a Khmer prince on elephants in mounted combat; he named this youngest son Ram Khamhaeng (Rama the Bold) in tribute to the feat.[31] Si Inthrathit died around 1270, and was succeeded by his son Ban Mueang.[14]
Notes
[edit]- ^ The reigns of the monarchs belonging to this lineage were retroactively reconstructed on the basis of the documented accession date of a later ruler, Fang-hui-chih, who governed Chen Li Fu—a polity likewise centered in the Phraek Si Racha region—from 1180 to 1204 CE, as attested in contemporary Chinese sources.
- ^ As per the map of Dvaravati kingdoms by K. M. Mudar,[9]: 4 Nakhon Pathom region corresponded to Dvaravati's Kamalanka or later Ge Luo She Fen; the Lopburi and Prachinburi regions formed the Lavo Kingdom; the Suphanburi region was identified as She Ba Ruo (舍跋若),[10]: 30 and the Si Thep region as Qiān Zhī Fú.[10]: 30 Therefore, Xiū Luó Fēn potentially was likely located in the only remaining area with a significant number of ancient Dvaravati settlements — the Phraek Si Racha or Chai Nat region.
References
[edit]- ^ Eoseewong, Nidhi. ""พ่อขุน" ไม่เคยใช้เรียกกษัตริย์ที่ครองราชย์อยู่ "รามคำแหง" พระนามที่ชวนฉงน ?!?". Silpawattanatham. Silpawattanatham. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
- ^ Cœdès, G. (1921). "The Origins of the Sukhodaya Dynasty" (PDF). Journal of the Siam Society. 14 (1). Siam Heritage Trust. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 31, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
(1) The translation of this paper, which has been read at a joint session of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Société Asiatique, and American Oriental Society, and published in the Journal asiatique (April–June 1920), is the work of Mr. J. Crosby, to whom the author begs to tend his heartfelt thanks.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Fine Arts Department, ed. (1968) [First published in Thai in 1912.]. Khamhaikan Chao Krung Kao Khamhaikan Khun Luang Ha Wat Lae Phra Ratcha Pongsawadarn Krung Kao Chabab Luang Luang Prasoet Aksorn คำให้การชาวกรุงเก่า คำให้การขุนหลวงหาวัด และ พระราชพงศาวดารกรุงเก่าฉบับหลวงประเสริฐอักษรนิติ์ [Testimony of the King Who Entered a Wat, Testimony of the Inhabitants of the Old Capital, and Royal Chronicle of the Old Capital: Luang Prasoet Aksorn Version] (PDF) (in Thai). Bangkok: Rung Rueang Tham. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
- ^ "ประชุมพงศาวดาร เล่ม 1" (PDF). Suksapanpanit (in Thai). 1963. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 December 2024. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
- ^ Thepthani Administration (Chalerm), Phra. (1965). The Chronicles of the Thai Nation: The Origins of the Nation from Ancient Times. Compiled by Phra Boriya Thepthani, Governor of Pathum Thani, Lop Buri, Trat, and the Governor of Nonthaburi and Prachuap Khiri Khan Provinces (complete in 2 volumes). Bangkok: Office of S. Thammaphakdi. Page 133.
- ^ "钦定四库全书: 册府元龟卷九百五十七宋王钦若等撰". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China (in Chinese). Retrieved 14 May 2025.
- ^ "册府元龟". www.shidianguji.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 17 May 2025.
- ^ "册府元龟,卷九百五十七". Chinese Philosophy Text Digitalization Project (in Chinese). Retrieved 17 May 2025.
- ^ Karen M. Mudar (1999). "How Many Dvaravati Kingdoms? Locational Analysis of First Millennium A.D. Moated Settlements in Central Thailand" (PDF). Journal of Anthropological Archaeology. 18 (1): 1–28. doi:10.1006/jaar.1998.0329.
- ^ a b Hoshino, T (2002). "Wen Dan and its neighbors: the central Mekong Valley in the seventh and eighth centuries.". In M. Ngaosrivathana; K. Breazeale (eds.). Breaking New Ground in Lao History: Essays on the Seventh to Twentieth Centuries. Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books. pp. 25–72.
- ^ ศานติ ภักดีคำ. "จาก 'ลวะปุระ' สู่ 'เมืองละโว้' ลูกหลวงแห่งเมืองพระนคร" [From 'Lavapura' to 'Lavo City', the frontier city of the capital of Phra Nakhon] (in Thai). Retrieved 6 November 2023.
- ^ Walailak Songsiri (2025). "ในดินแดนแห่งเจนลีฟู นครรัฐที่ไม่ได้อยู่ในอำนาจทางการเมืองของพระเจ้าชัยวรมันที่ ๗ สู่ปัญหาทางประวัตศาสตร์ที่หาทางออกไม่เจอของสังคมไทย" [In the land of Chen Li Fu, a city-state that was not under the political power of King Jayavarman VII, to the historical problems that cannot be solved for Thai society.]. Lek-Prapai Viriyahpant Foundation (in Thai). Retrieved 14 July 2025.
