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Ramathibodi I

 

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Ramathibodi I



 
 
Uthong (1314–1369) was the first king of the kingdom Ayutthaya
Ayutthaya kingdom

The kingdom of Ayutthaya was a Thai people kingdom that existed from 1351 to 1767. Ayutthaya was friendly towards foreign traders, including the Han Chinese, Vietnamese , Indo-Aryans, Japanese people and Persians, and later the Portuguese people, Spanish people, Dutch and French people, permitting them to set up villages outside the city wa...
 (now part of Thailand
Thailand

The Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Laos and Myanmar, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Myanmar....
), reigning from 1351 to 1369. He was known as Prince U Thong before he ascended to the throne on March 4, 1351. A native of Chiang Saen
Amphoe Chiang Saen

Chiang Saen is a district in the northern part of Chiang Rai Province, northern Thailand....
 (now in Chiang Rai Province
Chiang Rai Province

Chiang Rai is the northernmost Provinces of Thailand of Thailand. Neighbouring provinces are Phayao Province, Lampang Province and Chiang Mai Province....
) he claimed descent from Khun Borom
Khun Borom

Khun Borom Rachathirath is the legendary progenitor of the Tai peoples-speaking peoples, considered by the Lao people and others to be the father of their race....
 and propagated Theravada Buddhism as the state religion.

Scholar Charnvit Kasetsiri
Charnvit Kasetsiri

Charnvit Kasetsiri is a Thailand historian. He is of Thai Chinese and Mon people descent....
 hypothesized that U Thong might have actually been born to a Chinese
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....
 merchant family operating in the area of Phetburi.






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Uthong (1314–1369) was the first king of the kingdom Ayutthaya
Ayutthaya kingdom

The kingdom of Ayutthaya was a Thai people kingdom that existed from 1351 to 1767. Ayutthaya was friendly towards foreign traders, including the Han Chinese, Vietnamese , Indo-Aryans, Japanese people and Persians, and later the Portuguese people, Spanish people, Dutch and French people, permitting them to set up villages outside the city wa...
 (now part of Thailand
Thailand

The Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Laos and Myanmar, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Myanmar....
), reigning from 1351 to 1369. He was known as Prince U Thong before he ascended to the throne on March 4, 1351. A native of Chiang Saen
Amphoe Chiang Saen

Chiang Saen is a district in the northern part of Chiang Rai Province, northern Thailand....
 (now in Chiang Rai Province
Chiang Rai Province

Chiang Rai is the northernmost Provinces of Thailand of Thailand. Neighbouring provinces are Phayao Province, Lampang Province and Chiang Mai Province....
) he claimed descent from Khun Borom
Khun Borom

Khun Borom Rachathirath is the legendary progenitor of the Tai peoples-speaking peoples, considered by the Lao people and others to be the father of their race....
 and propagated Theravada Buddhism as the state religion.

Scholar Charnvit Kasetsiri
Charnvit Kasetsiri

Charnvit Kasetsiri is a Thailand historian. He is of Thai Chinese and Mon people descent....
 hypothesized that U Thong might have actually been born to a Chinese
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....
 merchant family operating in the area of Phetburi. At least one royal chronicle identifies U Thong as the son of one Chodüksethi, apparently a leader of the Chinese merchant community.

King Ramathibodi's position was likely secured by political marriage and family ties. He was married to a daughter of the ruling family of Suphanburi
Suphanburi

Suphan Buri is a town in central Thailand, capital of the Suphan Buri Province. It covers the whole tambon Tha Philiang and parts of the tambon Rua Yai and Tha Rahat, all within the Amphoe Mueang Suphanburi....
, and may have also married into an alliance with the rulers of Lopburi
Lopburi

Lopburi is the capital city of Lopburi Province in Thailand. It is located about 150 km north-east of Bangkok. As of 2006 it has a population of 26,500....
 - it was likely the king of Lopburi that he was initially chosen to succeed. He appointed both his brother-in-law and son to positions of leadership in Suphanburi and Lopburi, respectively, and established his own capital in the new city of Ayutthaya. King Ramathabodi's reign bound together the Khmer
Khmer people

The Khmer people; ; are the predominant ethnic group in Cambodia, accounting for approximately 90% of the 14.2 million people in the country. Part of the larger Mon-Khmer languages ethnolinguistic peoples found throughout Southeast Asia, they speak the Khmer language....
 rulers of Lopburi, the 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...
 in the west, and the Chinese, Javanese, Bugis, Achnese merchants who inhabited the coastal areas.

New information from Kedah, Malaysia clearly state Rama Tibodi I by his Muslim name of Sultan Mad Zafar Syah III ruler of the Siamese Kedah Pasai Ma, probably part of the Ayuthaya Empire or by its Muslim name. Records in Iran state that he has in his royal court a Muslim scholar known as Sheikh Ahmad Qomi. He is the son-in-law of Chinese Siamese Muslim King descendent by the name of Nayuan (Bee Father). A golden coin with his name inscribe on it has been found in the island of Langkawi and is now kept in the Kedah State Museum.

During his reign he built Ton Sun Khlong Tue Mosque in Bangkok which still stand today. Persians architecture can still be seen in the ruins of Ayutthaya. Apart from that France still have records in the form of a map of 21 Mosque built in Ayutthaya during his reign and known as Shari Nao. The Mosques however were destroyed during the invasion by Sukhotai of Myanmar. Meanwhile local villages in Kedah people still speak Siam daily, a language spoken by their former King. The Siam (Muslim) language is different from the Thai language although they are very similar.

Apart from the above information, various tomb of Ayuthia Kings such as Rama Tibodi II is located in Kubang Pasu Kedah. The tombstone is inlaid with Ayyuthians decorative motives, shape as per alphabet 't'. The tomb of Rama Tibodis II son, Khun Woran Wang Ser is also located in Alor Setar, Kedah. His decsendent lives in Kedah and carries the title Nai Long before their given names

King Ramathibodi's death sparked a conflict over succession; initially, his son King Ramesuan
Ramesuan

King Ramesuan , son of king Ramathibodi I, reigned as the second and fifth king of the kingdom of Ayutthaya kingdom. When King Ramathibodi ascended to the throne of Ayuthaya, he sent King Ramesuan to reign in Lopburi....
 became ruler of Ayutthaya, but King Ramesuan later abdicated in favor of King Ramathibodi's brother-in-law, King Borommaracha. Some sources indicate that the abdication occurred peacefully, while others indicate that King Ramesuan's abdication followed a bloody civil war.