Lan Na
The Lan Na kingdom or the Kingdom of Lanna, also known as Lannathai, was a kingdom centered in present-day Northern Thailand from the 13th to the 18th centuries.
The cultural development of the Northern Thai people had begun long before as successive kingdoms preceded Lan Na. As a continuation of the kingdom of Ngoenyang, Lan Na emerged strong enough in the 15th century to rival the Ayutthaya Kingdom, with whom wars were fought. However, the Lan Na Kingdom was weakened and became a vassal state of the Toungoo dynasty in 1558. Lan Na was ruled by successive vassal kings, though some enjoyed autonomy. The Burmese rule gradually withdrew but then resumed as the new Konbaung dynasty expanded its influence. In 1775, Lan Na chiefs left the Burmese control to join Siam, leading to the Burmese–Siamese War.
Following the retreat of the Burmese force, Burmese control over Lan Na came to the end. Siam, under King Taksin of the Thonburi Kingdom, gained control of Lan Na in 1776. From then on, Lan Na became a vassal state of Siam under the succeeding Chakri dynasty.
Throughout the latter half of the 1800s, the Siamese state dismantled Lan Na independence, absorbing it into the emerging Siamese nation-state. Beginning in 1874, the Siamese state reorganized Lan Na Kingdom as Monthon Phayap, brought under the direct control of Siam. The Lan Na Kingdom effectively became centrally administered from through the Siamese thesaphiban governance system instituted in 1899. By 1909, Lan Na Kingdom no longer existed formally as an independent state, as Siam finalized the demarcation of its borders with the British and French.
Names
The Lan Na kingdom is known by a number of exonyms in neighboring languages. In Burmese chronicles and sources, it is called Zinme Pyi, Zinme being a Burmese language transcription of Chiang Mai; or Yun Pyi, Yun being the Burmese term for the Northern Thai people. In the Laotian language, it is known as Anachak Lan Na.The Pali chronicles refer to the kingdom as Yonaraṭṭha or Bingaraṭṭha. In the Chinese History of the Yuan, it is called Babai Xifu , first attested in 1292.
History
Early establishment
, the 25th king of Ngoenyang of the Lavachakkaraj dynasty, whose mother was a princess of a kingdom in Sipsongpanna, centralized the mueangs of Ngoenyang into a unified kingdom or mandala and allied with the neighboring Phayao Kingdom. In 1262, Mangrai moved the capital from Ngoenyang to the newly founded Chiang Rai — naming the city after himself. Mangrai then expanded to the south and subjugated the Mon kingdom of Hariphunchai in 1281. Mangrai moved the capital several times. Leaving Lamphun due to heavy flooding, he drifted until settling at and building Wiang Kum Kam in 1286/7, staying there until 1292 at which time he relocated to what would become Chiang Mai. He founded Chiang Mai in 1296, expanding it to become the capital of Lan Na. Claimed territories of Mangrai's Lan Na include the modern northern Thai provinces, Kengtung, Mong Nai, and Chiang Hung. He also reduced to vassaldom and received tribute from areas of modern Northern Vietnam, principally in the Black and Red river valleys, and most of Northern Laos, plus the Sipsongpanna of Yunnan where his mother originated.Disunity and prosperity
Around 1311, Mangrai died and was succeeded by his second son Grama, or Chaiyasongkhram. He soon retired to Chiangrai and appointed his son Saenphu as the Uparaja of Chiangmai. Mangrai's youngest son, ruler of Mong Nai returned to claim the throne, occupying Haripunjaya. Saenphu and his brother Nam Thuem fled to their father in Chiangrai. Nam Tuam succeeded in driving out their uncle, restoring Saenphu onto the throne in 1322 or 1324. Saenphu founded the city of Chiang Saen in 1325 or 1328, before he died in 1334. His son Khamfu replaced him but reigned only few years, before he was succeeded by his son Phayu, who restored the capital to Chiang Mai again. There he fortified the city and built Wat Phra Singh.Theravada Buddhism prospered in Lan Na during the reign of religious Kue Na who established the dhatu of Doi Suthep in 1386. Kue Na promoted the Lankawongse sect and invited monks from Sukhothai to replace the existing Mon Theravada that Lan Na inherited from Haripunchai.
Lan Na enjoyed peace under Saenmuengma. The only disturbing event was the failed rebellion by his uncle Prince Maha Prommatat. Maha Prommatat requested aid from Ayutthaya. Borommaracha I of Ayutthaya sent his troops to invade Lan Na but was repelled. This was the first armed conflict between the two kingdoms. Lan Na faced invasions from the newly established Ming Dynasty in the reign of Samfangkaen.
