Suryaraja

Suryaraja
สุริยราชา
King of Kamphaeng Phet–Sukhothai
King of Kamphaeng Phet
Reign1156–1184
Predecessorname unknown (Father-in-law of Saenpom [th])
SuccessorCandraraja
King of Sukhothai
ReignRuled from Kamphaeng Phet
PredecessorPra Poa Noome Thele Seri
SuccessorCandraraja
Born1136 (1136)
Died1184 (aged 47–48)
Kamphaeng Phet
ConsortSirisudhārājadevī
IssueCandraraja of Sukhothai
HousePhra Ruang
FatherSuryavamsa of Phraek Si Racha
MotherPadmavatī

Suryaraja (Thai: สุริยราชา), son of Suryavamsa, was a Siamese monarch mentioned in the Ayutthaya Testimonies as the ruler of Vicitraprakāra (วิเชียรปราการ), a polity identified with the present-day Kamphaeng Phet. A descendant of King Padumasuriyavamsa, Suryaraja was recorded to have relocated to Vicitraprakāra in 1156 CE, where he established his principal seat of power. He ascended the throne at the age of twenty and reigned over the polity for a period of twenty-eight years.: ๔๓–๔  Suryaraja’s northward relocation coincided with the reconsolidation of the lower Menam basin in 1157 CE under Sri Dharmasokaraja II, whose authority in the region appears to have continued until approximately 1180, when Angkorian expansion extended both military and political influence into the area.: 39–41 

Suryaraja’s authority may have extended to Sukhothai, as Michael Smithies has tentatively proposed that Pra Poa Noome Thele Seri—whose dynasty, like that of Suryaraja, descended from King Padumasuriyavamsa —relocated northward from Yassouttora Nacoora Louang (or Tasoo Nacora Louang) to establish his dominion at Sukhothai–Lacontai in the mid-1150s. It has been further suggested that he may have belonged to the same royal lineage as Si Intharathit,: 133  the grandson of Suryaraja, who later ascended the throne of the Sukhothai Kingdom in 1238. Pra Poa Noome Thele Seri and his younger brother, Uthong I of Mueang Chaliang, were subsequently said to have moved southward to consolidate their authority in the western Menam valleys around 1156–1157 CE,: 127  a timeframe that corresponds closely with the calculated date of Suryaraja’s enthronement at Kamphaeng Phet.

Suryaraja was married to Sirisudhārājadevī (สิริสุธาราชเทวี), with whom he had a son named Candraraja.: 84  The latter subsequently ascended to the throne as ruler of Vicitraprakāra–Sukhothai, reigning from 1184 to 1214.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Suryaraja
8. King Vijayaraja of Phetchaburi
4. King Srisimha of Siam
9. Princess Shrikanyarajadevi
2. King Suryavamsa of Siam
5. Princess Suvannapabbata
1. King Suryaraja of Kamphaeng Phet
3. Princess Padmavati

Notes

  1. ↑ Based on chronological calculation, if his son Candraraja ascended the throne in 1184, Suryaraja’s reign must have commenced in 1156, as the source records his rule as lasting twenty-eight years. Furthermore, given that he is described as having ascended the throne at the age of twenty, this would place his birth around 1136 CE.
  2. ↑ Pra Poa Noome Thele Seri is referred to as Intharacha (อินทราชา) in the text, and the first monarch of his line, Visnuraja, was of the Padumasuriyavamsa descendant.
  3. ↑ The text records that his reign lasted for thirty years; however, the chronological data presented are internally inconsistent, as it states that his reign commenced in the year 570 of the Chula Sakarat Era and concluded in 576 (1214 CE), which would indicate a reign of only six years. Consequently, if the duration of thirty years is to be accepted as accurate, his accession must have occurred in the year 546 of the Chula Sakarat Era (1184 CE).

References

Citation

  1. 1 2 Fine Arts Department 1968, p. 11.
  2. ↑ Kanjana Chansingh (18 February 2020). "กษัตริย์เมืองกำแพงเพชรในสมัยทวารวดี" [The king of Kamphaeng Phet during the Dvaravati period.]. Kamphaengphet Rajabhat University [th] (in Thai). Retrieved 9 January 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  3. ↑ ประชุมพงศาวดาร เล่ม 41: จดหมายเหตุรายวัน ทัพสมัยกรุงธนบุรี เล่าเรื่องไปชวา ครั้งที่ 3 [Collected Chronicles, Volume 41: Daily Records of the Army during the Thonburi Period, Recounting the Third Trip to Java.] (PDF) (in Thai). Bangkok: Suksapan [th]. 1969. Archived from the original on 2026-01-08. Retrieved 2026-01-08.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ↑ Chatchai Sukrakarn (October 2005). "พระเจ้าศรีธรรมาโศกราช" [Sri Thammasokaraj] (PDF) (in Thai). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 August 2024. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  5. ↑ Fine Arts Department 1968, p. 44, 46.
  6. ↑ Fine Arts Department 1968, p. 37–8.
  7. 1 2 Michael Smithies; Dhiravat na Pombejra (2022). "Instructions Given to the Siamese Envoys Sent to Portugal, 1684" (PDF). Journal of the Siam Society. 90 (Part 1 & 2). Archived from the original on 2025-08-23. Retrieved 2025-11-07.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ Fine Arts Department (23 April 1960). "ประชุมพงศาวดาร ภาคที่ ๖๖" [Collected Chronicles, Part 66] (PDF) (in Thai). Archived from the original on 15 February 2026. Retrieved 15 February 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  10. ↑ Fine Arts Department 1968, p. 11, 17.

Sources