Kamalanka

History

Early city-state: 1st – 5th century

The earliest and most detailed description of Kamalanka comes from the Chinese Liang dynasty (502–557) record Liáng Shū, which refers to the kingdom of "Lang-ya-xiu" (Chinese: 狼牙脩, Middle Chinese: ) or "Lang-chia-shu", which has been identified with Kamalanka. The record mentions that the kingdom was founded over 400 years earlier, which made its founding likely sometime in the late 1st or early 2nd century. Moreover, the city of "Balangka, an inland town" (บลังกา), mentioned in the Geographike Hyphegesis of Ptolemy in the 2nd century, was potentially Kamalanka. This is consistent with archeological findings in the area, which indicate that a complex culture likely formed during the 2nd century. Several artifacts with Gupta art were scatteredly discovered throughout the ancient Nakhon Pathom.

In this period, several polities emerged in the Chao Phraya River Valley, such as the five kingdoms of Tun Sun on the upper Malay Peninsular, the city state of Chin Lin centered at Mueang Uthong, as well as Si Thep, which has been identified as Qiān Zhī Fú or Ayojjhapura to the northeast. Records about these polities are extremely limited. Tun Sun fell under Funan around 245 CE.

Dvaravati period: 6th – 10th century

In the 6th century, Funan began to decline. Several polities broke away, such as Tou Yuan and Tanling, which later became the vassals of Dvaravati. Kamalanka or Chia-mo-lang-chia probably absorbed Tun Sun and Chin Lin and expanded its territory to the south at the present-day Chumphon province, and to the east met Chenla at present-day Chanthaburi province. It later became part of the Dvaravati civilization. These centuries were considered the Mon-dominant period.

The journey record of a Chinese Buddhist Xuanzang in the 7th century provided the information regarding the location of Kamalanka, which was said to be located to the southeast of Sri Ksetra kingdom, to the west of Dvaravati, and adjoined Pan Pan to the south, with the southernmost territory near the Lang-ya-jiew islands (birds' nest islands) in the present-day Chumphon province. Dvaravati that was thought to have been located at an ancient Nakhon Pathom, but from the evidence of I Ching, it must be moved to the eastern side of the valley. Briggs held that Kamalanka probably extended eastward to the boundary of Chenla north of modern Chanthaburi province in eastern Thailand. He argued from the Liang shu's statement that its east-west extent was one and a half times its north-south extent.

However, due to the overlap in territory claimed in the aforementioned Chiese text I Ching and the area that was expected to be a Funan's dependency, Tun Sun, together with the story given by Lang-ya-hsiu's embassy to the Chinese court regarding the state establishment and gaining independence as well as the disappearance of Tun Sun from the historical record at the beginning of the 6th century, Lang-ya-hsiu was speculated to be the successor state of Tun Sun and later evolved to or merged with Dvaravati. Some scholar locates Kamalanka at the present Mueang Uthong.

In 647, a newly emerged Dvaravati at Kamalanka successfully captured Tou Yuan at Lopburi and established it as the eastern frontier in 648, known as the Lavo Kingdom. They then moved further east and seized Muang Sema area from Qiān Zhī Fú at Si Thep the following century. Japanese scholar Tatsuo Hoshino equates Qiān Zhī Fú with Jiā Luó Shě Fú, which has been identified with Canasapura at Muang Sema, and Gē Luó Shě Fēn mentioned in the Cefu Yuangui is its corrupted term. After losing Muang Sema, Qiān Zhī Fú or Gē Luó Shě Fēn relinquished its control over the Nakhon Ratchasima and Chaiyaphum areas. Its territory receded to the original core in the northern half of the Menam plain and the Pasak Valley, with the seat at Si Thep.

From the 8th to 9th century, the Tais, who were believed to have settled in the north and central Isan region along the trans-Mekong trade route since the 8th century, began to infiltrate the Menam basin to access the sea. They established several petty kingdoms, such as Gān Bì in the vicinity of Savannakhet, Wen Dan in the Chi River Basin, Cān Bàn in the upper Pasak Valley, and Xiū Luó Fēn to the west of Chenla. Their existence were also in the inland Champa kingdom of Zhān Bó as well as Wen Yang (文陽) district, Changzhou prefecture (長州 or 裳州) of the Tang Dynasty in modern Sakhon Nakhon and Nakhon Phanom in Thailand and Khammouane province in Laos. The Wen Yang district is identified as the present-day Thakhek in Laos. Given their substantial troop strength—30,000 for Xiū Luó Fēn, 20,000 for Gē Luó Shě Fēn, 5,000 for Gān Bì—they likely participated in the conflicts between Chenla and Dvaravati in the early 7th century, aligning with the faction that offered the greatest advantage. The constant wars against Chenla and Haripuñjaya throughout the 7th to 10th centuries made the Mon Dvaravati begin to wane in power, resulting in their kingdoms being captured by Tambralinga in 927, followed by Angkor in 1001. The Tais then replaced Dvaravati in the western plain, as says in the early 11th century Cefu Yuangui that Gē Luó Shě Fēn was to the west of Dvaravati.

