Suvarnapura Kingdom

Suvarnapura Kingdom or Chên Li Fu (Chinese: 真里富), was a short-lived political entity located on the north shore of the Gulf of Siam, west of Chenla.^{[2]: 1 [3]} It was centered in the Phraek Si Racha^{[4]: 20–3}–Suphan Buri^[5]: 15 historical regions in present-day Central Thailand, with its sphere of influence extending across the western Chao Phraya Basin, reaching as far south as the modern provinces of Phetchaburi^[2]: 12  and Prachuap Khiri Khan,^[6]: 19  bordering Po-Ssu-lan to the southeast and Tambralinga to the south.^{[2]: 12 [3]} Chên Li Fu sent tribute to the Chinese court in 1200, 1202, and 1205.^[6]: 20

Before the rise of Angkor, Chên Li Fu was believed to have been one of the principal polities within the Dvaravati cultural sphere, alongside the Lavo Kingdom in the eastern basin.^[2]: 20  O. W. Wolters, whose interpretation was strongly influenced by George Cœdès’ framework of Southeast Asian history,^[4]: 15 proposed that Chên Li Fu likely became a vassal state of, or came under the influence of, Angkor around the 12th century.^[2] However, Songsiri contends that during this period Chên Li Fu may have autonomous status but has close dynastic connections with the Mahidharapura Kingdoms in the Phimai region—contrasting with its eastern neighbor, Lavo, which was fully incorporated into the Angkorian domain.^{[1]: 7–11}  Some scholars generally identify Chên Li Fu with the Siamese polity of Suphannabhum;^{[1]: 18 [7]} however, this contrasts with the account preserved in the Northern Chronicle, which records that Suphannabhum was ruled by another line of monarchs during this period.^{[8]: 59–60 [9]: 43–5}

In 1205, the Phraek Si Racha region of Chen Li Fu, previously under the authority of Pra Poa Noome Thele Seri,^[6]: 21 was incorporated into Ayodhya, which at that time was ruled by his son, Uthong II. Notably, this same year coincides with the enthronement of Mahīđharavarman III, identified in Chinese sources as Se-li-Mo-hsi-t’o-pa-lo-hung, who subsequently dispatched a tributary mission to the Chinese court. This chronological convergence strongly suggests a high probability that Mahīđharavarman III may be identified with Uthong II.

O. W. Wolters suggests Chên Li Fu was potentially located on the east coast of the Gulf of Siam in Chanthabun area or in the Mae Klong Valley or both.^[2]: 13 For phonological reasons, Gerini stated emphatically that Chên Li Fu represented Candanapura or Chanthabun. Friedrich Hirth, W.W. Rockhill, and L.P. Briggs also accepted the identification, but George Cœdès cautiously describes it as being on the Gulf of Siam.^[2]: 13 Wolters disputed this identification, arguing that the short distance between Chanthabun and Yaśodharapura makes it improbable that Angkor had lost control of the area during that period. He further suggested that the site was more likely to correspond to Po-Ssu-lan, the southeastern neighbor of Chen Li Fu.^[2]: 14

Wolters proposes that the polity’s center was located at Mueang Uthong.^[2]: 20 If this identification is accepted, archaeological evidence from Mueang Uthong suggests that the kingdom may have existed as early as c. 300–600 CE.^{[10]: 300, 302, 306–307} Nevertheless, Paul Wheatley contends that the site should instead be identified with the city-state of Chin Lin, which King Fan Man of Funan is reported to have attempted to annex during the 4th century.^[11] Wolters’s presupposition stands in marked contrast to the account preserved in the Northern Chronicle, which indicates that Mueang Uthong and Suphan Buri during the relevant period were ruled by monarchs affiliated with the earlier Dvaravati polity centered at Nakhon Pathom.^{[8]: 59–60 [9]: 43–5} Furthermore, archaeological surveys in the vicinity of Mueang Uthong reveal a relatively low settlement density during this period, a pattern that contrasts sharply with the prosperity of Chen Li Fu as described in Chinese sources; moreover, the site is recorded as having been abandoned within the same century.^{[12]: 3–4}

Thai scholars Walailak Songsiri and Srisakra Vallibhotama propose that Chen Li Fu was centered at Phraek Si Racha,^{[4]: 20–1} with several subsidiary regional centers, including Suphanburi. This hypothesis situates Chen Li Fu within the same chronological framework as the early Siamese polities, most notably Indaprasthanagara, described in the Ayutthaya Testimonies, dating from the 9th to the 12th centuries.^{[13]: 37–43}

