Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya ( th, พระนครศรีอยุธยา, ; also spelled "Ayudhya"), or locally and simply Ayutthaya, is the former capital of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province in

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 ...

. Located on an island at the confluence of the Chao Phraya and Pa Sak rivers, Ayutthaya is the birthplace of the founder of

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in 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 estimated populati ...

, King

Rama I Phra Phutthayotfa Chulalok Maharaj (, 20 March 1737 – 7 September 1809), personal name Thongduang (), also known as Rama I, was the founder of the Rattanakosin Kingdom and the first monarch of the reigning Chakri dynasty of Siam (now T ...

Etymology

Fra Mauro World Map detail South East Asian mainland

Ayutthaya is named after the city of

Ayodhya Ayodhya (; ) is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Ayodhya, also known as Saketa, is an ancient city of India, the birthplace of Rama and setting of the great epic Ramayana. Ayodhy ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

, the birthplace of

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bei ...

in the ''

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages ...

'' ( Thai, ''

Ramakien The ( th, รามเกียรติ์, , ; ; sometimes also spelled ) is one of Thailand's national epics, derived from the Buddhist Dasaratha Jataka. Fundamentally, it is a Thai version of the Hindu epic Ramayana. Ramakien is an importa ...

''); (from Khmer: ''preah'' ព្រះ ) is a prefix for a noun concerning a royal person; designates an important or capital city (from Sanskrit: ''nagara''); the Thai honorific ''sri'' or ''si'' is from the Indian term of veneration

Shri Shri (; , ) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific. The word is widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages such as Marathi, Malay (including Indonesian and Malaysian), Javan ...

History

Prior to Ayutthaya's traditional founding date, archaeological and written evidence has revealed that Ayutthaya may have existed as early as the late 13th century as a water-borne port town. Further evidence of this can be seen with

Wat Phanan Choeng Wat Phanan Choeng ( th, วัดพนัญเชิงpronunciation is a Buddhist temple in the city of Ayutthaya, Thailand, on the east bank of the Chao Phraya River at the south-eastern side of the confluence of the Chao Phraya and Pa ...

, which was founded in 1324, 27 years before Ayutthaya's official foundation. Ayutthaya was officially founded in 1351 by King

U Thong King U-thongThe Royal Institute. List of monarchs Ayutthaya''. ( th, พระเจ้าอู่ทอง) or King Ramathibodi I ( th, สมเด็จพระรามาธิบดีที่ ๑ ; 1314–1369) was the first king of ...

, who went there to escape a

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

outbreak in

Lopburi Lopburi ( th, ลพบุรี, , ) is the capital city of Lopburi Province in Thailand. It is about northeast of Bangkok. It has a population of 58,000. The town (''thesaban mueang'') covers the whole ''tambon'' Tha Hin and parts of Th ...

and proclaimed it the capital of his kingdom, often referred to as the

Ayutthaya Kingdom The Ayutthaya Kingdom (; th, อยุธยา, , IAST: or , ) was a Siamese kingdom that existed in Southeast Asia from 1351 to 1767, centered around the city of Ayutthaya, in Siam, or present-day Thailand. The Ayutthaya Kingdom is consi ...

or Siam. It is named after the ancient Indian city of

, synonymous with

, the 7th incarnation of the Hindu God

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...

. Ayutthaya became the second Siamese capital after Sukhothai. It is estimated that Ayutthaya by the year 1600 had a population of about 300,000, with the population perhaps reaching 1,000,000 around 1700, making it one of the world's largest cities at that time, when it was sometimes known as the "

Venice of the East The following is an incomplete list of places which have been nicknamed Venice of the East. List See also * Venezuela, country whose name means "Little Venice" * Venice of the North * Little Venice Little Venice is a district in West Lon ...

". In 1767, the city was destroyed by the Burmese army, resulting in the collapse of the kingdom. The ruins of the old city are preserved in the Ayutthaya historical park, which is recognised internationally as a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

. The ruins, characterised by the ''prang'' (reliquary towers) and gigantic monasteries, give an idea of the city's past splendour. Modern Ayutthaya was refounded a few kilometres to the east.

Population

Since 2005, the population of Ayutthaya has been declining.

Geography

The city is about north of

Climate

Ayutthaya, located in the central plains, is affected by three seasons: *Hot Season: March – May *Rainy season: June – October *Cool season: November – February

Ayutthaya City Sites

Notable cultural sites

Museums

*Ayutthaya Historical Study Centre * Chao Sam Phraya National Museum: The museum was specially display the objects excavated at Wat Racha Burana and Wat Maha That.

Other tourism sites

*Wang Luang *Wat Suwan Dararam *St. Joseph's Church *

Baan Hollanda Baan Hollanda was a Dutch village in Thailand built during the Ayutthaya era in 1634. Baan Hollanda was located on the Chao Phraya River close to the Tambon Suan Phlu shipyard in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya District, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Provin ...

The city is located at the junction of the Chao Phraya,

and Pa Sak rivers, and on the main north–south railway linking

Chiang Mai Chiang Mai (, from th, เชียงใหม่ , nod, , เจียงใหม่ ), sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the second largest city in ...

