Suphannaphum Kingdom

Suphannabhum or Suvarnabhumi; later known as Suphan Buri () was a Siamese city-state, that emerged in the early "Siam proper" which stretched from present-day west central Thailand to the north of the Kra Isthmus, with key historical sites at Uthong, Nakhon Pathom, Suphan Buri, and . The kingdom is referred to as ''Xiān'' in the Chinese records since 1349, but according to the archaeological evidence in Suphan Buri, it was speculated to have emerged around the mid-12th century. However, a calculation made by Borihan Thepthani based on the information provided in the says that the city of Suphan Buri was founded in 877 and became a free city-state after Nakhon Pathom of Kamalanka fell to Phetchaburi in 913.

Suphannabhum became the center of ''Xiān'', succeeding Phip Phli, no later than 1349, when ''Xiān'' was defeated by ''Luó hú'' (Lavo) and the tribute sent to China under the name of ''Xiānluó hú'' (Siam-Lavo or Ayutthaya Kingdom) was led by Xiān's King of ''Su-men-bang'', in which ''Su-men-bang'' has been identified with Suphanburi. Since then, it was one of the states under the mandala confederatin of Ayutthaya Kingdom and was completely merged to the Ayutthaya in 1438. However, modern scholars suggest Xiān mentioned in the Chinese and Đại Việt sources since the 11th century potentially was Ayodhya, a polity that later known as the Ayutthaya Kingdom (''Xiānluó hú'' or ''Xiānluó'') in the mid-14th century.

Under the name of ''Xiānluó hú'' or ''Xiānluó'', the state performed 41 tributary missions to the Chinese court during the Hongwu era, 33 in the name of ''Xiānluó hú'' and as ''Xiānluó'' for the remaining. In the era of Ankorian king Jayavarman VII (r.1181–1218), an inscription called Prasat Phra Khan (จารึกปราสาทพระขรรค์) was made. Among others, the name ''Suvarnapura'' is mentioned, which has been identified with Suphanburi.''เข้าใจถิ่นเข้าใจเที่ยว สุพรรณบุรี'', การท่องเที่ยวแหงประเทศไทย, 2547, p.7 or ''Appriciate the Locality, Travel Knowaladgableably, Suphan Buri'' Tourism Authority of Thailand, 2000, p.7 ; * Wārunī ʻŌsathārom. ''Mư̄ang Suphan bon sēnthāng kan̄plīanplǣng thāng prawattisāt Phutthasattawat thī 8 - ton Phutthasattawat thī 25'' (History, development, and geography of the ancient city of Suphan Buri Province, Central Thailand, 8th-25th B.E.), Samnakphim Mahāwitthayālai Thammasāt, Krung Thēp, 2547.

Modern scholars believe Suphannabhum was Chen Li Fu mentioned in the Chinese ''Sung Hui Yao Kao'' in 1200 and 1205.

History

According to the local legends, Suphannabhum is the succeeding state of an ancient port city of Mueang Uthong, which evolved into complex state societies around 300 C.E.Higham, C., 2014, Early Mainland Southeast Asia, Bangkok: River Books Co., Ltd., Since the river leading to the sea was dried up in places, shallow, and consequently not navigable, and also due to some pandemics, Uthong lost its influence as the trading hub; the city was then abandoned around the 11th century and the people then moved to resettle in the present day Suphanburi. This timeline corresponds with that the Tambralinga's king Sujita seized Lavo and was said to conquer the Mons of the Menam Valley and the upper Malay peninsula in the 10th century, the 9-year civil wars in the Angkor in the early 11th century, which led to the devastation of Lavo, as well as the Pagan invasion of Lavo around the mid-10th century. All of these are probably the causes of the fall of Mueang Uthong.

Dvaravati period: Suvarnabhumi

This region has been claimed to be the legendary Suvarnabhumi by several local scholars. Numerous ruins and artifacts from the Dvaravati period have been discovered around the area. However, contemporary documents from this period are sparse; the available material consists primarily of local chronicles and legends.

Paul Wheatley suggests that the city-state of Chin Lin which was mentioned in the Chinese archives of the Liang dynasty as the state that was Fan Man, the Great King of Funan Kingdom, attempt to conquer in the 4th century CE, might be located in west central Thailand, since the word "Chin Lin" means "Land of Gold" or "Suvarnabhumi"; as mentioned in the archive, it was a state located approximately 2,000 li (800 kilometers) west of the Funan Kingdom, which corresponded to the area where is now central Thailand.

According to the , the region's political center from the 9th to 12th centuries was located at the old Kanchanaburi city ruins but local legends suggest it was in the old town Nakhon Pathom (formerly known as Nakhon Chaisri), which has been speculated to be the center of Dvaravati. As per Chalerm Kanchanakam's calculations based on the text provided in the , which states that Phraya Phan, the founder of Suphan Buri, ascended to rule Haripuñjaya in 913, it is estimated that Suphan Buri was founded around 877–883.

George Cœdès believed that Mueang Uthong was the center of the Dvaravati civilization.

Post-Dvaravati: Suphannabhum

After the end of the ancient maritime-oriented port era and the decline of Dvaravati, Suphannabhum then emerged around the mid-12th century following the prosperity of Lavo Kingdom and the Ankorian during the reign of Jayavarman VII and the influx of people from the north. This has been supported by several ancient ruins in the area that dates before the Ayutthaya period; two of them are the Ankorian Bayon style and the other two are the Indian Pala-Sena architects, which are also found in Lavo, Pagan, and Haripuñjaya.

