| Ram Khamhaeng the Great | |
|---|---|
| King of Sukhothai | |
| Royal Statue of King Ramkhamhaeng The Great , located in the Sukhothai Historical Park , Sukhothai Province , Thailand | |
|
|
|
| Reign | 1279–1298 |
| Predecessor | Ban Muang |
| Lerthai | |
| House | Phra Ruang Dynasty |
| Father | Pho Khun Sri Indraditya |
| Mother | Queen Sueang |
| Born | around 1237-1247 |
| Died | 1298 |
Pho Khun Ram Khamhaeng (Thai: พ่อขุนรามคำแหงมหาราช; Pho Khun Ramkhamhaeng; birth: around 1237-1247; death: 1298) was the third king of the Phra Ruang dynasty, ruling the Sukhothai Kingdom (a forerunner of the modern kingdom of Thailand) from 1278–1298, during its most prosperous era. He is credited with the creation of the Thai alphabet and the firm establishment of Theravada Buddhism as the state religion of the kingdom. Recent scholarship has cast doubt on his role, however, noting that much of the information relating to his rule may have been fabricated in the 19th century in order to legitimize the Siamese state in the face of colonial threats.[1]
Contents |
His parents were Prince Bang Klang Hao, who ruled as King Sri Indraditya, and Queen Sueang,[2] although a legend describes his parents as an ogress named Kangli and a fisherman. He had four siblings, including two older brothers and two sisters. The eldest brother died while still young. The second, Ban Muang, became king following their father's death, and was succeeded by Ram Khamhaeng following his own death.[3]
At the age of 19, he participated in his father's successful invasion of the city of Sukhothai, formerly a vassal of the Khmer and essentially establishing the independent Sukhothai kingdom. Because of his conduct at war, he was given the title "Phra Ram Khamhaeng", or Rama the Bold. After his father's death his elder brother Ban Muang ruled the kingdom and gave Prince Ramkhamhaeng control of the city of [[Amphoe Si Satchanalai|Si Sat Chanalai].
The Royal Institute of Thailand speculates that Prince Ram Khamhaeng's birth name was "Ram" (derived from the name of the Hindu epic Ramayana's hero Rama), for the name of him following his coronation was "Pho Khun Ramarat" (Thai: พ่อขุนรามราช). Furthermore, at that time there existed a tradition to give the name of grandfather to grandson; according to the 11th Stone Inscription and Luang Prasoet Aksoranit's Ayutthaya Chronicles, Ram Khamhaeng had a grandson named "Phraya Ram", and two grandsons of Phraya Ram were named "Phraya Ban Mueang" and "Phraya Ram".
Historian Tri Amattayakun (Thai: ตรี อมาตยกุล) suggested that Ram Khamhaeng should have accessed to the throne in 1279, the year he grew a sugar palm tree in Sukhothai City. Prof Prasoet Na Nakhon of the Royal Institute speculates that this event was one in a tradition of Thai-Ahom's monarchs of planting banyan or sugar palm tree on the coronation day in the belief that their reign would achieve the same stature as the tree.
Ramkhamhaeng formed an alliance with the Yuan Dynasty of Mongol Empire, from whom he imported the techniques for making ceramics now known as Sangkhalok ware. Additionally, he had close relationships with the neighboring rulers of nearby city-states, namely Ngam Muang, the ruler of neighboring Phayao (whose wife he, according to legend, seduced) and King Mangrai of Chiang Mai. According to Thai national history, Ramkhamhaeng expanded his kingdom as far as Lampang, Phrae and Nan in the north, and Phitsanulok and Vientiane in the east, the Mon states of Burma in the west, as far as the Gulf of Bengal in the northwest and Nakhon Si Thammarat in the south. Yet, as historian Thongchai Winichakul notes, kingdoms such as Sukhothai lacked distinct borders, instead being centered on the strength of the capital itself.[4] Claims of Ramkhamhaeng's large kingdom were, according to Thongchai, intended to assert Siamese/Thai dominance over mainland Southeast Asia.[4]
According to Thai history, Ramkhamhaeng is traditionally credited with developing the Thai alphabet (Lai Sue Thai) from Sanskrit, Pali and Grantha script. His rule is often cited by apologists for the Thai monarchy as evidence of a "benevolent monarchy" still existing today.[5] As such, the topic is a sensitive one under Thai lèse majesté laws.
According to a Chinese chronicle, Ram Khamhaeng died in 1298 and was succeeded by his son, Loethai or some Chronicle Ram Khamhaeng died in 1317.
Ramkhamhaeng University, the first open university in Thailand with campuses throughout the country and in some certain countries, has been named after King Ramkhamhaeng the Great.
Much of the above biographical information comes from a stone inscription in the Ramkhamhaeng stele, now in the National Museum in Bangkok.
This stone was allegedly discovered in 1833 by King Mongkut (then still a monk) in the Wat Mahathat. The authenticity of the stone – or at least portions of it – has been brought into question.[6] Piriya Krairiksh, an academic at the Thai Khadi Research institute, notes that the stele's treatment of vowels suggests that its creators had been influenced by European alphabet systems; thus, he concludes that the stele was fabricated by someone during the reign of Rama IV himself, or shortly before. The matter is very controversial, since if the stone is in fact a fabrication, the entire history of the period will have to be re-written.[7]
Scholars are still divided over the issue about the stele's authenticity.[1] It remains an anomaly amongst contemporary writings, and in fact no other source refers to King Ramkhamhaeng by name. Some authors claim the inscription was completely a 19th-century fabrication, some claim that the first 17 lines are genuine, some that the inscription was fabricated by King Lithai (a later Sukhothai king), and some scholars still hold to the idea of the inscription's authenticity.[1] The inscription and its image of a Sukhothai utopia remains central to Thai nationalism, and the suggestion that it may have been faked in the 1800s caused Michael Wright, a British scholar, to be threatened with deportation under Thailand's lèse majesté laws .[8]
King Ramkhamhaeng is a playable ruler for the Siamese in Civilization 5. His national ability is "Father Governs Children": any food and Culture from friendly City-States increase by 50%.
|
Ram Khamhaeng
Born: (around 1237-1247) Died: 1298 |
||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ban Muang |
King of Sukhothai 1279–1298 |
Succeeded by Loethai |
|
|||||||||||||||||