Pra Poa Noome Thele Seri

Phra Phanom Thale Seri (Thai: พระพนมทะเลศรี), also Pra Poa Noome Thele Seri or Mahesvastidrādhirājakṣatriya^[2]: 12 is documented as the 23rd monarch of Siam and the 12th king of Tasoo Nacora Louang (ธาตุนครหลวง) in the French work Du Royaume de Siam,^[3] or Yassouttora Nacoora Louang in the Instructions Given to the Siamese Envoys Sent to Portugal (1684).^[4]: 127 He was a progenitor of the Phetchaburi–Viang Chaiprakarn clan, a royal family that later became the Uthong or Lavo dynasty of the Ayutthaya Kingdom.

Phra Phanom Thale Seri and his lineage were instrumental in consolidating the polities of the lower Menam Valley and in establishing political and diplomatic relations with the Peninsula kingdom of Tambralinga. These developments laid the groundwork for the eventual formation of the Ayutthaya Kingdom in the mid-14th century.

According to the Ayutthaya Testimonies, Phra Phanom Thale Seri —identified in the source as Indrarāja (อินทราชา)—was born to Queen Indrasujādevī (อินทสุชาเทวี), the principal consort of King Anuraja of Phraek Si Racha (Xiū Luó Fēn),^[5]: 44 whose royal seat was situated at Sing Buri.^[5]: 43

According to Du Royaume de Siam and the Instructions Given to the Siamese Envoys Sent to Portugal (1684), Phra Phanom Thale Seri relocated the political center from Tasoo Nacora Louang to Soucouttae/Locontàï circa the 1150s.^[3] His relocation coincided with the reconsolidation of the lower Menam basin in 1157 CE under Sri Dharmasokaraja II, whose authority in the region appears to have continued until approximately 1180, when Angkorian expansion extended both military and political influence into the area.^{[6]: 39–41} Shortly thereafter, he, together with his younger brother, Uthong I (also known as Soi La, สร้อยหล้า), and approximately 50,000 attendants, moved southward into the western Menam valleys, where they reestablished Phrip Phri. The year of this relocation is variably reported as 1155;^[3] however, some sources suggest 1188, which appears more plausible given that he is described as having ruled at either Singburi or Jayasimhapuri before the move to Phrip Phri.^[5]: 46 In the ensuing years, Uthong I is described as consolidating authority by claiming the throne of Suphannabhum in 1163, according to the Northern Chronicle.^[2]: 61 In 1205, his son, Uthong II, is said to have asserted dynastic authority by claiming the throne of Xiān's Ayodhya.^[6]: 41

The Ayutthaya Testimonies present an account of an early Siamese monarch, Intharacha (อินทราชา), whose narrative exhibits striking parallels with that of Phra Phanom Thale Seri, ruler of Phrip Phri. According to the text, Intharacha succeeded his relative, Jatiraja (ชาติราชา), as ruler of either Mueang Phraek's Singburi (lit. 'the city of Singha') or Jayasimhapuri (lit. 'the glorious city of Singha'), before relocating southward to establish his authority at Phetchaburi. His reign is described as extending over thirty-five years. The text further identifies his brother, Uthong, as having assumed rulership of Singburi following Intharacha’s departure, while his son—also named Uthong—later ascended the throne of Ayodhya in 1205.^{[5]: 45–7} Based on these accounts, his reign at Singburi may be situated between 1169 and 1205, at which point it concluded at Phetchaburi. The text further states that he died at the age of fifty-five, suggesting a birth date of approximately 1150. This chronology, however, presents inconsistencies, as other sources, the Du Royaume de Siam, and the Instructions Given to the Siamese Envoys Sent to Portugal (1684), attribute to him an earlier rule at Tasoo Nacora Louang prior to his movement northward in the 1150s, a sequence of events that does not accord with the calculated birth year.

