Art and Craft

Ramkhamhaeng the Great

Ramkhamhaeng is considered to be one of the greatest of all Kings of Thai history. He created the city state of Sukothai which achieved a level of culture and achievement grater than any that had been managed by any of the Thais. Through his military valour he conquered a wide swathe of land which, unfortunately, his descendants were unable to maintain. In the 1240s, the Tai Prince Bang Klang Hao, who headed a small princedom in the region of Sukothai, allied with another Tai prince, Pha Muang and, together, they attacked and overthrew the Khmer Governor of Sukothai. The Khmers (modernday Cambodians), had established a powerful empire in many parts of mainland Southeast Asia which was then waning in power, as so much of the resources had been spent on creating wondrous monuments such as the Angkor Wat complex and on public works such as hospitals. Sukothai is in what is now called central Thailand, a couple of hundred kilometers north of the present location of Bangkok. Bang Klang Hao took control of Sukothai and he was given the royal title of Sri Indraditya by Pha Muang. On his death, Sukothai passed to Sri Indraditya's first son Ban Muang who, in 1279, in turn died and so the succession passed to Ramkhamhaeng, who was the second son of Sri Indraditya. It was under Ramkhamhaeng that the city became the vibrant and glorious centre it was later to be.