Uparaja or Ouparath, also Ouparaja ( my, ဥပရာဇာ ; km, ឧបរាជ, ; th, อุปราช, ; lo, ອຸປຮາດ, ''Oupahat''), was a

royal title Traditional rank amongst European royalty, peers, and nobility is rooted in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Although they vary over time and among geographic regions (for example, one region's prince might be equal to another's grand duke ...

reserved for the

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...

in the

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

dynasties in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

, and Laos and

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, as well as some of their minor tributary kingdoms.

Burma

The Great Deputy King, in full Maha Uparaja Anaudrapa Ainshe Min, incorrectly interpreted as Crown Prince by Europeans, and addressed as His Royal Highness, was the single highest rank among the

Min-nyi Min-tha Minnyi Mintha ( my, မင်းညီမင်းသား, ) was the common title for all Princes of the Blood of the Burmese monarchy (i.e. sons, grandsons, brothers and nephews of a sovereign), who were all assigned fiefdoms when they came of ag ...

, i.e. princes of the royal blood. It is shortened to Einshay Min (, ). However, the position was not reserved for the highest birth rank (if there is one, ''Shwe Kodaw-gyi Awratha'', i.e. eldest son of the sovereign, by his chief Queen), nor did it carry a plausible promise of succession, which was usually only settled in an ultimate power struggle.

Cambodia

The word Ouparach ( km, ឧបរាជ) is derived from both

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

and

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravāda'' Buddh ...

languages, literally means ''Vice King'', who obtains the position following the crowned king. The full term of Ouparach in order to provide the proper honor is Samdach Preah Ouparach ( km, សម្តេចព្រះឧបរាជ) or Samdach Preah Moha Ouparach ( km, សម្តេចព្រះមហាឧបរាជ្យ). According to tradition of Kingdom of

, Samdach Preah Moha Ouparach positions as the supreme official controlling other high and low officials.

Siam (Thailand)

Uparat ( th, อุปราช; ), in full Phra Maha Upparat (), as pronounced in historical

Siam Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

, translates to

. Thai อุปราช Front Palace ( th, วังหน้า; ), however, was the more usual designation, often referred to in English as Second King or Vice King. The office was discontinued in 1876 by

Rama V Chulalongkorn ( th, จุฬาลงกรณ์, 20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910) was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, titled Rama V. He was known to the Siamese of his time as ''Phra Phuttha Chao Luang'' (พร� ...

, following the

Front Palace Crisis The Front Palace Crisis or the Front Palace incident ( th, วิกฤตการณ์วังหน้า) (Wang Na crisis) was a political crisis that took place in the Kingdom of Siam from 28 December 1874 to 24 February 1875 (93 of the Ra ...

of 1874, in favour of the office of

Crown Prince of Siam The Crown Prince of Thailand (or Siam; th, สยามมกุฎราชกุมาร; ; lit. the royal son of Siam) is a title held by the heir apparent to the Thai throne. First created by King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) in 1886, for his s ...

( th, สยามมกุฎราชกุมาร; ). Note that those serving ''

vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character t ...

'' a king constitute a different office, that of regent or regency council.

References

{{Reflist Gubernatorial titles Royal titles Noble titles Thai monarchy Burmese royal titles

Burma

Cambodia

Siam (Thailand)

See also

References