Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
Sai Nam Peung
King of Siam from 1111 to 1165 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
Sai Nam Peung (Thai: สายน้ำผึ้ง), the third sovereign of Xiān at Ayodhya,[1] was a commoner elevated to the throne following a brief interregnum precipitated by the death of the preceding monarch, Phra Chao Luang, who died without a male heir.[1][2]: 43–4 His reign, extending from 1111 to 1165 CE,[1] was marked by the consolidation of political authority,[3]: 35–6 the establishment of economic structures, and the cultivation of diplomatic relations with China[2]: 43–4 and Đại Việt.[4]
The Northern Chronicle and the KLHW Khamhaikan Khun Luang Ha Wat (lit. 'Testimony of the king who entered a wat') enumerate Sai Nam Peung as Ayodhya's 12th sovereign within a dynastic sequence of nineteen monarchs, concluding with Uthong V as the final ruler.[5] Wat Phanan Choeng and Wat Mongkhon Bophit is believed to have been constructed during his reign.[1][6]
Sai Nam Peung was succeeded by his son, Dhammikaraja, whose reign included the establishment of a northern frontier at Phitsanulok and the delegation of authority over Phitsanulok and Mueang Phreak to the Pra Poa Noome Thele Seri lineage. Prince Uthong II, a member of this lineage, subsequently succeeded Dhammikaraja as monarch of Ayodhya in 1205 CE.[1]
Remove ads
Biography
Following a brief interregnum subsequent to the death of Phra Chao Luang, who left no male heir, the royal court conferred the throne upon a commoner, who subsequently assumed the regnal title Sai Nam Peung.[1][2]: 43–4
The Ayutthaya Testimonies, which identify Sai Nam Peung as the sovereign of Mueang Phreak, record that he had one queen consort, Dararajadevi (ดาราราชเทวี),[3]: 36 possibly of Mon descent,[a] and fathered a son, Sudhammaraja (สุธรรมราชา),[3]: 36 who succeeded him in 1165 CE.[1] The Northern Chronicle further notes that Sai Nam Peung married an adopted princess of the Chinese emperor, Soi Dok Mak, though the union produced no offspring.[2]: 44 The legend recounting the tragic love story between Sai Nam Peung and Soi Dok Mak, preserved in both the Northern Chronicle and the Khamhaikan Khun Luang Ha Wat, has formally been recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2024.[7] This narrative is also associated with the foundation of Wat Phanan Choeng.[6]
Remove ads
Political legacy
Summarize
Perspective
Influence expansion
Following the death of Sindhob Amarin (สินธพอำมรินทร์), who held dual authority over Mueang Phreak and Mueang Wat Doem (later Ayodhya) in 996 CE,[b] extant sources provide no further information concerning the rulers of these polities until the relocation of the Ayodhya royal seat under Narai I in the subsequent century. According to the Ayutthaya Testimonies, the name of Sai Nam Peung emerged as the new sovereign of Mueang Phreak, although the precise date of his enthronement is not specified. The text merely indicates that he ruled after King Bharattakabba (ภะรัตกับ), identified by scholars as Sindhob Amarin, as recorded in the Northern Chronicle.[3]: 35–6 This succession indicates that Mueang Phreak came under Xiān authority during the era of Sai Nam Peung. His political influence over the city is estimated to have commenced around 1135 CE, as the Ayutthaya Testimonies note that he ruled there for thirty years until his death.[3]: 36
During this period, the intermediate polity of Singburi, bordered Lavapura of Angkor approximately 25 kilometers to the southeast, met Mueang Phreak of Ayodhya 31 kilometers to the northwest, and adjoined Ayodhya 60 kilometers to the south, was governed by a line of the Pra Poa Noome Thele Seri, a Siamese dynasty that subsequently played a significant role in the consolidation of Siamese polities in the following century.
The reigns of Sai Nam Peung and his son Dhammikaraja are characterized in the Ayutthaya Testimonies as a period of relative peace, with no recorded internal conflicts. Their royal lineage and extended family were drawn primarily from various noble houses.[3]: 36–7 The principal external threat from Angkor, located to the east, was undergoing a phase of recovery from internal rebellions and political turbulence that had persisted roughly between the 1050s and the 1080s.[8]: 138–139 [9]: 104
According to the Northern Chronicle, the area south of Ayutthaya, corresponding to present-day Pathum Thani province, was potentially a tidal flat affected by seawater. The text recounts that Sai Nam Peung attempted to establish a new settlement in the present-day Bang Toei area (บางเตย) of Sam Khok District, 30 kilometers south of the royal palace, but the project was abandoned due to excessively saline soils, which rendered the land unsuitable for cultivation.[2]: 45
International relations
Sai Nam Peung solidified diplomatic and political relations with the imperial court of China through his matrimonial alliance with Soi Dok Mak, an adopted daughter of the Chinese emperor. Her arrival in Ayodhya was accompanied by a retinue of 500 Chinese settlers.[2]: 44–5 This initial foreign enclave was established in the vicinity of Pak Nam Mae Bia (ปากน้ำแม่เบี้ย), situated approximately 500 meters south of the royal palace, and subsequently developed into a principal commercial settlement during the period of economic prosperity of the Ayutthaya Kingdom.[10]
In 1149 CE, extant records document the arrival of Xiān maritime merchants in Đại Việt, who petitioned for authorization to conduct trade and to establish a commercial emporium at Yún tún (chữ Hán: 海東), thereby facilitating early Sino-Siam mercantile networks.[4]
Remove ads
Notes
- Calculated from the text provided in the Northern Chronicle: Phrase 1: ...พระพุทธศักราช ๑๘๕๐...พระเจ้าสินธพอำมรินทร์เสวยราชสมบัติได้ ๓ ปี...[2]: 32 which is transcribed as ...Buddhist Era? 1850...Sindhob Amarin has been reigning for 3 years..., Phrase 2: ...จึงลบพระพุทธศักราช ๑๘๕๗ เปนจุลศักราช ๓๐๖...[2]: 33 transcribed as ... Buddhist Era? 1857 is changed to Chula Sakarat 306... On the basis of the two aforementioned textual references, it may be inferred that the reign of Sindhob Amarin commenced in Chula Sakarat 299 (corresponding to 937 CE). This chronological point appears to overlap with the reign of Bhuddhasagara and his son at Mueang Wat Derm. Consequently, the year 937 CE may reasonably be identified as the probable date of Sindhob Amarin’s enthronement at Mueang Phreak, and the Phrase 3: ...พระเจ้าสินธพอำมรินทร์เสวยราชสมบัติ ๕๙ ปี พระองค์สวรรคต... transcribed as ...Sindhob Amarin ruled for 59 years and died...[2]: 33 that means he died in 996 CE.
References
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads