Photisarath (also spelled Phothisarath, Phothisarat, or Potisarat, , 1501–1548), son of King Visoun of Lanxang, is considered to be the most devout of the Lao

king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

s. He banned spirit worship and built temples upon the sites of spirit shrines. His elephant fell and crushed him while he sought to display his prowess to the diplomatic corps. His son

Setthathirath Setthathirath (; 24 January 1534 – 1571) or Xaysettha (; , , ) is considered one of the great leaders in Lao history. Throughout the 1560s until his death, he successfully defended his kingdom of Lan Xang against military campaigns of Burmese ...

returned from

Chiang Mai Chiang Mai, sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the List of municipalities in Thailand#Largest cities by urban population, second largest city in Thailan ...

to succeed him to the throne of

Lan Xang Lan Xang () or Lancang was a Lao people, Lao kingdom that held the area of present-day Laos from 1353 to 1707. For three and a half centuries, Lan Xang was one of the largest kingdoms in Southeast Asia. The kingdom is the basis for Laos's nat ...

. Phothisarath was ruler (1520–47) of the Lao kingdom of Lan Xang whose territorial expansion embroiled Laos in the warfare that swept mainland

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

in the latter half of the 16th century. King Chairachathirat 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 ...

invaded Vientiane with a large army in 1540, captured Muang Khouk and crossed the

Mekong The Mekong or Mekong River ( , ) is a transboundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth-longest river and the third-longest in Asia with an estimated length of and a drainage area of , discharging of wat ...

, but succumbed to a rout at the battle of Sala Kham, the remnants fleeing for their lives and leaving enormous casualties behind. Phothisarath himself allied himself with Burma, sent out 3 campaigns against the Ayutthaya Kingdom: the first to

Phitsanulok Phitsanulok (, ) is a city municipality in northern Thailand and the capital of Phitsanulok province. It had a city population of 60,827 and an urban population of approximately 200,000 in 2024, making it Thailand's 19th-most populous city p ...

in 1535, the second one to Vieng Prangarm in 1539, and third was sent in 1548 to Vieng Prab (now Sawangaburi) where he brought back 20,000 families to settle in the Lan Xang kingdom. In 1548, following the ascension of King

Maha Chakkraphat 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 ...

and queen

Suriyothai Suriyothai (, , ; Burmese: သူရိယောဒယ) was a royal queen consort during the 16th century Ayutthaya period of Siam (now Thailand). She is famous for having given up her life in the defense of her husband, King Maha Chakkrapha ...

to the

throne, Burmese 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 ...

planned an attack, starting the Burmese–Siamese War. Tabinshwehti asked Phothisarath to attack Ayutthaya from the North which eventually resulted in the famous death of Suriyothai in defense of her husband. Phothisarath was a pious Buddhist who worked to undermine

animism Animism (from meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, human handiwork, and in ...

and Brahmanic religious practices and promote

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

. In 1527, Phothisarath issued a decree proscribing the worship of

as groundless superstition, and ordering their shrines to be destroyed and their altars thrown into the river.John Holt (2009). Page 60. Spirits of the Place: Buddhism and Lao Religious Culture. University of Hawaii Press. He resided much of the time not in the capital at

Luang Prabang Luang Prabang (Lao language, Lao: wikt:ຫຼວງພະບາງ, ຫຼວງພະບາງ, pronounced ), historically known as Xieng Thong (ຊຽງທອງ) and alternatively spelled Luang Phabang or Louangphabang, is the capital of Lu ...

but in

Vientiane Vientiane (, ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Laos. Situated on the banks of the Mekong, Mekong River at the Thailand, Thai border, it comprises the five urban districts of Vientiane Prefecture and had a population of 840,000 ...

, which was located farther south and maintained better communications with the major states of the region. Phothisarath married a princess from

(now part of northern

Thailand 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 ...

), and when his father-in-law Mueangketklao, the ruler of

Lan Na The Lan Na kingdom or the Kingdom of Lanna (, , "Kingdom of a Million Rice Fields"; , , ), also known as Lannathai, was an Indianized state centered in present-day Northern Thailand from the 13th to the 18th centuries. The cultural developmen ...

or Chiang Mai, died in 1546 without a male issue, Phothisarath's own son,

, was placed on the Chiang Mai throne. When Phothisarath died the following year, after a fatal accident while hunting wild elephants, Setthathirath succeeded him and joined together the two kingdoms—which were soon embroiled in Burmese–Siamese wars that would devastate much of the region over the next half-century.

Family

*Father: Visoun - King of Lan Xang (r. 1500-1520) *Mother: ''unknown'' *Consorts and their Respective Issue: # Queen Yudhi Karma Devi (Yot Kam Tip), Nang Nhot-Kham - (m. 1533) daughter of Brhat Muang Ket Klao Setharaja, King of Lanna ## Prince Jaya Setha Varman (Setthavangso), (Phya Uppayao), (Sai Setthathirath I) - King of Lan Na (r. 1546-1551) and Lan Xang (r. 1548-1571) ## # ''a princess of

Ayutthaya Ayutthaya, Ayudhya, or Ayuthia may refer to: * Ayutthaya Kingdom, a Thai kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767 ** Ayutthaya Historical Park, the ruins of the old capital city of the Ayutthaya Kingdom * Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province (locall ...

'' - killed by Phya Sri Sadharmatilaka on ca. 1550 ## Prince Lankarnakaya (Phra Lancharng) - Seized the territories south of Chiengkarn after the death of his father, 1550. Defeated and taken prisoner, together with his mother, by Phya Srisa Dharmatilaka ~1550. Pardoned by his brother and appointed as Governor of Saenmuong ## Prince Dharuva (Tharua), Brhat Vora Varman (Phra Vorawong) - Seized Luang Prabang and the territories north of Chiengkarn, after the death of his father, 1547. Defeated and expelled by his eldest brother, King

# ''a daughter of Prince Kuvanadeva (Khua-Thepha)'' # Nang Kong-Soi # Nang Keng - niece of Prince Kama Setthadhananga (Kham Xat Tha Nang), Prince of S’ieng Wong S’ieng Wang (Xieng Khoang) # Nang Pak Thuoi Luong - (m. 1534) # ''by unknown women'' ## Prince Brhatasena (Phya Asen) (Vorawongse I) - King of Lan Xang (r. 1575-1579) ## Princess Kaeva Kumari (Keo Koumane) ## Princess Taen Kam Lao ## Princess Kamagayi (Kam Khai) ## Princess Dharmagayi (Kham Khai) - m. Brhat Varapitra (Vorapita) (d. 1604), regent for his son (1596-1602) Voravongsa II ### Thammikarath Vorouvongsa II - King of Lan Xang (r. 1596-1621)

References

External links

Photisarath
at britannica.com {{authority control Kings of Lan Xang Year of birth unknown 1501 births 1547 deaths 16th-century Laotian people 16th-century monarchs in Asia Laotian Theravada Buddhists 1520s in Asia 1530s in Asia 1540s in Asia

Family

See also

References

External links