Kamalanka

in Nakhon Pathom, the oldest stupa in Thailand, built around the year 193 BCE. in the ancient Nakhon Pathom, stating the Ye Dhammā formula, written with the Grantha script. . , dated 8th–10th centuries CE, discovered during excavation at , Nakhon Pathom province, displayed at the Bangkok National Museum. , dated 7th century CE, Dvaravati art, found at the Mueang Uthong|thumb -style Chedi in the present temple. It later collapsed, and the area was then transformed into a parking area.|thumb Based on references in the book of I Ching and the seventh-century travel records of the Chinese monk Xuanzang, Kamalanka has been equated with Lang-ya-xiu or Lang-chia-shu. may also correspond to Kamalanka, Epigraphic evidence from Nakhon Pathom reinforces this association. A terracotta seal inscribed in Prakrit with Brahmi script, deciphered by Jiraphat Prapanwittaya and Varindra Vasishtha, refers to varapata(na), meaning “the glorious port city.” • Mevilimbangam – Kamalanka, has beautiful walls as defense. • Mayirudingan – the Je-lo-ting of the Chinese, surrounded by the deep sea as by a moat, Some says Chaiya. • Talaittakkolam – Takkola (Trang or Takua Pa) of Ptolemy and the Milinda Panha, praised by great men versed in the sciences. • Madamalingam –Tambralinga, capable of strong action in dangerous battles. while George Cœdès identified Pegu with Mäppappälam, the city raided by Rajendra Chola I in 1030 as mentions in the Tanjore Inscription. Tribute was first recorded during the reign of Emperor Guangwu of Han (25–57 CE). The Tongdian describes Gē Luó as a fortified city whose ruler bore the surname Shǐ Lì Pó Luó () and given name Mǐ Shī Bō Luó (). Its capital featured stone walls, towers, and guarded gates, while the palace was roofed with grass. The society was distinguished by unique marriage customs, musical traditions, and funerary rites, including cremation with ashes placed in golden vessels submerged at sea. Earlier scholars identified it with Kalah on the southwestern Malay Peninsula, or at ancient Nakhon Pathom. Along with Xiū Luó Fēn and Gān Bì, it sent tribute missions to the Tang court. These three polities shared similar institutions, though Xiū Luó Fēn possessed the largest military force, exceeding 30,000, while Gān Bì maintained only 5,000. A later Ming source, the , identifies the Malacca Sultanate as Gē Luó Fù Shā, also tracing its origins to the Han dynasty but noting its subsequent vassalization to Tun Sun. In summary, two competing interpretations exist regarding the kingdom's location. One places it in the southern Malay Peninsula, linked with Gē Luó Fù Shā Luó () and later traditions of Malacca; and Wheatley's assumption has been continued by many scholars to the present day. Thus, the west Menam Valley is more feasible. but are sparingly found in the ancient Nakhon Pathom. The text was inscribed in Sanskrit with Pallava script and says Arushva, the chief of the people of Tangura () and the son of the king of Sambuka, created this Buddha image. In contrast, Chenla instead established royal intermarriage with the other two polities in the far eastern region, Zhū Jiāng and Cān Bàn; they then waged wars against Tou Yuan who later became a vassal of Dvaravati in 647. According to certain local legends, a princess from Nakhon Pathom married the monarch of Chenla's Isanapura. As cited in the Northern Chronicle, Takkasila (Nakhon Pathom) prince then established Lavapura of Lavo on the eastern plain, a year after Dvaravati won over Tou Yuan. ==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" (, 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. Records about these polities are extremely limited. Tun Sun fell under Funan around 245 CE. Dvaravati period: 6th – 10th century archaeological site, dating to 650-700 C.E., Dvaravati culture. Three female musicians on the right are playing (from center) a 5-stringed lute, cymbals, a tube zither or bar zither with a gourd resonator.|thumb 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. Some scholar locates Kamalanka at the present Mueang Uthong. 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. 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. If not, it might have been weakened since the 925–927 conflicts between two Mon's sister states, Haripuñjaya and Lavo, The city was depopulated during the 11th and 12th centuries as a result of the Bang Kaew River () drying up and becoming shallow, rendering it impassable. 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 (), 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 (), 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. 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 (), there was already a Brahmin village in this area called “Tona Brahmin”. The village was built around a stone house that Brahmins enshrined "Tona" () or the golden bowl used to measure the Buddha's relics. The legendary texts of Phraya Maha Akkanikorn () and Nai Thong () 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 (), who was from the city of Manohan or Manohana () near the border of the city of Yatsothon (). 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 () In another version composed by Aong mentions King Sakata () 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 (), 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 (). Their son was Khun Borom, However, previous scholars believe Khun Borom originated from Xiangkhouang in Laos or some mueang in southern China. one of the Dvaravati polities. They then waged wars against Tou Yuan to the northwest, 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 , 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 (, Nakhon Pathom; 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 (; ), who named the boy Pan (). 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. 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 () and Ta Pakhao Rot () 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 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. 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 () lost Suphannabhum to unspecified invader (probably Tambralinga's king Sujita from Lavo, proposed by Borihan Thepthani 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. ==List of rulers==