- ^ a b Walailak Songsiri (2025). ในดินแดนแห่งเจนลีฟูและตามหารากเง้าพระอาจารย์ธรรมโชติ [In the land of Cenlifu and searching for the roots of Master Thammachot] (in Thai). Lek-Prapai Viriyaphan Foundation.
- ^ a b Wyatt, David K. (2003). Thailand: A Short History. New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 32–35.
- ^ O. W. Wolters (1960). "Chên Li Fu: A State On The Gulf Of Siam at the Beginning of the 14th Century". The Journal of the Siam Society. XLVIII.
- ^ David K. Wyatt (2020). "Relics, Oaths and Politics in Thirteenth-Century Siam". Journal of Southeast Asian Studies. 32 (1): 3–65. JSTOR 20072298. Archived from the original on 13 April 2025.
- ^ Cœdès, G. (1921). "The Origins of the Sukhodaya Dynasty" (PDF). Journal of the Siam Society. 14 (1). Siam Heritage Trust. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 31, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
(1) The translation of this paper, which has been read at a joint session of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Société Asiatique, and American Oriental Society, and published in the Journal asiatique (April–June 1920), is the work of Mr. J. Crosby, to whom the author begs to tend his heartfelt thanks.
- ^ Simon de La Loubère (1693). "Du royaume de Siam". ota.bodleian.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
- ^ Maha Weerawong (1953). "พงศาวดารชาติไทย: ความเป็นมาของชาติแต่บยุคดึกดำบรรพ์" (in Thai). Office of Academic Resources, Chulalongkorn University. Archived from the original on 8 March 2024.
- ^ สุจิตต์ วงษ์เทศ (January 25, 2013). ""นางเสือง" เป็นนิยาย ประวัติศาสตร์การเมือง". มติชนออนไลน์. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
- ^ Direk Duangloy; Phrapalad Raphin Buddhisaro; Mallika Phumathon (2023). "Local Sukhothai Accent in Suang Santi's Songs (1966-1982)". Journal of Applied Education (in Thai). 1 (1): 11–24.
- ^ Wilaiwan Khanittanan (2011). "คนสุโขทัยยุคบุกเบิกมาจากลุ่มน้ำแดงในเวียดนาม: หลักฐานจากภาษาในปฏิทินโบราณและจารึกสุโขทัย" [From the Red River in North Vietnam to Sukhothai: The Early Sukhothai Founders]. The Journal of the Thai Khadi Research Institute (in Thai). 8 (1): 1–20.
- ^ Chusak Satienpattanodom (2000). "พัฒนาการของเมืองศรีสัชนาลัยตั้งแต่กลางพุทธศตวรรษที่ 17 ถึงกลางพุทธศตวรรษที่ 22" [The rise and decline of Si Satchanalai from the twelfth to sixteenth centuries] (PDF) (in Thai). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 December 2024. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
- ^ Srisak Vallipodom (19 July 2021). "กำเนิดสุโขทัย รัฐแรกเริ่มของชนชาติไทยในสยามประเทศ" [The origin of Sukhothai, the first state of the Thai people in Siam Pradesh]. muangboranjournal.com (in Thai). Retrieved 14 December 2024.
- ^ Na Nakhon, Prasert (1998), เรื่องเกี่ยวกับศิลาจารึกสุโขทัย [Stories Related To The Sukhothai Stone Inscriptions] (PDF) (Thesis) (in Thai), Bangkok: Kasetsart University, pp. 110–223, ISBN 974-86374-6-8, retrieved 30 October 2024
- ^ "การศึกษาพัฒนาการทางสังคมก่อนสมัยสุโขทัยในจังหวัดสุโขทัย: กรณีศึกษาพื้นที่เมืองเชลียง-ศรีสัชนาลัย" [A study of pre-Sukhothai social development in Sukhothai Province: A case study of Mueang Cheliang-Sri Satchanalai area]. Fine Arts Department. 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
- ^ Coedès, George (1968). Walter F. Vella (ed.). The Indianized States of Southeast Asia. Translated by Cowing, Susan Brown. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-0368-1.
- ^ Griswold, A. B. & Prasert na Nagara (1971). “The Inscription of King Rama Gamhen of Sukhodaya (1292 A.D.).” Journal of the Siam Society, 59 (2): 179–246.
- ^ Coedès, George (1968). The Indianized States of Southeast Asia. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. pp. 180–183.
- ^ "Sukhothai kingdom". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
- ^ "Ramkhamhaeng". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
Further reading
[edit]- Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Foundation (2011). นามานุกรมพระมหากษัตริย์ไทย [Directory of Thai kings] (PDF) (in Thai). Thailand: www.nanmeebooks.com. ISBN 978-616-7308-25-8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2012.