Phra Phanom Thale Seri’s territorial expansion in 1196 brought him into conflict with the southern polity of Tambralinga. According to the Nakhon Si Thammarat Chronicle, the hostilities were resolved through negotiation, resulting in an alliance between the two dynasties.^[6]: 41 This alliance proved significant during the mid-13th century, when Tambralinga experienced destabilization due to the Javanese Singhasari invasion and a concurrent outbreak of plague, dated approximately between the 1260s and 1270s.^{[6]: 42–3} In response, Phanomwang (พระพนมวัง), a prince of the Phetchaburi–Ayodhya lineage, together with his wife Sadieng Thong (สะเดียงทอง) and their son Sri Racha (เจ้าศรีราชา), was appointed by the king of Phetchaburi to restore Nakhon Si Thammarat, the former capital of Tambralinga.^[7]: 81 This undertaking resulted in the establishment of the Sri Thammasokaraj dynasty and facilitated the southward expansion of Siam influence across the Kra Isthmus. While succession in this polity remained patrilineal, the confirmation of a ruler required formal appointment from Ayodhya, reflecting the continuing political linkage between the northern and southern domains.^{[7]: 81–2}

Phra Phanom Thale Seri is recorded as having had two queen consorts. Mani Mala (มณีมาลา) is mentioned in the Ayutthaya Testimonies,^[5]: 46 while Chandradevi (จันทรเทวีศรีบาทราชบุตรีศรีทองสมุทร) appears in the Nakhon Si Thammarat Chronicle as the daughter of a Chinese emperor and the Cham princess Chandramouli.^{[8]: 15–16} During his reign in the western valley, a polity identified as Xiān dispatched a tributary mission to Đại Việt in 1182.^[9] These contacts likely built upon earlier commercial relations established in 1149, during the reign of his father Anuraja, centered on the Phraek Si Racha region.^[9]

According to the Ayutthaya Testimonies and the Chronicle of Padumasuriyavamsa, Sukhothai had been a vassal polity of Indaprasthanagara since the 8th century.^{[5]: 15–6 [c]} In the late 12th century, Pra Poa Noome Thele Seri departed from Sukhothai and successfully reclaimed the Phraek Si Racha region in the central Menam Basin from Sri Dharmasokaraja II of Tambralinga in 1180. In the early 13th century, Candraraja subsequently relocated his political seat to Sukhothai. During Candraraja’s reign (r. 1184–1214), Sukhothai ceased paying tribute to Indaprasthanagara and later defeated it militarily, thereby attaining de facto independence.^{[5]: 15–6} De jure independence is generally considered to have been established in 1238, following the deposition of Khom Sabat Khlon Lamphong through the alliance between Si Inthrathit and Pha Mueang.^{[12]: 195–6}

Thai scholarship has long tended to equate Indaprasthanagara with Angkor,^{[11][13]: 94} an interpretation that has reinforced the assumption that Sukhothai was a vassal of the Angkorian state.^[11] However, Thai textual sources attest to the existence of Indaprasthanagara approximately two centuries prior to the rise of Angkor.^[d] Moreover, the Ayutthaya Testimonies locate Indaprasthanagara east of Sankhaburi in the Phraek Si Racha historical region.^[5]: 5–6 This geographical identification corresponds with accounts in the Yonok Chronicle^[13]: 166 and with legends concerning Sri Dharmasokaraja I, who is described as ruling Indaprasthanagara and the lower east-central Menam Basin.^[6]: 47

Chinese historical records further mention a polity known as Chen Li Fu in the Menam Valley between 1180 and 1205.^[15] This period coincides with the consolidation of authority by Pra Poa Noome Thele Seri in the same region.^[2]: 27 On this basis, Fang-hui-chih—identified in Chinese sources as the ruler of Chen Li Fu—may plausibly be identified with Pra Poa Noome Thele Seri.

