Thong Lan
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King Thong Lan () was a
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 ...
, an ancient kingdom in
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 ...
. A son of Borommarachathirat I and member of the House of Suphannaphum, Thong Lan succeeded his father to the throne of Ayutthaya in 750 LE (1931 BE, 1388/89 CE) at the age of 15. Having reigned for only seven days, he was deposed and executed in a coup by Ramesuan, his relative from the House of Uthong. Thong Lan was the first monarch of Ayutthaya to be executed.


Name

The child king is known as Thong Lan (; ) in most historical sources, including the '' British Museum Chronicle'', the '' Luang Prasoet Chronicle'', and the '' Phan Channumat Chronicle''. ''Thong'' () means "gold". ''Lan'' () is an archaic word whose meaning is not known. Historian Suchit Wongthet () expressed the opinion that ''lan'' here is an old ThaiLao term which encyclopediae say refers to "
eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 20 families, 164 genera, and about 1000 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...
trap made of
bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...
". The historian stated that naming a person after an animal trapping device was an ancient practice, citing the personal name 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 ...
, Thong Duang (), which means "golden
snare SNARE proteins – "Soluble NSF attachment protein, SNAP REceptors" – are a large protein family consisting of at least 24 members in yeasts and more than 60 members in mammalian and plant cells. The primary role of SNARE proteins is to m ...
". Wongthēt, 2014: online. The '' Bradley Chronicle'', however, says the name of the boy king was Thong Lan (; ; "cry of stomach"). Thong Lan is known as Thong Chan (; ; "golden moon" or "moon gold") in the '' Phonnarat Chronicle'' and the '' Royal Autograph Chronicle''. ''Phrarātchaphongsāwadān chabap phrarātchahatthalēkhā lem nưng'', 1991: 59. In the '' Minor Wars Chronicle'', he is referred to in
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 ...
as Suvaṇṇacanda (in
Thai script The Thai script (, , ) is the abugida used to write Thai language, Thai, Southern Thai language, Southern Thai and many other languages spoken in Thailand. The Thai script itself (as used to write Thai) has 44 consonant symbols (, ), 16 vowel s ...
: สุวณฺณจนฺท; "golden moon"). The '' Van Vliet Chronicle'', a Dutch document written by Jeremias Van Vliet in 1640 CE, refers to him as Thong t'Jan. Van Vliet, 2003: 34.


Family

All historical documents say Thong Lan was a son of Borommarachathirat I. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Foundation, 2011: 59.


Life


Political background

The
Kingdom of Ayutthaya The Ayutthaya Kingdom or the Empire of Ayutthaya was a Thai kingdom that existed in Southeast Asia from 1351 to 1767, centered around the city of Ayutthaya, in Siam, or present-day Thailand. European travellers in the early 16th century call ...
was jointly founded by the royal houses of
Uthong King U-thongThe Royal Institute.'List of monarchs Ayutthaya''. (; ) or King Ramathibodi I (; ; , 1314–1369) was the first king of the kingdom Ayutthaya Kingdom, Ayutthaya (now part of Thailand), reigning from 1351 to 1369. Origins and Reign ...
and Suphannaphum, which were related through marriage. The first monarch of Ayutthaya, Ramathibodi I, was from Uthong. He appointed his son, Ramesuan, the ruler of Lop Buri. He also appointed Boromrachathirat I, his relative from Suphannaphum, the ruler of Suphan Buri. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Foundation, 2011: 56. In 731 LE (1912 BE, 1369/70 CE), Ramathibodi I died. Ramesuan came from Lop Buri and succeeded to the throne of Ayutthaya. In 732 LE (1913 BE, 1370/71 CE), Borommarachathirat I marched his army from Suphan Buri to Ayutthaya. Ramesuan then "presented" the throne to him and returned to Lop Buri as before.


Reign

In 750 LE (1931 BE, 1388/89 CE), Boromrachathirat I led his army to attack Chakangrao. But he fell ill and died en route. His son, Thong Lan, then succeeded to the throne 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 ...
. Thai chronicles state that Thong Lan was 15 years of age when he ascended the throne in 750 LE (1931 BE, 1388/89 CE). Based on this information, Thong Lan was possibly born in 735 LE (1916 BE, 1373/74 CE). But the Dutch document '' Van Vliet Chronicle'' says he was 17 when ascending the throne. After Thong Lan had reigned for merely seven days, Ramesuan came from Lop Buri with his army and seized the throne. Ramesuan had Thong Lan put to death at a
Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhism, Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, khurul and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in B ...
called Wat Khok Phraya (). Thong Lan was killed by hitting his neck with a
Sandalwood Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods. Sanda ...
club, a traditional means for executing a royal person. Ramesuan then became king of Ayutthaya for the second time. Historian
Damrong Rajanubhab Prince Tisavarakumara, the Prince Damrong Rajanubhab (; Full transcription is "Somdet Phrachao Borommawongthoe Phra-ongchao Ditsawarakuman Kromphraya Damrongrachanuphap" (สมเด็จพระเจ้าบรมวงศ์เธอ พ ...
introduced a theory that Boromrachathirat I brought his army to Ayutthaya in 732 LE because of certain political problems that Ramesuan was unable to deal with. The two might have agreed that Ramesuan would let Boromrachathirat rule Ayutthaya and the latter would declare the former his successor. Ramesuan thus presented the throne of Ayutthaya to Boromrachathirat and returned to his old base, Lop Buri. But when it appeared that the agreement was breached and Boromrachathirat was instead succeeded by his son, Thong Lan, Ramesuan then seized the throne and killed Thong Lan. Modern scholars believe otherwise. Suchit Wongthet () expressed the opinion that Boromrachathirat's arrival in Ayutthaya with troops was apparently to "seize power by means of military force (called '' coup'' in our days)" and Ramesuan returned to Lop Buri just to accumulate more power and wait for an opportunity to strike back. Pramin Khrueathong () also believed that Boromrachathirat used military strength to force Ramesuan out of the throne, saying this was probably why Ramesuan took revenge on Boromrachathirat's young son, Thong Lan, killing the child violently. These events were part of a series of conflicts between the houses of
Uthong King U-thongThe Royal Institute.'List of monarchs Ayutthaya''. (; ) or King Ramathibodi I (; ; , 1314–1369) was the first king of the kingdom Ayutthaya Kingdom, Ayutthaya (now part of Thailand), reigning from 1351 to 1369. Origins and Reign ...
and Suphannaphum that would continue until Suphannaphum achieved decisive victory over Uthong at the end of Ramrachathirat's reign, allowing Suphannaphum to remain in power over the Kingdom of Ayutthaya for almost the next two centuries. Kasētsiri, 2005: 4–5, 22, 25–26.


Ancestry


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thong Lan 14th-century monarchs in Asia Child monarchs from Asia Executed Thai monarchs Assassinated Thai people Kings of Ayutthaya Leaders ousted by a coup Monarchs deposed as children Monarchs who died as children Suphannaphum dynasty Princes of Ayutthaya Executed children 14th-century Thai people Year of birth missing Year of death missing