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THAILAND | Chiang Mai, Thailand Travel Guide
Friday, April 19, 2024
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History of Chiang Mai
A Brief History of Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai was founded in 1296 by King Mengrai the Great after he defeated the city’s original settlers, the Mons. Mengrai was the 25th king of the Lawa Dynasty and ruler of Nakhon Hiran Hgoen Yang, an ancient town on the Mekong River, near Chiang Saen. He founded Chiang Rai in 1262 and then merged the cities into the first Thai state, Lanna Thao, with its capital at Chiang Mai. Lanna Thao translates to “Kingdom of a million rice fields.”
The king died in 1317. He is remembered with a statue in Chiang Rai.
Chiang Mai became an important cultural and religious center for the Thais, who had migrated here from southern China, but was constantly under attack from the Burmese, who eventually took control of the city in 1556. It remained part of Burma until 1775, when King Taksin (1767-1782) recaptured it and forced the Burmese back to an area close to the present border. It is hardly surprising that with so many years of Burmese occupation much of that heritage remains today. It shows itself in the architecture, culture, religion and cuisine.
During the Ayutthaya attack, members of the old royal family had either been killed or captured by the Burmese. At the time Taksin was a general but he wasted no time in taking on the Burmese and setting himself up as king. He was the king who built the new Thai capital in Thonburi, across the river from Bangkok. Taksin put local princes in control of the city, but under the watchful eyes of the throne in Bangkok. In 1874 King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), who was partly educated by Anna Leonowens of Anna and the King fame, sent a commission to Chiang Mai to insure the Lanna kingdom remained firmly under the control of the Bangkok government. The king feared that the British, who controlled Burma at the time, would try to make inroads into northern Thailand because of its rich teak forests. Taksin became king after the Burmese destroyed Ayutthaya, the former Thai capital.
Chiang Mai became a major center for trade as the crossroads between China, Laos and Myanmar, and in 1933 the city was formally and fully integrated into the kingdom of Thailand.
Last updated September 23, 2008
Posted in Thailand | Chiang Mai
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