Expansions under Tilokaraj
The Lan Na kingdom was strongest under Tilokaraj. Tilokaraj seized the throne from his father Sam Fang Kaen in 1441. Tilokaraj's brother, Thau Choi, rebelled to reclaim the throne for his father and sought Ayutthayan support. Borommaracha II sent his troops to Lan Na in 1442 but was repelled and the rebellion was suppressed. Tilokaraj conquered the neighboring Kingdom of Payao in 1456.To the south, the emerging Kingdom of Ayutthaya was also growing powerful. Relations between the two kingdoms had worsened since the Ayutthayan support of Thau Choi's rebellion. In 1451, Yutthitthira, a Sukhothai royal who had conflicts with Trailokanat of Ayutthaya, gave himself to Tilokaraj. Yuttitthira urged Trilokanat to invade Pitsanulok which he had claims on, igniting the Ayutthaya-Lan Na War over the Upper Chao Phraya valley. In 1460, the governor of Chaliang surrendered to Tilokaraj. Trailokanat then used a new strategy and concentrated on the wars with Lan Na by moving the capital to Pitsanulok. Lan Na suffered setbacks and Tilokaraj eventually sued for peace in 1475.
Tilokaraj was also a strong patron of Theravada Buddhism. In 1477, the Buddhist Council to recompile the Tripitaka was held near Chiang Mai. Tilokaraj also built and rehabilitated many notable temples. Tilokaraj then expanded west to the Shan States of Laihka, Hsipaw, Mong Nai, and Yawnghwe.
Decline
After Tilokaraj, Lan Na was then subjected to old-style princely struggles that prevented the kingdom from defending itself against powerful growing neighbors. The Shans then broke themselves free of Lan Na control that Tilokaraj had established. The last strong ruler was King Kaew who was the great-grandson of Tilokaraj. In 1507, Kaew invaded Ayutthaya but was repelled — only to be invaded in turn in 1513 by Ramathibodi II and Lampang was sacked. In 1523, a dynastic struggle occurred in Kengtung State. One faction sought Lan Na support while another faction went for Hsipaw. Kaew then sent Lan Na armies to re-exert control there but was readily defeated by Hsipaw armies. The loss was so tremendous that Lan Na never regained such dominance.In 1538, King Ket, son of Kaew, was overthrown by his own son Thao Saikham. However, Saikham was murdered by the nobility after reigning for five years, Ket was restored in 1543 but suffered mental illness and was assassinated in 1545. Ket's wife, Chiraprapha, then succeeded her husband as the queen regnant. As Lan Na was plundered by the dynastic struggles, both Ayutthaya and the Burmese saw this as an opportunity to overwhelm Lan Na. Chairacha of Ayutthaya invaded Lan Na in 1545, but Chiraprapha negotiated for peace. Chairacha returned next year, sacking Lampang and Lamphun, and threatened Chiangmai itself. So, Chiraprapha was forced to put her kingdom under Ayutthaya as a tributary state.
Facing pressures from the invaders, Chiraprapha decided to abdicate in 1546 and the nobility gave the throne to her grandson, Prince Xaysettha of Lan Xang. Chaiyasettha moved to Lan Na and thus Lan Na was ruled by a Laotian king. In 1547, Prince Xaysettha returned to Lan Xang to claim the throne and ascended as Setthathirath. Setthathirath also brought the Emerald Buddha from Chiangmai to Luang Prabang. The nobles then chose Mekuti, the Shan saopha of Mong Nai whose family was related to Mangrai, to be the new king of Lan Na. It was said that, as a Shan king, Mekuti violated several Lan Na norms and beliefs.
Burmese rule
The kingdom then came to conflict over Shan states with the expansionist Burmese king Bayinnaung. Bayinnaung's forces invaded Lan Na from the north, and Mekuti surrendered on 2 April 1558. Encouraged by Setthathirath, Mekuti revolted during the Burmese–Siamese War. But the king was captured by Burmese forces in November 1564, and sent to the-then Burmese capital of Pegu. Bayinnaung then made Wisutthithewi, a Lan Na royal, the queen regnant of Lan Na. After her death, Bayinnaung appointed one of his sons Nawrahta Minsaw, viceroy of Lan Na in January 1579. Burma allowed a substantial degree of autonomy for Lan Na but strictly controlled the corvée and taxation.After Bayinnaung, his massive empire quickly unraveled. Siam successfully revolted, after which all the vassals of Pegu went their own way by 1596–1597. Lan Na's Nawrahta Minsaw declared independence in 1596. In 1602, Nawrahta Minsaw became a vassal of King Naresuan of Siam. However, Siam's control was short-lived. The actual suzerainty effectively ended with Naresuan's death in 1605. By 1614, Siam's control over Lan Na was at most nominal. When the Burmese returned, the ruler of Lan Na, Thado Kyaw, sought and received help from Lan Xang, not his nominal overlord Siam, which did not send any help. After 1614, vassal kings of Burmese descent ruled Lan Na for over one hundred years. Siam did try to take over Lan Na in 1662–1664 but failed.
By the 1720s, the Toungoo dynasty was on its last legs. In 1727, Chiang Mai revolted because of high taxation. The resistance forces drove back the Burmese army in 1727–1728 and 1731–1732, after which Chiang Mai and Ping valley became independent. Chiang Mai became a vassal again in 1757 to the new Burmese dynasty. It revolted again in 1761 with Siamese encouragement but the rebellion was suppressed by January 1763. In the 1765, the Burmese used Lan Na as a launching pad to invade the Laotian states, and Siam itself.