Candraraja
| Candraraja จันทราชา | |
|---|---|
| King of Kamphaeng Phet–Sukhothai | |
| King of Kamphaeng Phet | |
| Reign | 1184–1204? |
| Predecessor | Suryaraja |
| Successor | Seat shifted to Sukhothai |
| King of Sukhothai | |
| Reign | 1205?–1214 |
| Predecessor | Pra Poa Noome Thele Seri (1155 – 1163 or 1205) Vacant? (1163 – 1205) |
| Successor | E Daeng Phloeng |
| Born | 1154 Kamphaeng Phet |
| Died | 1214 (aged 59–60) Sukhothai |
| Consort | Nang Nak Sūryadevī |
| Issue | Phra Ruang III of Mueang Fang Si Inthrathit (Phra Ruang IV) of Sukhothai Phra Ruang V Suvaṇṇadevī |
| House | Phra Ruang |
| Father | Suryaraja of Kamphaeng Phet |
| Mother | Sirisudhārājadevī |
Candrarāja (Thai: จันทราชา) was a Siamese monarch mentioned in the Ayutthaya Testimonies as the ruler of the Sukhothai Kingdom.[1]
Background and family
He was born in the year 516 of the Chula Sakarat Era (1154 CE)[a] to Sirisudhārājadevī (สิริสุธาราชเทวี), a queen consort of Suryaraja of Vicitraprakāra, identified with the present-day Kamphaeng Phet. Sūryarāja was a descendant of King Padumasuriyavamsa.[2] Candrarāja had two queen consorts, Sūryadevī (สุริยเทวี) and Nang Nak (นางนาค).[2] The latter, who potentially was the Tai princess,[3] bore an elder prince named Phra Ruang (IV),[4] also known as Si Inthrathit,[1] while another consort gave birth to a younger prince, likewise named Phra Ruang (V),[4] and one princess named Suvaṇṇadevī (สุวรรณเทวี).[5] The elder prince was appointed to govern Mueang Bang Yang (เมืองบางยาง; present-day Nakhon Thai), a polity that had formerly served as the power base of his grandfather's counsin, Pra Poa Noome Thele Seri. He would later ascend the throne as the sovereign of the Sukhothai Kingdom in 1238.[6] In contrast, Phra Ruang IV or Si Intharathit, is recorded in the Legend of Sawankhalok (ตำนานเมืองสวรรคโลก ฉบับพระมุนินทรานุวัตต์ [มุนินทร์ สุนฺทโร]) as having an elder brother, Phra Ruang III, who ruled Mueang Fang (เมืองฝาง), identified with present-day Sawangkaburi.[7]: 28
Accession and reign
Candrarāja succeeded his father at Vicitraprakāra at the age of 30, in the year 546 of the Chula Sakarat Era (1184 CE).[a][2] Subsequently, after the death of his cousin Pra Poa Noome Thele Seri in 1204/05, he moved northward to reconstruct Sukhothai, establishing it as his new political and administrative center.[2] He then ceased the payment of tribute to the suzerain polity of Indaprasthanagara (อินทปรัษฐ์นคร) following the counsel of his elder son, Si Inthrathit. This defiance precipitated hostilities between the two realms; however, the Sukhothai forces, commanded by Si Inthrādhit, achieved victory. Thereafter, Indaprasthanagara refrained from interfering in Sukhothai's internal affairs.[8] During this period, Sukhothai's southern neighbor, the polity located in the Phraek Si Racha region known as Chen Li Fu, also asserted its autonomy by independently dispatching tribute to the Chinese imperial court in 1200 CE.[9]: 20 It is also recorded that Lavo was under his authority.[10]: ๔๓–๔
Death and succession
Candrarāja's reign concluded in the year 576 of the Chula Sakarat Era (1214 CE).[5] Accounts of subsequent events vary across sources. The Ayutthaya Testimonies assert that he was succeeded directly by his son, Phra Ruang IV or Si Inthrathit;[5] however, this narrative contrasts with the more widely accepted interpretation derived from the Wat Si Chum Inscription, which records that the Mon monarch named E Daeng Phloeng ruled Sukhothai following Candrarāja's death, and was later overthrown in 1219 by Sri Naw Nam Thom and his son Pha Mueang of Mueang Chaliang.[11]: 115 [12]: 17
Notes
- ^ a b The text records that his reign lasted for thirty years; however, the chronological data presented are internally inconsistent, as it states that his reign commenced in the year 570 of the Chula Sakarat Era and concluded in 576 (1214 CE), which would indicate a reign of only six years. Consequently, if the duration of thirty years is to be accepted as accurate, his accession must have occurred in the year 546 of the Chula Sakarat Era (1184 CE). Given that he is described as having ascended the throne at the age of thirty, this would place his birth in 1154 CE.