. The old city is on an island formed by a bend of the Chao Phraya on the west and south sides, the Pa Sak on the east side and the Klong Muang canal on the northern side. The approximate centre of the old city is .

Transport

Ayutthaya is accessible by air and rail.

Air

The closest airport is Bangkok's

Don Mueang International Airport Don Mueang International Airport ( th, ท่าอากาศยานดอนเมือง, , , or colloquially as , ) is one of two international airports serving the Bangkok Metropolitan Region, the other one being Suvarnabhumi Airp ...

, a hub for regional budget carriers. An elevated walkway connects Terminal 1 to the Don Muang Train Station, where Ayutthaya-bound trains regularly roll through.

Rail

Trains to Ayutthaya leave Bangkok's Hua Lamphong Station approximately every hour between 04:20 am. and 10:00 pm. The 3rd class fare is 20 baht for the 1.5 hour trip. Train schedules are available from the information booth at Hua Lamphong Station, Bangkok.

In fiction

*A Thailand-themed town named "Ayothaya" appears in the personal computer

MMORPG A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...

'' Ragnarok Online''. *Ayutthaya is a stage in

Soul Calibur II is a 2002 fighting game developed by Project Soul and published by Namco and the third installment in the ''Soulcalibur'' series of weapon-based fighting games. It is the sequel to ''Soulcalibur (video game), Soulcalibur'', which was released in ...

. *The temples in Wat Phra Si Sanphet and Wat Ratchaburana from Ayutthaya appear in

Street Fighter II is a fighting game developed by Capcom and originally released for arcades in 1991. It is the second installment in the '' Street Fighter'' series and the sequel to 1987's '' Street Fighter''. It is Capcom's fourteenth game to use the CP S ...

Kickboxer Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general ...

(as "Stone City"),

Mortal Kombat ''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The development of the first game was originally based on an idea that Ed Boon and John Tobias had of making a ...

Mortal Kombat Annihilation ''Mortal Kombat: Annihilation'' is a 1997 American martial arts fantasy film directed by John R. Leonetti in his directorial debut. Based on the ''Mortal Kombat'' video game franchise, it is the second installment in the ''Mortal Kombat'' film ...

, and throughout Mortal Kombat Conquest. *The lying Buddha statue from the Ayutthaya ruins appears in Sagat's stage in most of the

Street Fighter , commonly abbreviated as ''SF'' or スト (''Suto''), is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Capcom. The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by six ...

games. *It was featured in the 2005 movie " The King Maker". *The 1630 destruction of the Japanese quarter of Ayutthaya at the orders of

Prasat Thong Prasat ThongThe Royal Institute. List of monarchs Ayutthaya''. ( th, ปราสาททอง, ; c. 1600–1656; 1629–1656) was the first king of the Prasat Thong dynasty, the fourth dynasty of the Siamese Ayutthaya Kingdom. Accounts vary ...

and its consequences is central to one of the stories in the

1632 series The ''1632'' series, also known as the 1632-verse or ''Ring of Fire'' series, is an alternate history book series and sub-series created, primarily co-written, and coordinated by American author Eric Flint and published by Baen Books. The se ...

anthology '' Ring of Fire III'', "All God's Children in the Burning East" by Garrett W. Vance. *In the 2010

Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in t ...

game Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, the main characters visit the city of 'Ayuthay', which draws heavily on Thai culture and architecture. *A Thailand-themed map named "Ayutthaya" appears in the video game

Overwatch ''Overwatch'' is a multimedia franchise centered on a series of online multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS) video games developed by Blizzard Entertainment: '' Overwatch'' released in 2016, and ''Overwatch 2'' released in 2022. Both games fe ...

Gallery

File:Ayutthaya, Elephants, Thailand.jpg, Elephants File:Ayutthaya, Elephant festival, Thailand.jpg, Elephant File:Ayutthaya, Monk, Thailand.jpg, Buddhist monk in Ayutthaya File:Templo Phra Si Sanphet, Ayutthaya, Tailandia, 2013-08-23, DD 16.jpg, Wat Phra Si Sanphet File:Templo Mahathat, Ayutthaya, Tailandia, 2013-08-23, DD 05.jpg, Mahathat, Ayutthaya historical park File:Mercado flotante, Ayutthaya, Tailandia, 2013-08-23, DD 02.jpg, Floating market of Ayutthaya Templo Thammikarat, Ayutthaya, Tailandia, 2013-08-23, DD 07.jpg, Thammikarat temple File:Ayutthaya city at night, Thailand.jpg, Ayutthaya city centre at night

Notes

The city was founded on Friday, the 6th day of the waxing moon of the 5th month, 1893

Buddhist Era The Buddhist calendar is a set of lunisolar calendars primarily used in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand as well as in Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam by Chinese populations for religious or official occasions. While the ...

, corresponding to Friday, 4 March 1351

Common Era Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...

, according to the calculation of the Fine Arts Department of Thailand.

References

External links

*http://www.ayutthaya.go.th/eng_travel.htm Website of municipality * {{Authority control Populated places in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province 1350 establishments in Asia Populated places established in the 1350s Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Thailand Cities and towns in Thailand 14th-century establishments in Thailand Populated places on the Chao Phraya River River islands of Thailand