A History of Thailand

The modern Thai are descendants from a much larger group of peoples who speak Tai languages. Tai-Speaking peoples are found in extreme Northeastern India all the way to Vietnam and the Malay peninsula. Most scholars now believe that the Tai came from northern Vietnam around the Dien Bien Phu area, and that about a 1000 years ago, they spread from there northward into Southern China, westward into Southwestern China, Northern Myanmar, and northeastern India, and southward into what are now Laos and Thailand. For the most part, early Tai people were lowland peoples who settled along river valleys in northern mainland Southeast Asia. They formed small settlements and practiced agriculture and fishing.

The basic unit of Tai political organization was the muang, or group of villages, ruled by a chao, or hereditary chief or lord. During the first millennium AD the political strengths of the muang system enabled the Tai to move out of their original homeland until, by the 8th century, they had expanded across much of northern mainland Southeast Asia.

As the Tai moved into mainland Southeast Asia, they came in contact with peoples speaking Mon-Khmer languages who had long inhabited the region. They also came in contact with the Khmer of Cambodia. Tai contacts with foreign cultures led to many Hindu and Buddhist elements entering Tai culture, particularly in regard to royal ceremonies or classical dance and literature.

Sukhothai and Lan Na were the first major Tai kingdoms in Thai history. During its first two reigns, Sukhothai remained only a small local power. Under its third ruler, Ramkhamhaeng, however, Sukhothai power was extended to the south as far as Nakhon Si Thammarat, to the west into what is now Myannmar, and to the northeast as far as Luang Prabang in modern Laos. Ramkhamhaeng, is also known for leaving a stone inscription that contained the earliest examples of the Thai language. The Sukhothai period (between 13th and 15th century) also is noted for its sculpture and pottery.

Large bronze sculptures of the Buddha, especially those showing him in the walking position, are typical of the period.

The Empire of Ayuddhia or Ayutthaya

Later, the kingdom that would follow Sukhothai, and probably remain Thailand's richest and most remembered kingdom is Ayuddhia (1350-1767). During the Ayyutthayan period the Tai gained the recognition as the leading power in what is now Central and North-Central Thailand. Since many of Ayutthaya's neighbors called the country Siam, the Tai of Ayutthaya came to be known as the Siamese. The Tai, after Ayhutthia had only existed less than a century were able to push back the Khmer, and in 1431 they sacked the great Khmer capitol of Angkor. When the Siamese conquered Angkor, they brought many Khmer captives back to Ayutthaya. From them Ayutthaya's rulers adopted many Hindu practices, including the concept of the ruler as god-king (devaraja).

The power of the ruler in Ayutthaya, as a result of ideological concepts from the Khmer-Hindu beliefs of god-kings, and by the centralization of political power, became ever greater. Trailok (ruled between 1448 and 1488) created a state in which the ruler stood at the center of the government. He would appoint office-holders to operate a more bureaucratic rather than hereditary government.

Ayutthaya at its height was one of the wealthiest and most cosmopolitan cities of its day. Although it was inland, it became an international trade emporium. Ayutthayan kings permitted settlements of Chinese, Indian, and Persian, as well as European traders; they employed Japanese warriors and allowed Western missionaries to preach within Ayutthayan domains.

The primary threat to Ayutthayan sovereignty came not from Europe, but from Myanmar. In 1569, a force from the Burman state of Taungoo overran Ayutthaya and devastated the country for miles around. Ayutthaya was able to recover its independence, but conflict with Myanmar armies persisted. Until, in the mid-18th century, Burman armies once again captured Ayutthaya. All Ayutthayan records were burned and its works destroyed.

A new era in Thai history began with the rise to power of Taksin, a military commander of great skill. Taksin not only recovered the territories that had formerly been part of the Ayutthayan empire, but he also set out to extend Siamese control over new areas. His efforts led to a resurgence of Siam, and the start of a group of rulers known as the Chakri kings. These kings sought to restore the cultural heritage of Ayutthaya. New temples and palaces were built following the same styles of the fallen empire. However, after many more years of literary and architectural accomplishments, the people of Thailand would finally lose much of their wealth and political strength. Today, they remain a rather poor country.