The recorded sequence of rulers at Nakhon Pathom breaks in this period. No ruler is named between Sai Thong Som, whose reign ends in the later 7th century, and Sikaraj, whose reign closes in 807, leaving the first half of the 8th century unaccounted for in the chronicle material. Two separate proposals bear on this interval. Hiram Woodward, who places Si Thep within Wen Dan, suggests that Si Thep may have exercised some control over Nakhon Pathom, together with Lopburi, U Thong, and Khu Bua, during the early 8th century. He further asks whether central Dvaravati should be understood as having pre- and post-Wen Dan phases. As an alternative, he suggests that the Dvaravati features at Si Thep may have resulted from the peaceful movement of monks rather than conquest. He presents these interpretations as possibilities rather than conclusions. The chronicle traditions, for their part, resume the sequence with Padumasūriyavaṁśa of Indaprasthanagara (r. 757–800) and extend his suzerainty over Sukhothai, Lavo and Talung (เมืองตลุง, modern Prakhon Chai district), but not over Nakhon Pathom. The later tradition names Sikaraj, followed by Phraya Kong and Phraya Pan, but these rulers are known from legend rather than contemporary records.

The aforementioned theory is consistent with the movements of the early Siamese dynasties, as evidenced by the Northern Chronicle, Nakhon Si Thammarat Chronicle, and others regarding the stories related to the establishment of the Xiān kingdoms of Suphannaphum and Phrip Phri. The local legend of Phraya Kong–Phraya Pan also mentions a dynastic relation between a Kamalanka monarch and an early Tai city-state in the upper valley; that is, Phraya Pan (r.867–913)—before enthronement as Kamalanka king—was adopted and supported by a Tai king at Sukhodaya to overthrow his predecessor at Nakhon Pathom.

Downfall: 11th – 13th century

The Mon power over the Menam Valley began to decline in the 8th century, followed by the arrivals of the Tais from the Isan region in the 9th–10th centuries. During this period, Kamalanka was influenced by emerging Srivijaya to the south via the maritime trade route, and was referred to by the Chinese as Gē Luó. Around the 9th century, Tai Yuan, another group of the Tais from the north, which later evolved into Lan Na, began to settle in the lower Menam Valley, increased in influence in the region including Lavo to the east. Around the 10th century, former Chin Lin seat at Mueang Uthong declined in opposition to the prosperity of Kamalanka, which rose through the Srivijaya maritime trade network. However, in the Chola invasion of Srivijaya during the early 11th century, the Malay peninsula was constantly raided by the Sinhalese navy. Kamalanka was also attacked and controlled during the South-East Asia campaign of Rajendra I against Tambralinga and Srivijaya in 1030. Later in the late–11th century, the Kra Isthmus was conquered by the Pagan Kingdom, whose territory expanded southward as far as to the south of present-day Phuket province and controlled the maritime trade between the India Ocean and the South China Sea, as recorded in the Dhammarajaka inscription. This led to the conflict between the Pagan Kingdom and the Sinhalese from the Chola Empire, who was the overload of several polities in the Malay Peninsula at the moment.

Kamalanka's chief city, the ancient Nakhon Pathom, was potentially destroyed in 1058 by King Anawrahta of Pagan during his campaign to conquer the Lavo Kingdom. If not, it might have been weakened since the 925–927 conflicts between two Mon's sister states, Haripuñjaya and Lavo, which led to the conquering of the lower Chao Phraya River Valley by Tambralinga from the south in 927. The city was depopulated during the 11th and 12th centuries as a result of the Bang Kaew River (ลำน้ำบางแก้ว) drying up and becoming shallow, rendering it impassable. After that, Angkorian influence began to infiltrate the region, especially during the reign of Jayavarman VII (r. 1181–1218). The people possibly moved 27 kilometers westward to the Angkorian-influenced polity centered at the ancient Mueang Sa Kosi Narai (เมืองสระโกสินารายณ์) on the bank of the Mae Klong, which was speculated to be Sambukapattana in the Preah Khan inscription. The settlements surrounding the ancient Nakon Pathom, which was referred to as "the city of the Sambuka people", were then subject to this newly created polity. However, Angkor's power over the region remained for a short period and waned following the death of Jayavarman VII in 1218; several key sites then declined. Nakhon Pathom was revived in the Sukhothai period a century later. Meanwhile, Sambukapattana lost its prominence during the early Ayutthaya period, and was abandoned following the second fall of Ayutthaya.

