Ayutthaya

• Theravada Buddhism is the older practice of Buddhism that originated in India.
• Ayutthaya was a thriving kingdom that lasted for almost 400 years, located in the fertile Menam or Chao Phraya Basin, present-day Thailand.
• The people of Ayutthaya are referred to as "Tai" or "Siamese" people.
• Ayutthaya was the former capital of Thailand and its capital city was Ayutthaya, an island-city situated near the three rivers, the Chao Phraya, the Pasak, and the Lopburi.
• Ayutthaya was known as the "Venice of the East" and its founder was Ramathibodi I, the first king of the Thai kingdom of Ayutthaya.
• Ramathibodi I devoted his life to securing the region’s independence from the Khmer Kingdom and encouraged Persian and Chinese traders, which contributed to Ayutthaya’s power and prosperity.
• Ramathibodi I also founded the legal system in Siam.
• The government of Ayutthaya was an absolute monarchy, with the king as the first to govern the land.
• The basic unit of social organization in Ayutthaya was the village communities, composed of extended family households.
• Ayutthaya was an underpopulated society, and the constant need for manpower protected the people.
• The main religion in Ayutthaya was Theravada Buddhism, with Brahmanism, an ancient Indian religion tradition, also practiced as a court ritual.
• Sangha was an establishment that provided young males with an education, and offered those who elected to remain in the sangha a channel upward in social class.
• Ayutthaya’s military organization remained unchanged for the next 150 years and the kingdom was in constant warfare.
• Ayutthaya became the hub of economic activity and exported rice, with trade also extending to China and Japan.
• In 1511, Ayutthaya received a diplomatic mission from the Portuguese, who earlier that year had conquered Malacca.
• Ayutthaya and Portugal concluded a treaty granting the Portuguese permission to trade in the kingdom.
• Ayutthaya forged important commercial ties with Japan and Dutch and English trading companies were allowed to establish factories.
• After a bloody period of dynastic struggle, Ayutthaya entered into what has been called its golden age, a relatively peaceful episode in the second quarter of the eighteenth century (1700s) when art, literature, and learning flourished.
• The city of Ayutthaya was attacked and razed by the Burmese army in 1767 who burned the city to the ground and forced the inhabitants to abandon the city.
• The city of Ayutthaya was never rebuilt in the same location and remains known today as an extensive archaeological site.
• Ayutthaya was a thriving kingdom that lasted for almost 400 years, located in the fertile Menam or Chao Phraya Basin, present-day Thailand.
• The people of Ayutthaya are referred to as "Tai" or "Siamese" people.
• Ayutthaya was the former capital of Thailand and its capital city was Ayutthaya, an island-city situated near the three rivers, the Chao Phraya, the Pasak, and the Lopburi.
• Ayutthaya was known as the "Venice of the East" and its founder was Ramathibodi I, the first king of the Thai kingdom of Ayutthaya.
• Ramathibodi I devoted his life to securing the region’s independence from the Khmer Kingdom and encouraged Persian and Chinese traders, which contributed to Ayutthaya’s power and prosperity.
• Ramathibodi also founded the legal system in Siam.
• The government of Ayutthaya was an absolute monarchy, with the king as the first to govern the land and assigning the royalty and lords to manage vessels and border towns.
• The basic unit of social organization in Ayutthaya was the village communities, composed of extended family households.
• Ayutthaya was an underpopulated society, with a constant need for manpower protected the people.
• The main religion in Ayutthaya was Theravada Buddhism, with Brahmanism, an ancient Indian religion tradition, also practiced as a court ritual.
• Sangha was an establishment that provided young males with an education, and offered those who elected to remain in the sangha a channel upward in social class.
• Ayutthaya’s military organization remained unchanged for the next 150 years, with the kingdom engaged in constant warfare.
• Ayutthaya became the hub of economic activity, exporting rice and importing goods from China and Japan.
• In 1511, Ayutthaya received a diplomatic mission from the Portuguese, who earlier that year had conquered Malacca.
• Ayutthaya and Portugal concluded a treaty granting the Portuguese permission to trade in the kingdom.
• Ayutthaya forged important commercial ties with Japan and Dutch and English trading companies were allowed to establish factories.
• After a bloody period of dynastic struggle, Ayutthaya entered into what has been called its golden age, a relatively peaceful episode in the second quarter of the eighteenth century (1700s) when art, literature, and learning flourished.
• The city of Ayutthaya was attacked and razed by the Burmese army in 1767 who burned the city to the ground and forced the inhabitants to abandon the city.
• The city of Ayutthaya was never rebuilt in the same location and remains known today as an extensive archaeological site.
• The origins of Ayutthaya date back to 1351 CE and lasted for almost 400 years.