References
Citation
- ^ a b Kanjana Chansingh (18 February 2020). "กษัตริย์เมืองกำแพงเพชรในสมัยทวารวดี" [The king of Kamphaeng Phet during the Dvaravati period.]. Kamphaengphet Rajabhat University (in Thai). Retrieved 9 January 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ a b c d Fine Arts Department 1968, p. 11.
- ^ Thanachot Kiatnapat (7 January 2024). ""พระร่วง" ลูกนางนาค สะท้อนสัมพันธ์ร่วมเมืองน่านและกลุ่มชนลุ่มน้ำโขง" ["Phra Ruang", the son of Nang Nak, reflects the relationship between Nan and the Mekong River basin peoples]. www.silpa-mag.com (in Thai). Retrieved 15 October 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ a b Fine Arts Department 1968, p. 15.
- ^ a b c Fine Arts Department 1968, p. 17.
- ^ Cœdès, G. (1921). "The Origins of the Sukhodaya Dynasty" (PDF). Journal of the Siam Society. 14 (1). Siam Heritage Trust. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 31, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
(1) The translation of this paper, which has been read at a joint session of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Société Asiatique, and American Oriental Society, and published in the Journal asiatique (April–June 1920), is the work of Mr. J. Crosby, to whom the author begs to tend his heartfelt thanks.
- ^ Phra Muninthanuwat (Munin Suntharo) (1973). ตำนานเมืองสวรรคโลก [Legend of Sawankhalok] (in Thai). Bangkok: Liang Chiang Tham Prathip Printing House.
- ^ Fine Arts Department 1968, p. 15–6.
- ^ O. W. Wolters (1960). "Chên Li Fu: A State On The Gulf Of Siam at the Beginning of the 14th Century". The Journal of the Siam Society. XLVIII.
- ^ ประชุมพงศาวดาร เล่ม 41: จดหมายเหตุรายวัน ทัพสมัยกรุงธนบุรี เล่าเรื่องไปชวา ครั้งที่ 3 [Collected Chronicles, Volume 41: Daily Records of the Army during the Thonburi Period, Recounting the Third Trip to Java.] (PDF) (in Thai). Bangkok: Suksapan. 1969.
- ^ Na Nakhon, Prasert (1998), เรื่องเกี่ยวกับศิลาจารึกสุโขทัย [Stories Related To The Sukhothai Stone Inscriptions] (PDF) (Thesis) (in Thai), Bangkok: Kasetsart University, pp. 110–223, ISBN 974-86374-6-8, retrieved 30 October 2024
- ^ "หลักที่ 2 ศิลาจารึกวัดศรีชุม" (PDF) (in Thai). Ramkhamhaeng University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 October 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
Sources
- Fine Arts Department, ed. (1968) [First published in Thai in 1912.]. Khamhaikan Chao Krung Kao Khamhaikan Khun Luang Ha Wat Lae Phra Ratcha Pongsawadarn Krung Kao Chabab Luang Luang Prasoet Aksorn คำให้การชาวกรุงเก่า คำให้การขุนหลวงหาวัด และ พระราชพงศาวดารกรุงเก่าฉบับหลวงประเสริฐอักษรนิติ์ [Testimony of the King Who Entered a Wat, Testimony of the Inhabitants of the Old Capital, and Royal Chronicle of the Old Capital: Luang Prasoet Aksorn Version] (PDF) (in Thai). Bangkok: Rung Rueang Tham. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2024.