Si Inthrathit

Si Inthrathit
ศรีอินทราทิตย์
Khun
Statue of Si Inthrathit, Sawankhalok District, Sukhothai Province, Thailand
King of Sukhothai
Reign1238–1270
PredecessorSri Naw Nam Thum
SuccessorBan Mueang
BornBang Klang Hao
c. 1188
Mueang Rat
Died1270 (aged 81–82)
Sukhothai Kingdom
SpouseSueang
IssueBan Mueang
Ram Khamhaeng the Great
Three other children
Regnal name
Kamonteng Ansi Inthrabodinthrathit
HousePhra Ruang
FatherChantha Racha
MotherNang Nak
ReligionTheravada Buddhism

Si Inthrathit (Thai: ศรีอินทราทิตย์, pronounced [sǐː ʔīn.tʰrāː.tʰít]; also spelt Śrī Indrāditya) was the first king of the Sukhothai Kingdom, a historical polity in what is now Thailand. He reigned from 1238 until around 1270 and is credited as the founder of the Phra Ruang dynasty, regarded as the first historical Siamese dynasty. His dynasty holds a dual claim to this distinction—having originated in the very region later designated by foreigners as "Siam", and for being the royal house that liberated the Thai principalities from the Khmer Empire.

Difficulties in interpretation

Initially known as Pho Khun Bang Klang Hao (Thai: พ่อขุนบางกลางหาว), interpreted as ”the lord who rules the sky”, the controversy surrounding this names illustrates the limitations of epigraphy. This science studies inscriptions or epigraphs as writing, to identify graphemes, clarify their meanings, and classify their uses according to dates and cultural contexts. Texts inscribed on steles are often missing the top or bottom portions, just where one would expect dates, complicating the drawing of conclusions about the writing and the writers. Specifically excluded from epigraphy are the historical significance of an epigraph as a document, and the artistic value of a literary composition. These complications led to the ruler in his early life being known as simply Hao (หาว).[citation needed]

Life

Pho Khun Bang Klang Hao was born to the royal family of Sukhothai. His exact ethnic background lineage is unclear, but legend frames him as a descendant of King Patumsuriyawong, which some historians identify as Khmer king Suryavarman II.

Prior to his reign, Bang Klang Hao was the chief of Bang Yang, a territory which belonged to the westernmost regions of the Khmer Empire at that time. The territory now lies in the north-central region of Thailand.

Bang Klang Hao, together with Khun Pha Mueang of Mueang Rat, decided to rebel and declare independence from Angkor. Khmer control and its prohibitive taxes were crucial motivations for the rebellion. Extensive Khmer preoccupation with great architectural works weakened the ability and readiness of Khmer defenses, indirectly aiding the rebellion. Bang Klang Hao captured Si Satchanalai and gave it to Pha Mueang. Pha Mueang reciprocated by giving him Sukhothai.

Pho Khun Bang Klang Hao was then declared king at Sukhothai, taking a regnal name of Sanskrit origin, Si Inthrathit, translated from Adityan Indra. His skill and bravery greatly impressed the people of the kingdom, who thus conferred him the title Phra Ruang (glorious prince). This title was given to all subsequent rulers of Sukhothai, thus giving rise to the first Thai royal dynasty of Phra Ruang.

Si Inthrathit and his queen, Sueang, had three sons. The eldest died at a young age, and the second was named Ban Mueang. His third son defeated a Khmer prince on elephants in mounted combat; he named this youngest son Ram Khamhaeng (Rama the Bold) in tribute to the feat. Si Inthrathit died around 1270, and was succeeded by his son Ban Mueang.

References

  1. ↑ Eoseewong, Nidhi. ""พ่อขุน" ไม่เคยใช้เรียกกษัตริย์ที่ครองราชย์อยู่ "รามคำแหง" พระนามที่ชวนฉงน ?!?". Silpawattanatham. Silpawattanatham. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  2. ↑ Cœdès, G. (1921). "The Origins of the Sukhodaya Dynasty" (PDF). Journal of the Siam Society. 14 (1). Siam Heritage Trust. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 31, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2013. (1) The translation of this paper, which has been read at a joint session of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Société Asiatique, and American Oriental Society, and published in the Journal asiatique (April–June 1920), is the work of Mr. J. Crosby, to whom the author begs to tend his heartfelt thanks.
  3. ↑ "ประชุมพงศาวดาร เล่ม 1" (PDF). Suksapanpanit [th] (in Thai). 1963. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 December 2024. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  4. ↑ Phraya Pariyattithamthada (1968). Ayutthaya Testimonies (PDF) (in Thai). Rung Rueang Tham. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  5. ↑ Thepthani Administration (Chalerm), Phra. (1965). The Chronicles of the Thai Nation: The Origins of the Nation from Ancient Times. Compiled by Phra Boriya Thepthani, Governor of Pathum Thani, Lop Buri, Trat, and the Governor of Nonthaburi and Prachuap Khiri Khan Provinces (complete in 2 volumes). Bangkok: Office of S. Thammaphakdi. Page 133.
  6. ↑ Coedès, George (1968). Walter F. Vella (ed.). The Indianized States of Southeast Asia. trans.Susan Brown Cowing. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 195–196. ISBN 978-0-8248-0368-1.
  7. 1 2 3 "Sukhothai kingdom". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
  8. 1 2 Wyatt, David K. (2003). Thailand: A Short History. New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 32–35.
  9. 1 2 Coedès, George (1968). The Indianized States of Southeast Asia. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. pp. 180–183.
  10. ↑ Griswold, A. B. & Prasert na Nagara (1971). “The Inscription of King Rama Gamhen of Sukhodaya (1292 A.D.).” Journal of the Siam Society, 59 (2): 179–246.
  11. ↑ "Ramkhamhaeng". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 23 October 2025.

Further reading