Sukhothai, meaning the ''Dawn of
Happiness'' was the first free Thai
city founded in 1238, by two Thai chieftains, Khun Bang Klang Tao and
Khun Pa Muang , this ending Khmer rule from Angkor Wat. In the early
1300s, Sukhothai enjoyed suzerainty over the Chao Phya River basin,
westward to the bay of Bengal and the entire Peninsula.
The state that is still regarded by Thai historical tradition as the
" first Thai Kingdom " was Sukhothai, There were, in fact,
contemporaneous Thai states such as Lanna and Phayao, both in
present-day northern Thailand, but the Thai historical imagination has
been most stirred by Sukhothai.
Even today, the evocative ruins of Sukhothai and its twin city Si
Satchanalai conjure up images of material prosperity, artistic
greatness, and serene Buddhist piety. Indeed, Sukhothai is remembered
as much for its art and architecture as for its political
achievements.
Sukhothai began life as a chiefdom under the sway of the Khmer
empire: the oldest monuments in the city were built in the Khmer style
or else show clear Khmer influence. During the first half of the 13th
century the Thai rulers of Sukhothai threw off the Khmer yoke and set
up an independent Thai kingdom. One of the victorious Thai chieftains
became the first king of Sukhothai, with the name of Si Inthrathit
[Sri Indraditya].
Sukhothai's power and influence expanded in all directions by
conquest [the Khmer were driven southwards], by a farsighted network
of marriage alliances with the ruling families of other Thai states,
and by the use of a common religion, Theravada Buddhism, to cement
relations with other states. Si Inthrathit's son and successor was
King Ramkhamhaeng, undoubtedly the most famous and dynamic monarch
ever to rule the Sukhothai kingdom. Much of what we know about
Sukhothai in the 13th century derives from King Ramkhamhaeng's stone
inscription of 1292.
The inscription is problematic, but it is considered to be a seminal
source of Sukhothai history as well as a masterpiece of Thai
literature. It eloquently extols the benevolence of King
Ramkhamhaeng's rule, the power and prosperity of Sukhothai. The king
was accessible to his people. For example, he had a bell hung in front
of a palace gate so that any subject with a grievance could ring it
and ask for justice: " King Ramkhamhaeng, the ruler of the kingdom,
hears the call; he goes and questions the man, examines the case, and
decides it justly for him. So the people of.....Sukhothai praise him.
" According to the inscription, the king did not levy road tolls or
taxes on merchandise. His liberality was such that he did not tax his
subjects' inheritance at all. Such a paternalistic and benevolent
style of kingship has caused posterity to regard the Sukhothai
kingdom's heyday as a " golden age " in Thai history. Even allowing
for some hyperbole in King Ramkhamhaeng's inscription, it is probably
true that Sukhothai was prosperous and well-governed.
Its economy was self-sufficient, small-scale, and agricultural. The
Thai people's basic diet was the same as that of many other people in
Southeast Asia, consisting of rice and fish as staple foods. Both,
according to King Ramkhamhaeng's inscription were plentiful; "In the
time of King Ramkhamhaeng this land of Sukhothai is thriving. There
are fish in the water and rice in the fields." Sukhothai may have been
self-sufficient as far as food was concerned, but its prosperity also
depended on commerce. During the Sukhothai period glazed ceramic wares
known as "sangkhalok" were produced in great quantities at the kilns
of Sukhothai and Si Satchanalai and exported regularly to other
countries in the South China Sea area, specimens having been found in
Indonesia and the Philippines.
Sukhothai also traded with China through the traditional Chinese
tributary system: the Thai king was content to send tribute to the
Chinese emperor and be classified as a vassal, in return for
permission to sell Thai goods and buy Chinese products. Although
animistic beliefs remained potent in Sukhothai, King Ramkhamhaeng and
his successors were all devout Buddhist rulers who made merit on a
large scale. The major cities of the Sukhothai kingdom were therefore
full of monasteries, many of which were splendid examples of Thai
Buddhist architecture.
Sukhothai adopted the Ceylonese school of Theravada Buddhism,
beginning with King Ramkhamhaeng's invitation to Ceylonese monks to
come over and purify Buddhism in his kingdom. This Ceylonese influence
manifested itself not only in matters of doctrine but also in
religious architecture. The bell-shaped stupa, so familiar in Thai
religious architecture, was derived from Ceylonese models. Sukhothai
style Buddha images are distinctive for their elegance and stylized
beauty, and Sukhothai's artists introduced the graceful form of the
"walking Buddha" into Buddhist sculpture. Sukhothai's cultural
importance in Thai history also derives from the fact that the Thai
script evolved into a definite form during King Ramkhamhaeng's time,
taking as its models the ancient Mon and Khmer scripts. Indeed, this
remarkable king is credited with having invented the Thai script. King
Si Inthrathit and King Ramkhamhaeng were both warrior kings and
extended their territories far and wide.
Their successors, however, could not maintain such a far-flung
empire. Some of these later kings were more remarkable for their
religious piety and extensive building activities than for their
warlike exploits. An example of this type of Buddhist ruler was King
Mahathammaracha Lithai, believed to have been the compiler of the
Tribhumikatha, an early Thai book on the Buddhist universe or cosmos.
The political decline of Sukhothai was, however, not wholly owing to
deficiencies in leadership. Rather it resulted from the emergence of
strong Thai states further south, whose political and economic power
began to challenge Sukhothai during the latter half of the 14th
century. These southern states, especially Ayutthaya, were able to
deny Sukhothai access to the area. The Sukhothai kingdom did not die a
quick death.
Its decline lasted from the mid-14th until the 15th century. In 1378,
the Ayutthaya King Borommaracha I subdued Sukhothai's frontier city of
Chakangrao [Kamphaengphet], and henceforth Sukhothai became a
tributary state of Ayutthaya. Sukhothai later attempted to break loose
from Ayutthaya but with no real success, until in the 15th century it
was incorporated into the Ayutthaya kingdom as a province. The focus
of Thai history and politics now moved to the central plains of
present-day Thailand, where Ayutthaya was establishing itself as a
centralized state, its power outstripping not only Sukhothai but also
other neighboring states such as Suphannaphum and Lawo [Lopburi]