Si Suthammaracha (, ) was the
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, ...
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 ...
from August 1656 to 26 October 1656 (2 months 17 Days). He was a younger brother of
Prasat Thong.
Not long after Si Suthammaracha seized the throne from
Chao Fa Chai, He quarrelled with his nephew, Prince
Narai
King Narai the Great (, , ) or Ramathibodi III ( ) was the 27th monarch of Ayutthaya Kingdom, the 4th and last monarch of the Prasat Thong dynasty. He was the king of Ayutthaya Kingdom from 1656 to 1688 and arguably the most famous king of the ...
, They began to fight against each other, Si Suthammaracha was captured and executed after defeated in single combat with Narai on 26 October 1656.
Struggle the throne
Upon King
Prasat Thong’s death in 1656, Prince Chao Fa Chai, his eldest son, succeeded his father as King Sanpet VI.
However, it was a Thai tradition gave brothers a higher priority over sons in succession. Prince Si Suthammaracha, Chao Fa Chai's uncle, plotted with his nephew, Prince Narai, to bring Sanpet VI down. After nine months of ascension, Sanpet VI was executed following a coup. Narai and his uncle marched
into the palace, and Si Suthammaracha crowned himself king. Si Suthammaracha appointed Narai as the ''Uparaja'', or the
Front Palace
Krom Phra Ratchawang Bowon Sathan Mongkhon , colloquially known as the Front Palace (, ), was the title of the ''uparaja'' of Siam, variously translated as "viceroy", "vice king" or "Lord/Prince of the Front Palace", as the titleholder resided ...
. However, Narai was also an ambitious prince and had requested Dutch support against his uncle. Si Suthammaracha’s rule was weak and he fell under the control of ''Chao Phraya'' Chakri, an ambitious mandarin who also wanted the throne.
In 1656, Narai and his uncle finally alienated each other. Si Suthammaracha lusted after Narai’s sister, Princess Ratcha Kanlayani. He ordered his soldiers to surround her residence and entered the house. The princess hid in the book chest and thus was moved to the Front Palace, where she met her brother.
Enraged at his uncle's behavior, Narai decided to take action. He drew his support from the Persian, and Japanese
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 ...
that had been persecuted during his father's reign as well as the Dutch. He also had the support of his brothers and the ''Okya'' Sukhothai, a powerful nobleman. On the
Day of Ashura, the Persians and Japanese stormed the palace. The prince engaged in single combat with his uncle, until the king fled to the
Rear Palace. Si Suthammaracha was captured and was executed at
Wat Khok Phraya on 26 October 1656.
[Rajanubhab, D., 2001, Our Wars With the Burmese, Bangkok: White Lotus Co. Ltd., ][Chakrabongse, C., 1960, Lords of Life, London: Alvin Redman Limited]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Si Suthammaracha
Kings of Ayutthaya
Prasat Thong dynasty
17th-century monarchs in Asia
1656 deaths
Executed Thai monarchs
Princes of Ayutthaya
17th-century Thai people