The Phraek Si Racha region constitutes a historically significant area whose cultural and political development can be traced back approximately 2,500 years.^[14] The earliest known reference to a polity in this locality concerns the Duō Miè Kingdom, which appears in Chinese court records as an autonomous realm said to have exercised authority over thirty subordinate states. Although not territorially extensive, the kingdom is understood to have supported a substantial population.^[15]: 20 Duō Miè dispatched a tributary mission to the Chinese court in 661 CE^[16] during the reign of King Māgha Shili (摩伽失利).^[17] Thereafter, however, the polity disappears from extant documentary sources. It is generally presumed that the region subsequently came under the suzerainty of the Lavo Kingdom during the peak of the Dvaravati cultural sphere between the late 7th and the 8th centuries, as the Northern Chronicle attests to Lavo influence extending as far as Kosambi (โกสัมพี; possibly corresponding to Gān Bì), near present-day Kosamphi Nakhon.^[8]: 25

Following the decline of Dvaravati in the late 8th century, several polities within the Menam riverine system broke away from Lavo and began to send tributary embassies to the Chinese court independently. Among these entities was the Kingdom of Xiū Luó Fēn in the Phraek Si Racha region, ruled by Shidama Deva and identified as a polity of the Xiān.^{[15]: 22 [18][19]} This kingdom appears to have maintained its autonomous status until 1180 CE, when it was conquered by a dynasty that may have had close genealogical or political ties to the Mahidharapura line associated with the Phimai and Angkor regions. Under the new ruling house, the polity was reorganized and reconstituted under the name Chen Li Fu.^{[1]: 7–11}

Chên Li Fu was mentioned in the Chinese text Sung Hui Yao Kao in 1200–1205.^[2]: 1 Its exact period of establishment is unclear. The Sung Hui Yao Kao says it is located in the southwestern corner, bordered by Po-Ssu-lan to the southeast and Teng-liu-mei (登流眉, Tambralinga) to the southwest. It is five days by sea travel to Po-Ssu-lan and takes another day to reach Chenla.^[2]: 2 It was the only trading center in the north of the gulf visited by Chinese ships at that time. The capital was situated inland and connected to the sea by the river. It takes 80 days of sea journey to reach Qingyuan of the Song.^[2]: 9 The territory described in the Chinese sources corresponds closely to that attributed in several Thai historical texts to Pra Poa Noome Thele Seri, who is recorded as having exercised political authority over the western and central Menam basin during the same period.^[6]: 21 According to the Ayutthaya Testimonies, Pra Poa Noome Thele Seri was the son of Anuraja, the final ruler of Xiū Luó Fēn,^[13]: 44 who lost control of the territory to Sri Dharmasokaraja II of Tambralinga around 1167.^[20]: 38

In the early 13th century, the Chinese Sung court was no longer receiving envoys from Southeast Asian kingdoms and was discouraging them and their trading. Still, Chinese merchant ships were trading with Chên Li Fu during this period.^[2]: 6 On 23 September 1200, 20 years after his establishment of 立, the King of Chên Li Fu named Mo-lo-pa-kan-wu-ting-ên-ssŭ-li-fang-hui-chih (Kamrateng Sri Fang-hui-chih) sent senior palace officials to present a memorial for the Chinese court. The present included a gold-engraved scroll with the king's handwriting in black script, two elephants, and several local products.^[2]: 3 Due to the far distance, Chên Li Fu was informed by the Chinese emperor not to send any tribute.^[2]: 6 The court’s acceptance of this embassy, despite its broader policy of limiting diplomatic engagement with Southeast Asian kingdoms, raises questions regarding the exceptional status accorded to Chen Li Fu. One possible explanation lies in the tradition, preserved in the Legend of Nakhon Si Thammarat, which records that Pra Poa Noome Thele Seri or Fang-hui-chih married a mixed Chinese–Cham daughter of the Chinese emperor.^{[21]: 15–16}

According to the regnal name of its king who used the Khmer title of Kamrateng, some scholar says Chên Li Fu was a vassal of Khmer before sending envoys to the Chinese court in 1200. After that, Khmer declined in power, and the Menam Valley was dominated by Siamese people. Chên Li Fu then broke away.^[2]: 6–7 In contrast, Walailak Songsiri suggests Chên Li Fu was potentially an independent polity in this period.^{[1]: 7–11} In 1202, another envoy was sent.^[6]: 20 and again in 1205 by another ruler, Mahīđharavarman III.^[2]: 16

However, it remains unclear whether Chen Li Fu functioned as a dependency of the Angkorian polity between 1180 and 1200, as the 13th-century ruler of its southern neighbor, Phip Phli, likewise bore the title Gan-mu-ding—generally equated with Kamrateng—and dispatched tributary missions to the Chinese court in 1295,^[22]: 140 during a period of Angkorian weakness under Jayavarman VIII, who suffered repeated attacks by the Xian,^[23]: 211 as well as Si Inthrathit of the Sukhothai Kingdom. Given the significant Angkorian influence in the region during this period,^[6]: 8 the dynasties of both Phip Phli, Sukhothai, and Chên Li Fu may have adopted Angkorian norms in the titulature of their rulers.

