Kingdom of Siam: Ayuthayya

Thailand
Thailand was born only on 11th May 1949 before which the nation was referred to by Westerners as ‘Siam’. Medieval Indian references to the country calls it ‘Soumyadesh’ or the land of ‘gentle, calm’ peoples. There are heated debates even now as to the origins of the word Siam. Next door neighbours, the Khmer Cambodians tend to call the Thai by their original Khmer name of ‘Siem’, which means ‘theif or pilferer’ (Ravana, the demon kind from the Indian epic Ramayan is called ‘Siem’ for stealing lady Sita away from her husband Rama). The Khmers believe that Thais stole away Cambodian land in the 13th century after being allowed to live as friends.

The word "Syâm or Syâma" in Sanskrit & Pali means ‘dark skinned’. Khmers, who were Hindus prior to converting to Buddhism, may have used it to refer to ‘dark souls’. Alternatively, it may have been used as a racial sub-typing; Siamese people being "dark/brown" people, being separated by the fairer Chinese, generally considered "yellow people". If one considers the Irish, English, German, Danes as sub races or tribes of "white" as the Sioux, Chickasaw, Pawnee are tribes of the "Red people" in North America, then the Siamese sub-races are the Tai-Kadai, Mon-Khmer and the Austronesian Karen, etc.

The original Siam nation was created between Khmer Cambodia and Thai-Kadai state of ‘Sukhothai', a distortion of the Sanskrit word ‘Sukhodaya’ which means ‘happiness-kindness’. Thais even today place a high value on ‘jai yen’ or ‘cool heart’ such that even in the most trying bumper to bumper traffic jams, honking is rarely heard, even when the other car has just squeezed yours out.


Ayuthaya: The ancient capital of Siam was Ayuthaya, the 'lost city'. It is built at a confluence of three rivers - Chao Phraya, Pa Sak and Lopburi and was the seat of Siamese kingdom and culture between 1350-1767AD. The Royal palace was located here from the time of King Ramathibodi 1 (1350) to King Sam Phraya (1448). King Borommatrailokanat (or if you prefer the Hindu version Brahmatriloknath)ordered a temple (Wat)Phra Si Samphet to be built at this site in 1448AD.

Its stranglehold extended (following the waning of Angkor Wat as the pre-eminent kingdom in SE Asia in 1320 AD)at the height of its powers to present day Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar/Burma. Its strength might have been derived from its Sanskrit meaning 'Unassailable' or 'Undefeatable' as well as its ancient namesake of Ayodhya; the birthplace of Rama. It flourished as a river port, webbed as it was by rivers and khlongs (canals), courted by teh Portugese, Dutch, French, English, Chinese and Japanese merchants.

Its popularity and wealth meant potential disaster by greedy foreigners including one attempt by a Greek advisor to plot a coup. But what distant Europeans could not do, the Burmese did when they ransacked Ayuthaya in 1767. They destroyed much of its Buddhist temples and royal edifices and marched off the Siamese to Burma as slaves. Between 1767-1782, the Siamese were led by Phaya Takhsin, a half-Chinese half-Thai general, who moved the capital further south (away from northern Burma) to Thonburi Si Mahasamut. Power went to his head and he called himself the next Buddha and became violent and totalitarian. His ministers deposed him and executed him in the customary mild-mannered Thai way. They sealed him in a velvet sack so no royal blood would spill on the ground and beat him to death with a scented sandalwood club in 1782.