Nakhon Pathom ( th, นครปฐม, ) is a city (''

thesaban nakhon Thesaban ( th, เทศบาล, , ) are the municipalities of Thailand. There are three levels of municipalities: city, town, and sub-district. Bangkok and Pattaya are special municipal entities not included in the ''thesaban'' system. The mu ...

'') in central

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 bo ...

, the former capital of Nakhon Pathom province. One of the most important landmarks is the giant

Phra Pathommachedi Phra Pathommachedi or Phra Pathom Chedi ( th, พระปฐมเจดีย์) is a Buddhist stupa in Thailand. The stupa is located in the Wat Phra Pathommachedi Ratcha Wora Maha Wihan ( th, วัดพระปฐมเจดีย์� ...

. The city is also home to Thailand's only Bhikkhuni temple Wat Song Thammakanlayani (), which is also open to women from abroad. Nakhon Pathom houses a campus of

Silpakorn University Silpakorn University (SU.) ( th, มหาวิทยาลัยศิลปากร; ) is a national university in Thailand. The university was founded in Bangkok in 1943 by Tuscan–born art professor Corrado Feroci, who took the Thai name S ...

within the former

Sanam Chan Palace Sanam Chandra Palace ( th, พระราชวังสนามจันทร์; ; "Moon Plaza") is a palace complex built by Vajiravudh in Nakhon Pathom Province, Thailand, 56 km west of Bangkok. The palace complex is about a kilometer ...

. The city is 57 km west of Bangkok. According to Charles Higham, "Two silver medallions from beneath a sanctuary at Nakhon Pathom, the largest of the

moated A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

sites, proclaim that it was 'the meritorious work of the King of Sri

Dvaravati The Dvaravati ( th, ทวารวดี ; ) was an ancient Mon kingdom from the 7th century to the 11th century that was located in the region now known as central Thailand. It was described by the Chinese pilgrim in the middle of the 7th ce ...

', the

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 ...

term Dvaravati meaning 'that which has gates'. The script is in south Indian characters of the seventh century." Nakhon Pathom was the largest Dvaravati center.Higham, Charles., 2014, ''Early Mainland south-east Asia'', Bangkok: River Books Co., Ltd.,

History

Nakhon Pathom was located in the

Gulf of Thailand The Gulf of Thailand, also known as the Gulf of Siam, is a shallow inlet in the southwestern South China Sea, bounded between the southwestern shores of the Indochinese Peninsula and the northern half of the Malay Peninsula. It is around in l ...

2000 years ago, but is steadily receding southward as a result of sedimentation. Nakhon Pathom, along with Ratchaburi and Sing Buri, is considered one of the oldest cities in Thailand, having been founded as far back as 40 BC. It was for a long time one of the important capitals of

, a prestigious Mon kingdom from Lop Buri to

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. The Indian King Ashoka sent monks to Siam at this time to popularize

Theravada Buddhism ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...

. They arrived in Nakhon Pathom and from there toured the country. Hence the city's self-image of having spread

Buddhism 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 gra ...

throughout Siam. In April 1842, trouble broke out between three groups of

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

who had formed secret societies, each with about 1,000 men. The leaders of these groups were named Khim, Ia and Phiao (Piaw). The Siamese government sent

soldiers A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

under the command of Phra Sombat Wanit to arrest the leaders. In fact, Khim and Phiao were the first to be thrown into the dungeon, but Ia managed to escape. He then robbed the houses in the Samut Sakhon and Nakhon Pathom area along with his people. They could only be overpowered after a large police operation. In the 1930s, Nakhon Pathom was a nest of 300 houses and about 12. Buddhist temples. There was also the famous monks' retreat at Bang Thammasala.

Geography

Nakhon Pathom is located about 50 kilometers west of Thailand's capital,

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

, in the middle of a wide

plain In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands ...

, crossed by watercourses, such as the Mae Nam Tha Chin (Tha Chin River). Sugar cane has been grown here since the late 18th century. Old travel reports describe that near Nakhon Pathom on the Tha Chin, there were sugar factories every four to five kilometers, surrounded by some ten to fifteen

houses A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

and firmly in Chinese hands.

Places of interest

* Phra Pathom Chedi (พระปฐมเจดีย,) - considered the tallest Buddhist structure in the world, it is about 127 meters high, rediscovered by King

Mongkut Mongkut ( th, มงกุฏ; 18 October 18041 October 1868) was the fourth monarch of Siam (Thailand) under the House of Chakri, titled Rama IV. He ruled from 1851 to 1868. His full title in Thai was ''Phra Bat Somdet Phra Menthora Ramathibod ...

(Rama IV) during his time as a wandering monk in the jungle (restored since 1853) and covered with fine Chinese tiles at the behest of his son

Chulalongkorn 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� ...

(Rama V). * Phra Ruang Rochanarit - Standing Buddha about eight meters high in the north chapel. * New

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

at the south entrance of the temple complex, displaying mainly

period artifacts found during construction work on the chedi and in the surrounding excavations, as well as Mon-style Buddha statues. * Wat Phra Praton Praton Chedi (พระประโทณเจดีย์): small, quiet temple with an ancient Khmer prang and a small but popular shrine to the heroes of a

legend A legend is a Folklore genre, genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human valu ...

Phya Khong and his foster mother Yai Hom. * Wat Songdhammakalyani- (วัดทรงธรรมกัลยาณี) - Thailand's only Bhikkhuni temple, open also to interested Western women."On Thailand & Engaged Buddhism: Wat Songdhammakalyani" * Sanam Chan - King

Vajiravudh Vajiravudh ( th, วชิราวุธ, , 1 January 188126 November 1925) was the sixth monarch of Siam under the Chakri dynasty as Rama VI. He ruled from 23 October 1910 until his death in 1925. King Vajiravudh is best known for his efforts ...

's palace complex in the west of the

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

. The complex now houses the Sanam Chan Palace Campus of Silpakorn University.

Gallery

File:Phra Pathom Chedi.jpg,

File:Chali Mongkol Asana.jpg, Sanam Chandra Palace File:Image-Sanam Chan Chaleemongkolasana Residence 2.JPG, Sanam Chandra Palace File:Phra Pathommachedi during night.JPG, Phra Pathommachedi

References

External links