Sukhothai (, ) is one of Thailand's seventy-six

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

(''changwat''); it lies in lower northern Thailand. Neighboring provinces are

Phrae Phrae (; ; ) is a town ('' thesaban mueang'') and capital of Phrae Province and Mueang Phrae district. It is located in Northern Thailand on the east bank of the Yom river, 555 km north of Bangkok by road. The town occupies ''tambon'' Nai ...

, Uttaradit,

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 ...

, Kamphaeng Phet, Tak, and Lampang. Sukhothai can be translated as 'dawn of happiness'.

Etymology

The modern-day province of Sukhothai was named after the

Sukhothai Kingdom The Sukhothai Kingdom was a post-classical Siamese kingdom (Mandala (political model), ''maṇḍala'') in Mainland Southeast Asia surrounding the ancient capital city of Sukhothai Historical Park, Sukhothai in present-day north-central Thaila ...

that once ruled the area, which in turn borrowed its name from the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

terms ''

sukha ''Sukha'' (Pali and ) means happiness, pleasure, ease, joy or bliss. Among the early scriptures, 'sukha' is set up as a contrast to 'preya' (प्रेय) meaning a transient pleasure, whereas the pleasure of 'sukha' has an authentic state o ...

'' ( 'happiness') + ''udaya'' ( 'rise', 'emergence'), meaning 'dawn of happiness'.

Geography

Sukhothai is in the valley of the Yom River in the lower north of Thailand. The provincial capital, Sukhothai Thani is north of

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 estim ...

and south of

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 ...

. The province covers . The Khao Luang Mountain Range, with its four main peaks: Khao Phu Kha, Khao Phra Mae Ya, Khao Chedi, and Pha Narai, lies within the Ramkhamhaeng National Park in the south of the province. Si Satchanalai National Park is in the northwest, protecting the mountainous forest areas of the

Phi Pan Nam Range The Phi Pan Nam Range, also Pee Pan Nam, (, ) is a long system of mountain ranges in the eastern half of the Thai highlands. The range lies mostly in Thailand, although a small section in the northeast is within Sainyabuli Province, Sainyabul ...

at the northern end of the province. The total forest area is or 29.6 percent of provincial area. The two national parks, along with six other national parks, make up region 14 (Tak) of Thailand's protected areas. * Ramkhamhaeng National Park, * Si Satchanalai National Park, There is one wildlife sanctuary, along with three other wildlife sanctuaries, make up region 14 (Tak) of Thailand's protected areas. * Tham Chao Ram Wildlife Sanctuary,

History

Sukhothai was a town founded in the 13th century on the fringe of the

Khmer empire The Khmer Empire was an empire in Southeast Asia, centered on Hydraulic empire, hydraulic cities in what is now northern Cambodia. Known as Kambuja (; ) by its inhabitants, it grew out of the former civilization of Chenla and lasted from 802 t ...

. The exact year is unknown, but according to the Fine Arts Office it was between 1238 and 1257. Founded by Phokhun Si Intharathit, it was the first truly independent Thai (Siamese) Kingdom after defeating the Khmers. Sukhothai enjoyed a golden age under their third king, King Ramkhamhaeng, who was credited with creating the Khmer-derived

Thai alphabet The Thai script (, , ) is the abugida used to write Thai, Southern Thai and many other languages spoken in Thailand. The Thai script itself (as used to write Thai) has 44 consonant symbols (, ), 16 vowel symbols (, ) that combine into at leas ...

which is essentially the same as that in use today. He also laid the foundation for politics, the monarchy and religion, as well as expanding its circle of influence. Sukhothai was later ruled by many kings. The

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

is most known for the historic city of Sukhothai, the capital of the

. It is about 12 km from the modern New Sukhothai city. Not far from Sukhothai are the Si Satchanalai Historical Park and the Kamphaeng Phet Historical Park. Both were cities in the former Sukhothai kingdom and at the same time period.

was merged into

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 ...

in 1438. The province was at first known as Sawankhalok; it was renamed to Sukhothai in 1939.

Language

The inhabitants of Sukhothai still speak the Sukhothai dialect of Thai, a language that has been spoken since the formation of the

, some 700 years ago, among themselves. The Sukhothai dialect is distinct from Central Thai in both tone and vocabulary and is thought to be similar to proto-Tai in tone structure, an ancestor to the modern Thai language. The inhabitants of Si Satchanalai and Thung Saliam Districts in the northern part of the province mainly speak '' Kham Muang'' (also known as

Northern Thai language Northern Thai (), also called Kam Mueang (, กำเมือง) or Lanna, is the language spoken by the Northern Thai people of Thailand. It is a Southwestern Tai languages, Southwestern Tai language. The language has approximately six mill ...

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 ...

Symbols

Ram Khamhaeng Sukhothai Historical Park Thailand

The provincial seal shows King

Ram Khamhaeng Ramkhamhaeng (, ) or commonly known as Pho Khun Ramkhamhaeng Maharat (, ) was the third king of the Phra Ruang Dynasty, ruling the Sukhothai Kingdom (a historical kingdom of Thailand) from 1279 to 1298, during its most prosperous era. He is c ...

the Great sitting on the Managkhasila Asana throne. Under King Ramkhamhaeng the kingdom of Sukhothai flourished. The provincial tree is '' Afzelia xylocarpa''. The provincial flower is the Lotus ('' Nymphaea lotus''). The provincial aquatic life is the ghost shetfish (''

Kryptopterus vitreolus ''Kryptopterus vitreolus'', known commonly as the glass catfish, the glass cat, the ghost catfish or the phantom catfish, is a small species of translucent-bodied, social glass catfish in the family Siluridae. It is commonly seen in captivity an ...

