Chairachathirat (, ), or ''Chai'' reigned 1534–1546 as King of the

Ayutthaya kingdom The Ayutthaya Kingdom or the Empire of Ayutthaya was a Thai people, Thai kingdom that existed in Southeast Asia from 1351 to 1767, centered around the city of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya (city), Ayutthaya, in Siam, or present-day Thailand. Europe ...

Siam Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. His reign was remarkable for the influx of Portuguese traders,

mercenaries A mercenary is a private individual who joins an War, armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rath ...

, and

early Modern warfare Early modern warfare is the era of warfare during early modern period following medieval warfare. It is associated with the start of the widespread use of gunpowder and the development of suitable weapons to use the explosive, including art ...

technology.

Birth

The evidence regarding his father is not yet clear; the Royal Chronicle by the Venerable Vanarata of Pakaeo Temple and the Royal Chronicle (Rattanakosin edition) only state that King Chairachathirat is of the royal family of King Ramathibodi. The

Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

text "Sangitiyavansa", authored in the reign of King

Rama I Phutthayotfa Chulalok (born Thongduang; 20 March 1737 – 7 September 1809), also known by his regnal name Rama I, was the founder of the Rattanakosin Kingdom (now Thailand) and the first King of Siam from the reigning Chakri dynasty. He asc ...

by the Venerable Vanarata of Pho Temple, state that he is the nephew (son of the sister) of Ramathibodi.

Coup

In 1533, following the death of King Borommaracha IV, Prince Ratsadathirat (Borommaracha IV's son) succeeded to the Ayutthayan throne. Governmental authority under five-year-old Ratsadathirat proved to be weak. In 1534, only five months after his nephew's ascension, Chairacha marched to Ayutthaya to stage a coup, killed his nephew, and took the throne of Ayutthaya.

King of Ayutthaya

Burmese invasion of Muang Chiang Kran

In 1539, King

Tabinshwehti Tabinshwehti (, ; 16 April 1516 – 30 April 1550) was King of Burma from 1530 to 1550, and the founder of the First Toungoo Empire. His military campaigns (1534–1549) created the largest kingdom in Burma since the fall of the Pagan Empire ...

attacked the

Mon people The Mon (; Thai Mon: ဂကူမည်; , ; , ) are an ethnic group who inhabit Lower Myanmar's Mon State, Kayin State, Kayah State, Tanintharyi Region, Bago Region, the Irrawaddy Delta, and several areas in Thailand (mostly in Pathum Than ...

inhabiting Chiang Kran, which was under Siamese rule. Chairachathirat "marched against Chiang Kran" with the aid of 120 Portuguese traders in AyutthayaChakrabongse, C., 1960, Lords of Life, London: Alvin Redman Limited and drove the Burmese back. The Portuguese were then allowed to build a church near the Takhian Canal to practice their religion.Rajanubhab, D., 2001, Our Wars With the Burmese, Bangkok: White Lotus Co. Ltd.,

Sukhothai nobles

Chairacha appointed his brother Prince Thianracha (later

Maha Chakkrapat Maha Chakkraphat (, ; lit.: 'The Great Emperor'; 1509 – 1569; Burmese: မဟာစက္ကဝတ္တိ၊ မဟာစကြဝတေး၊ မဟာစကြာမင်း) was king of the Ayutthaya kingdom from 1548 to 1564 and 1568 to 1 ...

) as the ''Uparaja'' but did not grant him the title of King of Sukhothai as Chairacha was trying to unite the two kingdoms by reducing the power of Sukhothai nobles.บทสนทนาอันไม่รู้จบระหว่างปัจจุบันกับอดีต
/ref> He also called the Sukhothai nobles to Ayutthaya to move them from their base at Pitsanulok and made Ayutthaya the sole center of authority.

Mysterious death

Though not having a son by a queen, Chai did have one, Yodfa, from Lady Sudachan, his favorite Chao Chom. However, she had a secret lover, Worawongsathirat, an officer of the Guards. Returning from the north, Chai became ill and died, and suspicion fell on Lady Sudachan. Her eleven-year-old son, Yodfa, became king in 1546. Chai's half brother, Prince Thianracha, became regent but entered a monastery to escape the ensuing power struggle. Sudachan became pregnant by Worawongsathirat and Yodfa was soon murdered. Khun Worawongsa assumed power. Khun Piren, and other retired officers, then ambushed the king and queen, and placed Thianracha on the throne in 1549.

Ancestry

References

{{Front Palace and Rear Palace 1546 deaths Suphannaphum dynasty Kings of Ayutthaya Year of birth unknown 16th-century monarchs in Asia Princes of Ayutthaya 16th-century Thai people