The lineage of Pra Poa Noome Thele Seri is traced to Padumasuriyavamsa, king of Indaprasthanagara.^[e] During Pra Poa Noome Thele Seri’s reign, the Ayutthaya Testimonies record that Indaprasthanagara, led by Padumkumara—identified as the eldest son of its king—launched a military campaign against Sukhothai.^{[5]: 15–6} On this basis, Padumkumara may be identified with Uthong II (r. 1205–1253), the son of Pra Poa Noome Thele Seri, as well as with Se-li-Mo-hsi-t’o-pa-lo-hung (Mahīđharavarman III), the son of Fang-hui-chih. Significantly, the enthronement of both Uthong II^[16] and Se-li-Mo-hsi-t’o-pa-lo-hung^[15]: 16 is dated to the same year, 1204/1205. In 1205, Uthong II is said to have married the daughter of a prominent merchant of Ayodhya and subsequently relocated the capital there.^[17]: 64 This period also coincides with the disappearance of both Indaprasthanagara and Chen Li Fu from extant historical records and suggests the emergence of a proto-Ayutthayan polity that substantially predates the traditionally accepted foundation of the Ayutthaya Kingdom in 1351.^[18]: 299 Following this transition, Xiān (暹), which had maintained trade relations with Đại Việt since 1149 during the reign of Pra Poa Noome Thele Seri's father Anuraja, appears with increasing frequency in Chinese sources, first recorded as xiān in 1278 and earlier as san-lo (三濼) in 1178. It is also notable that before 1200, Xiān maintained trade relations with Đại Việt and established a trading post at Yún tún ( chữ Hán: 雲屯), modern Vân Đồn. This trading post operated near areas under Chinese imperial authority. However, Chinese sources do not record the presence of Xiān merchants until 1278. This absence in earlier Chinese records strengthens the theory that the group later identified as Xiān in Chinese texts may have evolved from or been connected to Chen Li Fu.

Thai scholars once posited that the brothers Uthong I and Phra Phanom Thale Seri were princes of Chaiyasiri, identified with a monarch of Singhanavati in the northern region who may have migrated to Nakhon Thai during the 11th century. However, this hypothesis, which also underpins the outdated claim that Ramathibodi I—the first sovereign of the Ayutthaya Kingdom and a supposed descendant of Phra Phanom Thale Seri —originated from Mueang Uthong, has been refuted by subsequent scholarly inquiry.^{[19]: 1, 10} The Ayutthaya Testimonies presents an alternative account, stating that Uthong I and Phra Phanom Thale Seri were the sons of Anuraja (อนุราชา), whose lineage purportedly succeeded the Padumasuriyavaṃśa dynasty in the polities of Mueang Phreak, Chai Nat, and Sing Buri.^{[5]: 37–46} Nevertheless, the narratives concerning Sing Buri and Jayasimhapuri, as conveyed in the text, appear to have been interwoven or conflated.

The following account outlines the genealogy of Phra Phanom Thale Seri as preserved in the Ayutthaya Testimonies, while additional information regarding his descendants is provided in the Northern Chronicle and the Nakhon Si Thammarat Chronicle.

The precise identification of Tasoo Nacora Louang or Yassouttora Nacoora Louang remains a matter of scholarly debate.^[20] It is unclear whether this political center corresponds to Lavapura of Lavo or to Yaśodharapura of Angkor or a village in modern Uttaradit province. However, polities bearing names closely resembling Yassouttora Nacoora Louang are attested in Thai sources such as the Legend of Mueang Nakhon Chai Si (ตำนานเมืองนครไชยศรี) and the Legend of Phra Prathon Chedi (ตำนานพระประโทนเจดีย์). These narrative, whose associated events are traditionally dated to 679 CE, describe that Nakhon Luang (นครหลวง) and Yassodhon (ยศโสธร) as distinct yet adjacent polities.^{[21]: 4–5} The same sources further record that Balidhiraja of Sukhothai, who was the son of Kalavarnadisharaja (king of Lavo), was originally from Nakhon Luang.^[21]: 4 This tradition lends support to the presupposition that Nacora Louang corresponds to Lavapura, the principal city of Lavo.