'') according to local legend about Phra Ruang, the one with sacred speech. The provincial slogan is "Source of national heritage and pride, birth place of the Thai alphabet, fireworks of the Loy Krathong festival, preservation of Buddhism, the fine Teen Jok cloth, ancient golden chinaware, holy image of Ramkhamhaeng the Great's mother, the dawn of happiness".

Administrative divisions

Provincial government

The province is divided into nine districts (''

amphoe An amphoe (sometimes also ''amphur'', , )—usually translated as "district"—is the second level administrative subdivision of Thailand. Groups of ''amphoe'' or districts make up the Provinces of Thailand, provinces, and are analogous to count ...

s''). These are further divided into 86 subdistricts (''

tambon ''Tambon'' (, ) is a local governmental unit in Thailand. Below district (''amphoe'') and province ('' changwat''), they form the third administrative subdivision level. there were 7,255 tambons, not including the 180 ''khwaeng'' of Bangkok, whi ...

s'') and 782 villages (''

muban Muban (; , ) is the lowest Administrative divisions of Thailand, administrative sub-division of Thailand. Usually translated as 'village' and sometimes as 'hamlet (place), hamlet', they are a subdivision of a tambon (subdistrict). , there were 74 ...

s''). # Mueang Sukhothai # Ban Dan Lan Hoi # Khiri Mat # Kong Krailat # Si Satchanalai # Si Samrong # Sawankhalok # Si Nakhon # Thung Saliam

Local government

As of 26 November 2019 there are: one Sukhothai Provincial Administration Organisation (') and 21 municipal (''thesaban'') areas in the province. Sukhothai, Sawankhalok and Si Satchanalai have town (''

thesaban mueang Thesaban (, , , Pali: desapāla (protector of region) 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'' ...

'') status. Further 18 subdistrict municipalities (''

thesaban tambon Thesaban (, , , Pali, Pali: desapāla (protector of region) 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 ''thesa ...

''). The non-municipal areas are administered by 69 Subdistrict Administrative Organisations - SAO (''ongkan borihan suan tambon'').

Transport

Roads

There are five highways traversing Sukhothai: * Highway 12 connects the eastern districts starting at Ban Dan Lan Hoi and passing Muang and Kong Krailat districts to Phitsanulok province. * Highway 101, starting at Si Satchanalai District, connects the northern districts to the southern districts and passing Sawankhalok, Si Samrong, Muang and Khiri Mat Districts to Kamphaeng Phet province. * Highway 102 connects Si Satchanalai District to Uttaradit province. * Highway 1180 connects Sawankhalok District to Si Nakhon District and Uttaradit province. * Highway 1048 connects Sawankhalok District to Thung Saliam District and Lampang province.

Air

Sukhothai Airport is in Sawankhalok District, about from downtown. Flights operate daily between Sukhothai and Bangkok.

Rail

The Rail system in Sukhothai is part of the Sawankhalok Line, a branch line which splits from the Chiang Mai Main Line at Ban Dara Junction, Uttaradit and ends at Sawankhalok Station, 30 kilometers from Sukhothai town. Songthaew Songthaews are the most popular form of public transport in the new city and the rural areas. Larger sized Songthaews travel to and from the old and new cities.

Bus

Air-conditioned buses run regularly from Sukhothai Bus Terminal to Bangkok and Chiang Mai, stopping at other major towns on the way. Non air-conditioned buses are for inter-provincial travel to the other districts.

Other

Tuk-tuks and motorbike-taxis are popular for short journeys within the new town.

Tourism

Sukhothai province is most known for its historical city of Sukhothai, the first capital of Siam, founded by King Ramkhamhaeng. The province's temples and monuments have been well restored and Sukhothai Historical Park is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Other interesting places include Ramkhamhaeng National Museum, Ramkhamhaeng National Park, Si Satchanalai Historical Park, Khao Luang National Park and The Royal Palace and Wat Mahathat.

Human achievement index 2022

Since 2003, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Thailand has tracked progress on human development at sub-national level using the Human achievement index (HAI), a composite index covering all the eight key areas of human development. National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) has taken over this task since 2017.

Gallery

File:Sukhothai arid plains, Thailand.jpg, Sukhothai dry plains File:Sukhothai, Wat Chedi Ngam, Thailand.jpg, Wat Chedi Ngam Wat Sa Si, Sukhothai, Thailand.JPG, Wat Sa Si Ramkhamhaeng National Park (1).jpg, Ramkhamhaeng National Park Narai Peak-3 ,Ramkhamhaeng National Park.jpg, An overlook from Khao Narai (Khao Luang) Ramkhamhaeng National Park 04.jpg, Khao Luang, Ramkhamhaeng National Park (Khao Luang) Ramkhamhaeng National Park 03.jpg, Khao Luang, Ramkhamhaeng National Park British Museum Asia 2.jpg, Sangkhalok ceramic Wat Mahathat Buddha - Sukhothai.jpg, Wat Mahathat

References

External links

*
Website of the province

Province page from the Tourist Authority of Thailand
Golden Jubilee Network province guide
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{{Authority control Provinces of Thailand