Following the fall of the Dvaravati culture in the 11th century, the tie between Qiān Zhī Fú at Si Thep and other former trans-Mekong confederated city-states in the Chi–Mun Basins, such as Zhān Bó, ended. Qiān Zhī Fú, together with other Tai principalities in the upper Menam Valleys, moved south and absorbed the declining Kamalanka Dvaravati; in addition to Sambukapattana, other two successors, Chen Li Fu and Phrip Phri, were established around the 12th century. Chen Li Fu possibly centered near the Nong Chaeng village in Sra Krachom subdistrict (ตำบลสระกระโจม), Don Chedi, Suphan Buri province, as there are traces of a large ancient city surrounded by a rectangular moat, and was speculated to be Suvarnapura, a city mentioned in the Prasat Phra Khan inscription (จารึกปราสาทพระขรรค์). Some propose that Suvarnapura was at the Nern Thang Phra Archaeological Site (แหล่งโบราณคดีเนินทางพระ), about 20 kilometers northeast of the Nong Chaeng village. Previous scholar said Chen Li Fu was potentially a vassal of or influenced by Angkor or had relatives with the Angkor kings; however, due to the decline in power of Angkor, Chen Li Fu broke away and sent an embassy itself to the Chinese court in 1200. Some argue that it was the independent polity in the mentioned period but instead had a close royal relation with Mahidharapura Kingdoms in the Phimai region. Chen Li Fu was a short-lived kingdom, as it was later subdued in 1204 by Phip Phli's king Mahesvastidrādhirājakṣatriya, who also extended territory further northward to Phraek Si Racha.

Legends

Legends of Nakhon Chai Si City and Phra Praton Chedi

ฺBefore the establishment of the chief city of Kamalanka, Nakhon Pathom, previously known as Nakhon Chai Si (นครชัยศรี), there was already a Brahmin village in this area called “Tona Brahmin”. The village was built around a stone house that Brahmins enshrined "Tona" (โทณะ) or the golden bowl used to measure the Buddha's relics. The legendary texts of Phraya Maha Akkanikorn (พระยามหาอรรคนิกร) and Nai Thong (นายทอง) state that this event occurred in 590 CE. The city of Nakhon Chai Si was later founded in the same area by King Siddhijaya Brahmadeva (ศรีสิทธิไชยพรหมเทพ), who was from the city of Manohan or Manohana (มโนหัน/มโนหน) near the border of the city of Yatsothon (ยศโสธร). The king later set Nakhon Chai Si as a new chief city. During this era, this polity established their relations with Sri Lanka via Buddhism; however, after the conflict with the local Brahmin, the king relocated the city 4 kilometers westward to the present-day Phra Pathommachedi area and named the city Pawan or Panan (ปาวัน/ปานัน)

In another version composed by Aong mentions King Sakata (พระยาสกตา) of Takkasila set the new era, Chula Sakarat, in 590 CE, which was the same year that the Brahmins of Tona Brahmin village enshrined a "Tona" in the stone house. His successor, Phraya Kawanadit Thera (กาวัณดิศเถร), expelled those Brahmins to Lavo in 650. Even though the versions of Phraya Maha Akkanikorn and Nai Thong say Kawanadit Thera was instead the King of Lavo, all versions mention Kawanadit Thera built a chedi to cover the stone house containing the tona and named it Phra Prathon Chedi in 656, which conforms to the text given in the Ayutthaya version of the Traibhumi Picture Book (สมุดภาพไตรภูมิ).

The stories provided by these two legends accord with the formation of the Lavo Kingdom given in the Northern Chronicle, thus, Sakkorn Dam, the Chula Sakarat setter, in the Northern Chronicle was doubtlessly Sakata in the Phra Praton Chedi legend. His son, Phraya Kalavarnadisharaja, founded the Lavo Kingdom in 648. And Takkasila mention in several sources was potentially Nakhon Pathom.

