Setthathirath (Lao: ເສດຖາທິຣາດ; 1534–1572) is considered one of the great leaders in Lao history. Throughout 1560s up until his death, he successfully defended his kingdom of Lan Xang against military campaigns of Burmese conqueror Bayinnaung, who had already subdued Xieng Mai (Chiang Mai) in 1558 and Ayutthaya in 1564. Setthathirath was a prolific builder and erected many Buddhist monuments including Wat Xieng Thong in Louang Phrabang and the That Luang in Vientiane.
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also known as Chaiyachettha or Jayajestha, 1546–1547, Was first the King of Chiangmai, after the death of the King of Chiangmai King Ketklao, who died without a male heir to the thrown, his daughter Princess Yotkamtip is Chao Settathiraths Mother. Which through succession made Prince Settathirath the Heir to the thrown of Chiangmai, where he was crowned King of Chiangmai.
In 1551 the ruler of Chieng Mai was Chao Chaiyasetthathirat, the son of the ruler (Phra Chao Phothisan) of Luang Prabang. The previous ruler of Chieng Mai gave his daughter, Princess Nang Yotkham, in Marriage to Phra Chao Phothisan. She became his consort and bore him a son Chao Chaiyaset. When the latter was fifteen years of age, the ruler of Chieng Mai, his maternal grandfather, died. There was no other descendant to succeed him. High-ranking officials and Buddhist monks therefore agreed unanimously to offer the throne to Chao Chaiyaset, the eldest son of Phra Chao Phothisan and the grandson of the late ruler of Chieng Mai. His name was lengthened to Chao Chaiyasetthathirat.
King Potisararat accompanied Prince Settharatarat to Chiangmai with a large army with 9 Generals, commanding 2000 War elephants, and 300,000 soldiers. The route to Chiangmai via from the North through Chiengsen and Chiangrai, to ensure his son’s ascension to the thrown.
After Chaiyasetthathirat assumed rule of Chieng Mai, his father Phothisan died in Luang Prabang. Concerned that if he attended his father's funeral, he might be prevented from returning to Chieng Mai, Chaiyasetthathirat decided to take the Emerald Buddha with him to Luang Prabang. He also claimed that taking it to Luang would allow his relatives the opportunity to venerate the image and make merit
The Nobles of Lanna felt that Chaiyasetthathirat had stayed away too long, thus the Nobles of Lanna (Chieng Mai) were no longer willing to wait for Chaiyasetthathirat, and sought another descendant of Mangrai dynasty to take the throne. This Shan prince, known as Mae ku, was a distant relative of Chaiyasetthathirat.
Mekuti or Mae Ku may not have had an opportunity to do anything. Chaiyasetthathirat came under serious threat of attack after the Burmese took Chieng Saen, north-east of Chieng Mai, and Bayin-naung's forces gained the position to make an armed attack down the Mekong river. Thus, after twelve years in Luang Prabang, Chaiyasetthathirat decided to move his residence to Vientiane in the 1560s, taking the Emerald Buddha with him. The image stayed in Vientiane for two hundred and fifteen years until 1778.
after the death of King Potisararat, the nobles of lanxang were divided, a group supported Prince Tarua, another group of nobles led by Phya Vieng, Saen Marong, and Kwan Darmpa supported Prince Lanchang who was born from an Ayudhya princess. Prince Tarua and Prince Lanchang began to split the Kingdom up btw them, When Prince Settathartarat was still in Chiangmai. Hearing of the news of his half brothers, King Settathartarat quickly returned to Lanxang leaving the affairs of Chaingmai under Princess Chiraprabha's leadership, taking with him the PraKeo, the Saekkam, and the Sihing buddha images.
Settatharatarat quickly subdued Prince Tarua in Loungprabang, and sent his general Phya Sisatthamatailoke to go fight Prince Lanchang in the town of Kengsah, Prince Lanchang was defeated and fled to Thakhek, where the lord of Thakhek had him arrested and sent to Phya Sisatthama, the nobles that supported Prince Lanchang were exicuted, but Prince Setthatarat pardoned Prince Lanchang and appointed him as governor of Seanmuang. Phya Sisatthama was thus made Lord of Vientiane, and given the title Phya Chantaburi, who built Wat Chan and Pia Wat that can be found in Vientiane Today. After subduing his half brothers, King Setthartarat united Lanna and Lanxang under his rule.
Setthartarat hearing of the heroic Queen Suryothai of Ayudhya who fought against the Burmese and was killed, was moved and full of admiration for the Queen, requested the marriage of her daughter Princess Tepkasatri, the King of Ayudhya King Maha Chakkrapat eager to form an alliance with Lanxang agreed with the request. When the Princess Tepkasatri was being escorted to Lanxang Burmese soldiers kidnapped her bringing her back to Hongsawadee. This act Made King Setthartarat very angry and solidified the union btw Lanxang and Ayudhya.
In 1572, a conspiracy between a Lord Phya Nakhon and the former abbot of Wat Maximavat, who held personal grudges against Setthathirath, led to the king's murder in the southern frontier of the country. He was 38 years of age.
Because Setthathirath left only a toddler as his heir prince Noi Hno Muang Keo Koumane, the child's maternal grandfather, a military commander of common birth named Saensurin (or Sene Soulintha), declared himself king. This began a period of turbulence, with different men ruling unsteadily for short periods, which saw the country finally conquered by Bayinnaung in 1574, and the toddler son of Setthathirat was taken to Burma. with a fratricide by a crown prince; with a rebellion led by someone claiming to be Setthathirath-resurrected; and with a nine-year period in which the country had no king. (The Burmese would rule Laos for eighteen years.) Quarrels and conflicts among the feudal nobility and their followings led to disruptions and unrest within the population. With the country in chaos, Prince Noi Hno Muang Keo Koumane Always recognised as the rightful King by the people of Laos who campaigned for his return for many years until they finally succeeded when they sent a delegation to Burma after he had come of age in 1590. Crowned at Vientiane, 1591. Released from captivity in Burma and returned to Vientiane by King Nanda Bayin. Crowned there, 1591. Declared his independence from the Burmese in 1593, but suffered several attacks from them throughout his reign.
There was little peace in Laos until King Sourigna Vongsa ascended the throne in 1633 (possibly 1637).
| Preceded by Photisarath |
King of Lan Xang 1548–1571 |
Succeeded by Saensurin |
Lorrillard, Michel (1999) "La Succession de Setthathirat : réappréciation d'une période de l'histoire du Lan Xang," Aseanie 4 December 1999, pp. 44–64.
Phothisane, Souneth. (1996). The Nidan Khun Borom: Annotated Translation and Analysis, Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Queensland. [This is a translation of a Lan Chang chronicle]
Wyatt, David K. and Aroonrut Wichienkeeo (1995). The Chiangmai Chronicle. Chiangmai: Silkworm Books, pp. 118–127 [This source records the history of Setthathirath as a ruler of both Lan Chang and Chiang Mai]
Wyatt, David K., Thailand: A Short History, New Haven (Yale University Press), 2003. [Concise description of his reign]