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Rama I

King of Siam from 1782 to 1809

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Portrait of Phutthayotfa Chulalok (King Rama I of Siam), which is displayed in the Chakri Mahaprasat Hall at the Grand Palace, Bangkok. Portrait created during the reign of Chulalongkorn (King Rama V
Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain

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Rama I, whose given name was Thongduang, was born from a Mon male line descent family, great-grandson of Kosa Pan. His father served in the royal court of the Ayutthaya Kingdom. Thongduang and his younger brother Bunma served King Taksin in wars against the Burmese Konbaung dynasty and helped him in the reunification of Siam. During this time he emerged as Siam's most powerful military leader. Thongduang was the first Somdet Chao Phraya, the highest rank the nobility could attain, equaled to that of royalty. In 1782, he took control of Siam and crowned himself as the monarch. The most famous event in his reign was the Burmese–Siamese War (1785–1786), which was the last major Burmese assault on Siam.

Rama I's reign marked a revival of Siamese culture and state organization following the collapse of the Siamese kingdom in 1767, whose capital was then situated at Ayutthaya. He established a new purified Buddhist sect which allied and tied together Buddhism and the monarchy. Rama I consolidated and expanded on Taksin's military campaigns throughout Mainland Southeast Asia, whose mandala in 1809 stretched north to the Shan States, south to the northern Malay Peninsula and east to the Annamite Range. His reign also marked the beginning of a new "Golden Age of Culture", which continued in the footsteps of the blossoming of the arts during the Late Ayutthaya Period.

Name

Like many high-ranking figures in premodern Siam, Rama I bore several names and titles over the course of his life—and even posthumously—reflecting his changing offices. His given name at birth was Thongduang (also spelled Thong Duang); family names had not yet been introduced in Siam.

When Thongduang served as the deputy governor of Ratchaburi Province during the reign of King Ekkathat of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, he held the title Luang Yokkrabat. After the fall of Ayutthaya, the new monarch, King Taksin, under whom he served as an important military commander, successively promoted him to the titles of Phra Ratcharin Chao Krom Phra Tamruat (chief of the police department), Phraya Aphaironnarit, Phraya Yommarat, Phraya Chakri, and eventually Chaophraya Chakri (minister of the northern provinces).

As Chaophraya Chakri, he commanded royal armies in campaigns against the Burmese, the Khmer, and the Lao, earning great distinction in royal service. Consequently, he was elevated to the rank of Somdet Chao Phraya (equivalent to a Grand Duke) and was granted a royal palanquin, an ivory sedan chair with parasol, and various gold regalia—privileges equal to those of a Chao Fa-ranked prince or Chao Tang Krom (a prince governing a department).

When he ascended to the throne in 1782, he took the name Ramathibodi, just like the founder of the Ayutthaya Kingdom. His full title was much longer (Phra Borommarachathirat Ramathibodi Sisin Borommaha Chakkraphat Rachathibodin etc.), intended to demonstrate his universal claim to power like of earlier Siamese kings.

After his death, the people referred to him simply as Phaendin Ton ("the first reign"), to his son as Phaendin Klang ("the middle reign"). Continuing this system consequently, his grandson Rama III would have been "the last reign". To avoid this inauspicious title, he ended this practice by donating two Buddha statues that were placed to the sides of the Emerald Buddha at Wat Phra Kaeo and dedicated one each to his father and grandfather. He demanded to refer to his two predecessors using the names of these Buddha statues. The one dedicated to the first Chakri king was named Phra Phutthayotfa Chulalok ("the Buddha on top of the sky and the crown of the worlds"). This is how this king is still referred to in Thai history books.

His descendant Vajiravudh (Rama VI) who had studied in England, realised that most Siamese kings' names were difficult to reproduce and remember for Westerners. He therefore disposed to use for all kings of the Chakri dynasty the name Rama together with the respective ordinal number. So this king is Rama I in Western literature. In 1982, 200 years after his accession, the Thai cabinet decided to award him the epithet Maharat ("The Great").

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