Fable of Miang Kham

In the Fable of Miang Kham, the royal relations between Kamalanka in the western valley and Dvaravati to the east have been told that in 637 CE, the King of Kamalanka named Emperor U Thong, also known as Kakabatr or Sakata in the Legends of Nakhon Chai Si City and Phra Praton Chedi, made a peace agreement and established a royal intermarriage by having his prince, Shridravya (พระยาศรีทรัพย์), married a Chenla princess, E Lert (อีเลิศ; some says princess of Si Thep). Their son was Khun Borom, a legendary progenitor of the Southwestern Tai-speaking peoples. However, previous scholars believe Khun Borom originated from Xiangkhouang in Laos or some mueang in southern China.

During the same period, there were records in the Chinese leishu, Cefu Yuangui, and the Book of Sui that Chenla, during the reign of Bhavavarman II (r. 639–657), allied via royal intermarriage with the Zhū Jiāng Kingdom, one of the Dvaravati polities. They then waged wars against Tou Yuan to the northwest, who had fallen under Kamalanka Dvaravati since 647. Some suggests that the son of Si Thep king named Bhavavarman mentioned in the Ban Wang Pai Inscription (K. 978) founded in the Phetchabun province of Thailand was probably Bhavavarman II instead of Bhavavarman I (r. 580–598) due to the inscription styles that potentially inscribed after 627.

The aforementioned royal intermarriage may have enabled another son of Kakabatr named Kalavarnadisharaja to establish his polity, known as the Lavo Kingdom, in the eastern Menam Valley in 648, a year after Dvaravati won over Tou Yuan.

Legend of Phraya Kong – Phraya Pan

The legend of Phraya Kong–Phraya Pan, which provides slightly different details in each version, has been told in the western Chao Phraya region. The story begins with a line of Sikaraj, king of Srivijaya (ศรีวิชัย, Nakhon Pathom; Northern Chronicle says an ancient Kanchanaburi) whose power extent south to Ratchaburi. His son, Kong, succeeded him. Due to the prophecy that his son would kill him, Kong ordered his newborn son to be killed, but his queen consort secretly gave the child to a commoner named Yai Hom (ยายหอม; lit. 'the elder Hom'), who named the boy Pan (พาน). Pan was later adopted by the king of Ratchaburi, who stopped paying tribute to King Kong on Pan's suggestion, causing Kong to attack Ratchaburi, but unfortunately was slaughtered by Pan in the battle. Pan was enthroned as the king of Srivijaya, and after he realized that Kong was his father, Pan built a large chedi, which is believed to be the Phra Pathommachedi, atoning for his sin. However, this part of the legend is believed to be influenced by the story being told in the Puranas. Some say that it was adapted from a Sanskrit fable, which in turn was derived from the Greek Oedipus.

The other two versions by Phraya Ratchasamparakorn (พระยาราชสัมภารากร) and Ta Pakhao Rot (ตาปะขาวรอต) say that after Pan was adopted by the King of Ratchaburi, he then travelled north to Sukhothai, where he also became the adoptive son of the king of Sukhothai. With Sukhothai's support, he moved south and overthrew Kong at Nakhon Pathom.

The Northern Chronicle and Jinakalamali additionally provide the expansion of the influence of Pan northward and being enthroned as the king of Haripuñjaya during 913–916, while the southern territory in the western Menam Valley was overthrown by his adoptive father, King of Ratchaburi. Before Pan's journey to the north, he established several cities in the western Menam Valley, including Suphan Buri, where his son, Pansa, was the first ruler. Suphan Buri was the capital of Suphannabhum, a Siamese polity that later formed part of the Ayutthaya Kingdom in 1351. In the Lan Na's Yonok Chronicle, mentions King Chandra Devaraja (จันทรเทวราช) lost Suphannabhum to unspecified invader (probably Tambralinga's king Sujita from Lavo, proposed by Borihan Thepthani) and his two princes, Ādityarāja (อาทิตตะราช) and Chandrachota, fled to Haripuñjaya. The older prince, Thamikaraj, later became Haripuñjaya's king in his later life, while the younger reclaimed the throne at Lavo's Lavapura from Angkor in 1052.

After Pan lost the throne to his adoptive father, the Menam Valley entered the collapsing period with a decade-long fighting between two Mon sister kingdoms, Haripuñjaya and Lavo, which also weakened Kamalanka, continue to the valley being conquered by Tambralinga in 927, the fall of Rāmaññadesa in 946, the destruction of Lavo's Lavapura by Angkor in 1001, constant raided by the Chola in 1030, the devastation of the western valley by the Pagan in 1058.

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