The Ayutthaya Testimonies refer to a monarch named Visnuraja, who is described as a descendant of Phatumsuriyawong, a figure whom Thai scholars have proposed to correspond to Pra Poat honne Sourittep pennaratui sonanne bopitra,^[10]: 38 the earliest Siamese ruler mentioned in Du Royaume de Siam.^[3] He has further been equated by Michael Smithies with Sommedethia Ppra Pattarma Souria Naaranissavoora Boppitra Seangae, named in Instructions Given to the Siamese Envoys Sent to Portugal (1684).^{[4]: 127, 133} Under this interpretation, the polities known respectively as Indaprasthanagara (associated with Phatumsuriyawong), Tchai pappe Mahanacon (of Pra Poat honne Sourittep pennaratui sonanne bopitra), and Chaya Ppaha Mahanokora (of Sommedethia Ppra Pattarma Souria Naaranissavoora Boppitra Seangae) are understood to represent the same political entity. These variant toponyms are thus situated in the central Menam Valley, as the Ayutthaya Testimonies locates Indaprasthanagara east of Sankhaburi, within the Phraek Si Racha historical region.^[5]: 4–5 After that, Pra Poa Noome Thele Seri, identified as a descendant of Phatumsuriyawong through his father Anuraja, is said to have transferred the political center from Tchai pappe Mahanacon/Chaya Ppaha Mahanokora to Tasoo Nacora Louang/Yassouttora Nacoora Louang.^{[3][4]: 127} Numbers of Thai texts and the two mentioned European accounts also collectively describe his political and religious activities as being confined to a defined regional network, including Sukhothai–Nakhon Thai,^{[3][4]: 127} Phetchaburi,^[5]: 46 Muang Sing^[5]: 45–Phraek Si Racha region,^[2]: 21 Jayasimhapuri,^[5]: 45 Suphannaphum,^[17]: 63 Ayodhya,^[g][6]: 41 and, notably, after re-establishing Phetchaburi as the Phrip Phri Kingdom in 1188, he is further said in the Ayutthaya Testimonies to have undertaken a week long religious observance at Lavapura of Lavo,^[5]: 47 which was under the control of Angkor at that time.^[6]: 39 Later, his son, Uthong II, became a monarch of Ayodhya in 1205,^[16] which earlier was under Chen Li Fu,^[h] which has been proposed to have had connections with the Mahidharapura dynasty of the Phimai region and Angkor.^{[22]: 7–11} Taken together with the Angkorian-influenced architectural style evident in the region associated with Pra Poa Noome Thele Seri, these circumstances suggest that he maintained some form of political or dynastic relationship with the Lavo–Angkorian ruling sphere and consequently strengthens the possibility that Tasoo Nacora Louang/Yassouttora Nacoora Louang may correspond to Lavapura.^[i]

Alternatively, based on phonetic similarity, Tasoo Nacora Louang has been identified by some scholars with the village of Tha Sao (บ้านท่าเสา), with Tasoo corresponding to Tha Sao and Nacoora Louang understood as referring to a "capital" or "royal city". This location is situated near modern Uttaradit, where several archaeological sites—most notably the ruins at Thung Yang—have been identified.^[23]: 53 Thung Yang has been equated by scholars with Mueang Rad (เมืองราด) of Sri Naw Nam Thum and his son Pha Mueang, who expanded their authority toward Mueang Chaliang and Sukhothai in the early 13th century. These developments are traditionally regarded as leading to the formation of the Sukhothai Kingdom.^{[23]: 27, 43–51} The same area has also been proposed as the region from which a Tai ruler named Chaiyasiri migrated to establish Mueang Tri Trueng (เมืองไตรตรึงษ์) following the fall of Yonok Chiang Saen, a polity that some scholars have identified with Tchai Pappe Mahanacon (ไชยบุรีมหานคร), a city mentioned in 17th-century European sources. Moreover, Saen Pom, associated with Mueang Tri Trueng, is said to have moved southward and established his authority at Thepnakhon (เทพนคร),^{[23]: 54–9} which has been proposed to correspond to Suphannabhum.