Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
History
Chiang Mai and Thailand's other northern provinces share more of their early develop-
ment with the Shan state of present-day Myanmar, neighbouring parts of Laos and even
the southern mountains of China than with Bangkok and Thailand's central plains.
King Phaya Mengrai (also spelt Mangrai) is credited for founding the Lanna kingdom
in Chiang Saen and expanding it into the Ping River valley. Once he reached the valley, he
built a temporary capital at Wiang Kum Kam. Around 1296, King Mengrai relocated the
Lanna capital to a more picturesque spot between Doi Suthep and the Ping River and
named the auspicious city Nopburi Si Nakhon Ping Chiang Mai (shortened to Chiang
Mai, meaning the 'New Walled City'). Traces of the original 1296 earthen ramparts can
still be seen today along Th Kamphaeng Din in Chiang Mai.
In the 14th and 15th centuries, the Lanna kingdom expanded as far south as
Kamphaeng Phet and as far north as Luang Prabang in Laos. During this time, Chiang
Mai became an important religious and cultural centre, and the eighth world synod of
Theravada Buddhism was held here in 1477.
The Lanna kingdom was soon confronted by challenges from Ayuthaya, the powerful
city-state that had flourished in Thailand's central plains and that would later consolidate
the region under Siamese control and help shape the broader 'Thai' identity. But it was
Myanmar that would overtake the city and the kingdom in 1556, an occupation that lasted
200 years.
The fall of Ayuthaya in 1767 to Myanmar marked another turning point in Chiang
Mai's history. The defeated Thai army reunited under Phraya Taksin south of Ayuthaya in
present-day Bangkok and began a campaign to push out the occupying forces from Myan-
mar. Chao Kavila, a chieftain (known as
jôw meu·ang
) from nearby Lampang principal-
ity, helped 'liberate' northern Thailand from Myanmarese control, which led to the even-
tual integration of the Lanna kingdom into the expanding Thai kingdom based in
Bangkok.
Under Kavila, Chiang Mai became an important regional trade centre. In 1800 Kavila
built the monumental brick walls around Chiang Mai's inner city and expanded the city in
southerly and easterly directions, establishing a river port at the end of what is today Th
Tha Phae (
tha phae
means 'raft pier'). Many of the later Shan- and Burmese-style
temples were built by wealthy teak merchants who emigrated from Myanmar during this
period.
