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King Mangrai (1239-1311) was the 25th King of Ngoen Yang (r.1261-1296) and the first King of Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai , also sometimes written as "Chiengmai", is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand, and is the capital of Chiang Mai Province....
 (r.1296-1311), capital of the Lanna
Lanna

Lanna was a kingdom in the north of Thailand around the city of Chiang Mai.The kingdom was founded in 1296 by King Mengrai the Great, when he succeeded his father as the leader of the Ngoen Yang city state....
 Kingdom (1296-1558).

rai was born in Ngoen Yang (present day Chiang Saen
Amphoe Chiang Saen

Chiang Saen is a district in the northern part of Chiang Rai Province, northern Thailand....
) as the son of the local ruler Lao Meng and his wife Ua Ming Chommueang, a princess from the Tai Lue city of Chiang Rung
Jinghong

Jinghong is the capital of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan provinces of China, China, and the historic capital of the former Tai kingdom of Sipsongpanna....
, now in Yunnan
Yunnan

is a political divisions of China of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately 394,000 square kilometers ....
, China
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
. In 1261 Mangrai succeeded his father to become the first independent king of unified Tai
Tai peoples

"Thai peoples" redirects here. For the subgroup of the Tai, see Thai peopleThe 'Tai' ethnicity refers collectively to the ethnic groups of southern China and Southeast Asia, stretching from Hainan to eastern India and from southern Sichuan to Laos, Thailand, and parts of Vietnam, which speak languages in the Tai languages family and share s...
 city states in northern Lanna and northern Laos
Laos

Laos , officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and People's Republic of China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west....
.






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King Mangrai (1239-1311) was the 25th King of Ngoen Yang (r.1261-1296) and the first King of Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai , also sometimes written as "Chiengmai", is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand, and is the capital of Chiang Mai Province....
 (r.1296-1311), capital of the Lanna
Lanna

Lanna was a kingdom in the north of Thailand around the city of Chiang Mai.The kingdom was founded in 1296 by King Mengrai the Great, when he succeeded his father as the leader of the Ngoen Yang city state....
 Kingdom (1296-1558).

Early years

Mangrai was born in Ngoen Yang (present day Chiang Saen
Amphoe Chiang Saen

Chiang Saen is a district in the northern part of Chiang Rai Province, northern Thailand....
) as the son of the local ruler Lao Meng and his wife Ua Ming Chommueang, a princess from the Tai Lue city of Chiang Rung
Jinghong

Jinghong is the capital of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan provinces of China, China, and the historic capital of the former Tai kingdom of Sipsongpanna....
, now in Yunnan
Yunnan

is a political divisions of China of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately 394,000 square kilometers ....
, China
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
. In 1261 Mangrai succeeded his father to become the first independent king of unified Tai
Tai peoples

"Thai peoples" redirects here. For the subgroup of the Tai, see Thai peopleThe 'Tai' ethnicity refers collectively to the ethnic groups of southern China and Southeast Asia, stretching from Hainan to eastern India and from southern Sichuan to Laos, Thailand, and parts of Vietnam, which speak languages in the Tai languages family and share s...
 city states in northern Lanna and northern Laos
Laos

Laos , officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and People's Republic of China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west....
. The kingdom quickly expanded towards the south by both alliances and through the conquest of neighbours. In 1262 he founded the city of Chiang Rai
Chiang Rai

Mueang Chiang Rai is a city in Amphoe Mueang Chiang Rai, Chiang Rai Province, a northernmost Changwat of Thailand....
 as his new capital in the Kok River
Kok River

The Kok River originates in Shan State, Burma. It flows down and across the Burma-Thailand border to Amphoe Mae Ai, Chiang Mai Province. Most of its length is in Chiang Rai Province passing the districts Amphoe Mueang Chiang Rai, Amphoe Mae Chan, Amphoe Chiang Saen and Amphoe Wiang Chai....
 basin. In 1287 Mangrai made a peace pact with King Ramkhamhaeng of Sukhothai
Sukhothai kingdom

The Sukhothai kingdom was an early kingdom in the area around the city Sukhothai , in north central Thailand. It existed from 1238 till 1438. The old capital, now 12 km outside of New Sukhothai in Tambon Mueang Kao, is in ruins and is a Sukhothai historic park....
 and King Ngammueang of Phayao
Phayao

Phayao is a town in northern Thailand, capital of the Phayao Province. It covers the tambon Wiang and Mae Tam of Amphoe Mueang Phayao. As of 2005 it has a population of 19,118....
 to defend their lands against the Mongol Empire
Mongol Empire

The Mongol Empire was the List of largest empires#Contiguous Empires empire and the largest bar none. It emerged from the unification of Mongols and Turkic peoples tribes in modern day Mongolia, and grew through Mongol invasions, after Genghis Khan had been proclaimed ruler of all Mongols in 1206....
. In 1292 he defeated the Mon kingdom of Hariphunchai
Haripunchai

Hariphunchai was a Mon kingdom in the north of present Thailand in the centuries before the Thais moved into the area. Its capital was at Lamphun, which at the time was also called Hariphunchai....
 (present day Lamphun
Lamphun

Lamphun is a town in northern Thailand, capital of Lamphun Province. It covers the whole tambon Nai Mueang of Amphoe Mueang Lamphun. As of 2006 it has a population of 14,030....
), adding the city to his kingdom. Yiba, the last king of Hariphunchai, was forced to flee to Lampang
Lampang

Lampang, also called Nakhon Lampang to differentiate from Lampang Province, is the third largest town in northern Thailand and capital of Lampang Province and the Amphoe Mueang Lampang....
.

Chiang Mai Era

In 1296 Mangrai moved his capital again by founding Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai , also sometimes written as "Chiengmai", is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand, and is the capital of Chiang Mai Province....
 on the western bank of the Ping River
Ping River

The Ping River , along with the Nan River, is one of the two main contributaries of Chao Phraya River. It originates at Doi Chiang Dao in Amphoe Chiang Dao, Chiang Mai Province....
. A few years later, Yiba's son, King Boek of Lampang, attacked Chiang Mai with a large army. However, King Mangrai and his second son, Prince Khram, fought back against the Lampang army. In a personal combat on elephant back between Prince Khram and King Boek at Khua Mung, a village near Lamphun, King Boek lost and ordered the withdrawal of his remaining men. As King Boek fled by way of the Doi Khun Tan mountain range between Lamphun and Lampang, he was caught and executed. When King Mangrai's troops occupied the city of Lampang, King Yiba was made to flee again, this time to Sukhothai.

Death and succession

King Mangrai died in 1311 at Chiang Mai. During a thunderstorm he was hit by lightning
Lightning

File:Blesk.jpgLightning is an Earth's atmosphere discharge of electricity usually accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcano or dust storms....
 in the city's market. He was succeeded by Prince Khram who took the name of King Chaisongkhram upon his ascension to the throne of the Lanna kingdom.