History of Siam-Thailand
   by Charles Kimball
Nan Zhao was destroyed by the Mongols  in 1253, but long before that time small groups of Thais moved out in search of  greener pastures. One group already mentioned, the Shans, settled eastern Burma.  Others included the Lao, who settled the Khorat Plateau and the upper Mekong  valley; the Ahom or Assamese, who have been the dominant group in northeast  India since 1228; the White, Red and Black Thai, who stayed in the highlands of  Indochina and derived their names from the main color of their clothing; and a  group called the Small Thai, who settled in the heart of modern Thailand, the  Menam (Chao Phraya) valley.
Those Thais who stayed at home became the Zhuang,  the largest (12 million) ethnic minority in modern China. Wherever they went the  Thais became both settlers and mercenaries. Once they left China they discarded  the culture that they learned from the Chinese, since it was now a symbol of  oppression. In its place they learned Theravada Buddhism from the Mons, the arts  from the Khmers, and developed an alphabet based on the scripts of both.
As long as Southeast Asia was ruled by strong empires like Pagan and  Kambujadesa, the Thais were no threat. But when those empires weakened in the  thirteenth century the Thais found a vacuum they could fill. In several places  along the Menam River Thai mercenaries revolted, setting up independent muang or city-states in place of Khmer rule. The most important of these  was Sukhothai, founded around 1238 on the upper Menam, and Lan Na ("One Million  Rice Fields"), farther north on the same river. Lan Na's first ruler, Mangrai  (1259-1318), was an excellent monarch, who defeated and conquered several rival muang around him and made his kingdom both civilized and powerful. He  even defeated the Mongols when they invaded Lan Na in 1296 and 1301. After  making a few counter-raids of his own into China, Mangrai sent elephants and  other gifts to the court of the Great Khan, and Sino-Thai relations were fine  after that. In 1296 he founded an impressive new capital, Chiangmai, and the  kingdom of Lan Na is usually referred to as Chiangmai after this.
Mangrai's successors quarreled over the Chiangmai throne for eleven years  (1318-29), and by the time stability returned the southern kingdom of Sukhothai  had clearly become the leader among the Thai states. Sukhothai's first two kings  are obscure, but the third was a multi-talented monarch called Rama Khamheng, or  Rama the Brave (1279-1317). Under him Sukhothai grew from just another muang into a "super-muang"; most of Malaya, Laos, eastern and central  Thailand came under his rule, and he also made vassals of the Mons in Burma.  Rama Khamheng was a fearless warrior, but most of the time he did not have to  fight; his reputation went ahead of him and caused most enemies to submit  without a battle. He made two trips in person (1294 and 1300) to pay tribute at  the court of the Great Khan, thereby escaping the Mongol raids that fell upon  the rest of Southeast Asia.(1)
On top of other things, Rama Khamheng claimed to be the inventor of the Thai  alphabet. Whether or not this is true, the oldest known Thai inscription was  written by him. Dated 1292, it portrays Sukhothai as a rich and happy state,  active in trade, and governed by a paternal monarch; taxes were modest, all  citizens (both Thai and non-Thai) were treated with equal justice, and everyone  followed Buddhism. Allowing for some exaggeration of the country's virtues, the  picture presented still shows a remarkable contrast to life under the Khmer  god-kings, who demanded much in labor and taxes to support themselves and a  religion that had little relevance to the commoner's life.
King Rama Khamheng was able to be a good ruler, warrior, diplomat and patron  of Buddhism and the arts--all at the same time. His successors were not so  talented; his son, Lo Thai, devoted his energy to Buddhism and neglected  everything else. Under him it became difficult to rule the kingdom from a  capital that was far removed from the centers of agriculture and population.  Many muang on the kingdom's periphery seceded, claiming that their  submission to Rama Khamheng was now null and void. One of these local princes,  Rama T'ibodi I, revolted and founded a new capital, Ayutthaya (also called  Ayuthia or Ayudhya), on the lower Menam. Sukhothai's fifth king, the monkish Li  Thai, recognized superior leadership and abdicated to him. That marked the  beginning of Siam's Ayutthayan era, a time future Thais would regard as a golden  age.
Footnotes:
1 - It was around this time that the Chinese started  calling Sukhothai "Xian," and neighboring states like Vietnam called it "Syam." From these names we get "Siam," Thailand's official name until 1939.
  ©Copyright 2000 - 2003 Charles Kimball
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