Earlier scholarship proposed that the political center of Chen Li Fu was near the Nong Chaeng village in Sra Krachom subdistrict (ตำบลสระกระโจม), Don Chedi, Suphan Buri province. This hypothesis is based on the presence of substantial archaeological remains of a large ancient city enclosed by a rectangular moat, which has been tentatively identified with Suvarṇapura, a toponym mentioned in the Prasat Phra Khan inscription (จารึกปราสาทพระขรรค์).^[24] Alternative interpretations place Suvarṇapura at the Nern Thang Phra Archaeological Site (แหล่งโบราณคดีเนินทางพระ), about 20 kilometers northeast of the Nong Chaeng village.^[25]: 12

Following the enthronement of Chen Li Fu’s new monarch, Mahīđharavarman III, in 1205 and the dispatch of an embassy to the Chinese court in the same year, no further references to Chên Li Fu appear in extant Chinese records.^[6]: 20 This date also coincides with the accession of Uthong II, the son of Phanom Thale Seri, to the throne of Ayodhya.^[26] The correspondence between the territorial authority exercised by Phanom Thale Seri and the accession date of his son, on the one hand, and the succession of the father–son monarchs of Chen Li Fu, on the other, significantly strengthens the hypothesis that these two dynastic pairs are in fact identical. Additional indications supporting this identification may be found in the documented royal connections between these Siamese rulers and the Angkorian dynasty. These include a week-long religious observance conducted after 1188 by the Siamese monarch Pra Poa Noome Thele Seri at Lavapura of Lavo,^[13]: 47 a polity that remained under Angkorian control during the period in question;^[20]: 39 the accession of his descendant, Uthong II, to the throne of Ayodhya in 1205 without any recorded evidence of military conflict;^[26] and the dispatch of multiple Buddha images by Jayavarman VII for installation in polities of the lower Menam basin, as documented in the Preah Khan inscription (K.908).

During this period, Angkorian influences in the Menam Valley waned. However, there were several records of new polities that emerged in the area, such as Pi-ch'a-pu-li, which identified with Phetchaburi, led by Xian's king Gan-mu-ding, that sent an envoy to China in 1295^{[22]: 140 [27][28]: 39} and Su-men-bang, which has been identified with Suphan Buri, led by Zhao Lu-qun Ying (Chao Nakhon In) who was also the crown prince of Xiān, that send anvoys to the Chinese court in 1377,^[29] 1396,^[30] and 1398.^[31]

The area was the vassals of Sukhothai Kingdom during the reign of Ramkhamhaeng (r. 1279 - 1298),^{[32]: 107 [33]: 3} then formed the city-state confederation with Lavo's Ayodhya, which led to the formation of the Ayutthaya Kingdom in the 14th century.^{[2]: 13 [28][34]: 272–3}

Chên Li Fu consisted of more than 60 settlements.^{[2]: 1, 11} Each has its administrator. The chief officials only use silver utensils and their tents are of flowered silk. The people tend to follow the law of the Buddha. When there is a dispute about grievances among them, (the parties) proceed to the Temple of the God of Potent Magic and drink the water of the Buddha in front of each other. He who remains at ease is considered to be telling the truth, while he who shows distress is considered to be lying.^[2]: 2

Its resources are ivory, rhinoceros horn, local beeswax, lakawood, foreign oil, coarse perfumes, cardamons, and ebony wood.^[2]: 1 The people are fond of dark red ganze and pottery, which are commodities that Chinese ships bring to them for commerce. For trade dealings in clothing and food, they use pieces of lead.^[2]: 2

There is no evidence that clearly identifies the ethnic composition of the population in the region during the period under consideration. Several sources indicate the presence of Mon populations in the area. In the 16th century, Tomé Pires, writing on Ayutthaya, described the population of “Siam” as similar to that of Pegu in the Hanthawaddy kingdom.^[2]: 15 However, according to several local textual sources, the region associated with Chên Li Fu was under the political authority of the Siamese ruler Pra Poa Noome Thele Seri and, subsequently, his son Uthong II during the 12th to 13th centuries.^[6]: 21

The rulers of Chên Li Fu were called by the Chinese Zhǔ (主, lit. 'chief'), not Wáng (王; lit. 'king').^[2]: 11 They lived in a palace resembling a Buddhist temple. All of the king's utensils are of gold. The tents are made of Chinese red floss silk.^[2]: 1 He wears white clothes as his privilege. His curtains are of white gauze interwoven with gold. When his officials come to court, they bow their heads and clasp their hands to salute him. The canopy over his curtains is 'dry' red. Beneath it is a madder-red one, a striped red one, and finally a green one. When (these people) use official documents they are bound together with black skin and the characters are written in white powder.

The copper plate dating from the 6th–mid 7th centuries found at U Thong also mentions King Harshavarman (หรรษวรมัน), who was assumed by Jean Boisselier to be one of the kings of Dvaravati, while George Cœdès considered the plate was brought from the Khmer Empire, and the name mentioned might be the Khmer king as well.^[35] However, the periods seem unrelated since King Harshavarman I of Khmer reigned from 910 to 923, 200 years after the inscription's date,^[36][37] and Harshavarman I's grandfather was Indravarman I,^[38][39][40] not Isanavarman as mentioned in the inscription.^[35]