According to the , the city of Suphanburi existed before the mid-12 century since King Katae (), who was of the Mon's Pagan Saw Lu lineage and ruled Kanchanaburi (some versions say Nakhon Chaisri) from 1165 to 1205, ordered his relative to build a temple in ''Phanthumburi'' () and renamed the city to ''Songphanburi'' (; present-Suphanburi). Northern Chronicle Katae's reign ended around the same time that Phrip Phri's king, Mahesvastidrādhirājakṣatriya or Pra Poa Noome Thele Seri (), who was also father of King Uthong II of Lavo's Ayodhya, expanded his power northward to Phraek Si Racha (in present-day Chai Nat) in 1204 and sent his praeceptor to govern. The area he conquered also encompassed Suphannabhum and the proposed region of Chen Li Fu. The younger prince, Soi La or U Thong I, was then enthroned as a new Suphannabhum's king.

The 12th century Prasat Phra Khan Inscription (จารึกปราสาทพระขรรค์) marks the prosperity and civilization of this region by mentioning four major cities in the Suphannabhum area, including Suphanburi, Samphukapatthana, Ratburi, and Phetburi. One of these, Suphanburi, gradually controlled the economy of all Tha Chin Rivers and raised its power until being annexed to the Sukhothai Kingdom in 1283, as recorded in the Ram Khamhaeng Inscription. However, after the death of Sukhothai's Ram Khamhaeng in 1298, several tributary states of Sukhothai, which included Suphannabhum, began to break away rapidly. Via Royal intermarriage, Suphannabhum united with the eastern neighboring Lavo Kingdom, to establish a confederated polity seat in Ayodhya in 1351. Suphannabhum gained recognition in the mid-13th century when the state leaders named ‘Khun Laung Pao Ngouy’ (later Ayutthaya's Borommarachathirat I) and ‘Jao Nakhon In’ (later Ayutthaya's Intharacha) extended their political economy influence to Ayutthaya.

In the early Ayutthaya period, Suphannabhum was ruled by the Ayutthaya's crown princes. It was demoted to the frontier city and was completely annexed to Ayutthaya in 1438. Since then, Suphannabhum has been completely restricted in terms of both economics and politics, particularly in terms of trade with China and establishing relations with other cities, because it was determined to have relations only with the capital, acting as a military base and producing tribute for the capital. These transformed Suphannabhum into an agricultural area to supply Ayutthaya for export.

Suphannabhum clan origin

The origin of the ''Suphannabhum'' dynasty remains unclear. Previous scholars believed that the first king of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, later called by modern historians King Uthong, once ruled the city of Uthong, but the theory has been proven to be false. It was expected that ''Khun Laung Pho Ngouy'', who was later known as the 3rd Ayutthaya' king Borommarachathirat I – the first king from Suphannabhum clan, might have lineage from Sukhothai as he married a princess in Sukhothai's Loe Thai and royal intermarriages between his descendants and the Sukhothai dynasty happened multiple times. Furthermore, political movements and architectural styles in Suphanburi during the Ayutthaya period demonstrate a tight relationship between these two dynasties. The kinship between the royal families of Suphanburi and Sukhothai probably existed for a long time, at least since the reign of the Sukhothai's king Ramkhamhaeng.

Local legends say '' Khun Laung Pho Ngouy'' is a descendant of ''Khun In'' (), while the Ayutthaya Kingdom's 1st king, Uthong, is a descendant of ''Khun Kham Phong'' () founder of Singhanavati's capital ''Yonok Nahaphan''. Both ''Khun In'' and ''Khun Kham Phong'' are two of seven sons of Khun Borom, a legendary progenitor of the Southwestern Tai-speaking peoples. Simon de la Loubère's record, Du royaume de Siam, refers to the first Siamese king as a descendant of Chaiyasiri, son of a legendary King Phrom of the Singhanavati clan.

The early era of the Suphannabhum dynasty and its relations with other royal families in the lower Chao Phraya Valley from the 10th century to the formation of the Ayutthaya Kingdom is shown below.

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List of rulers

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Art

Gallery

File:วัดไก่เตี้ย wat kaitae 02.JPG, U-Thong style sculpture, found in , Si Prachan district, Suphan Buri province
File:Main stupa at Wat Morakot.jpg, Main stupa at Wat Morakot, Mueang Suphan Buri, dates to the early 10th century.
File:วัดกุฎีสงฆ์ wat gudisong 03.JPG, Chedi at the Wat Kuti Song ruin, Mueang Suphan Buri.
File:วัดโหน่งเหน่ง wat nong-neng 03.jpg, Chedi at the Wat Nong Neng ruin, Mueang Suphan Buri, dates to the early Ayuttha period.
File:Suphanburiwatpalelai0609c.jpg, Wat Pa Lelai Worawihan, dates before 1181 (King Katae's reign).
File:Suphanburi Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahathat.jpg, Ancient ruin in , dates before 1408.
File:วัดเถลไถล wat talae-talai 01.jpg, chedi in an ancient Wat Thale Thalai, Mueang district.
File:วัดชีสุขเกษม อ.เมือง จ.สุพรรณบุรี (7).jpg, Dvaravati style sculpture, found in , Mueang district.
File:มหัศจรรย์พระนอนหง่าย.jpg, Thailand's oldest Reclining Buddha, found in , Mueang district.

References

{{Thailand topics, state=collapsed

Former countries in Thai history
Former kingdoms
Indianized kingdoms
Suphan Buri province
13th century in Thailand
14th century in Thailand
15th century in Thailand
12th century in Thailand
15th-century disestablishments in Thailand
Tributaries of Imperial China
States and territories disestablished in the 1430s