Chairacha

Chairacha (full name: Somdet Phra Chairachathirat, Thai : สมเด็จ พระ ไชย ราชาธิราช ; * 1498/99 ; †  1546/47 ) was the 14th king of the Siamese kingdom of Ayutthaya . He ruled from 1533/34 to 1546/47 ( CS 896–908).

Life

Borommaracha's son, Prince Ratsada , held the throne as the 13th king of Ayutthaya for only five months before his father's half-brother, Chairacha, had him murdered and ascended the throne himself in early 1534. Although he was a usurper , Chairacha was remembered as a good and wise king.

During his reign, King Chairacha had an approximately three-kilometer-long canal dug in what is now Bangkok , which considerably shortened the travel time of ships from the Gulf of Thailand to the capital Ayutthaya . The canal is now the Mae Nam Chao Phraya ( Chao Phraya River ), the former course of the river is now called Khlong Bangkok Noi .

The chronicler Jeremias Van Vliet , merchant of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), who lived in Ayutthaya from 1633 to 1642, describes the king as follows:

“The king was gracious, wise, and pious. He often went to war with Cambodia and was victorious. He ruled softly but steadfastly. He valued good justice: before convicting evildoers, he had their case thoroughly investigated. He built and restored many temples, including the great and fabulous Wat Chi Chiang Sai. "

- van Vliet

successor

Chairacha died in 1546/1547 on the way back from an unsuccessful campaign to Lan Na , which led to protracted and bitter throne disputes. Chairacha left two sons, both of his queen Thao Si Sudachan. The elder, Prince Yot Fa , was crowned king with his mother as regent at the age of eleven . Khun Worawongsa , the lover of Sudachan or himself, had Prince Yot Fa poisoned the following year in order to put himself on the throne. After six months, however, he was murdered by the leading nobles of the empire. His successor was Chairacha's half-brother, Prince Thianracha. He was crowned the 17th King of Ayutthaya as Maha Chakkraphat in July 1548 .

literature

• Richard D. Cushman ( David K. Wyatt Ed.): The Royal Chronicles Of Ayutthaya . Bangkok: The Siam Society 2000. ISBN 974-8298-48-5 .
• David K. Wyatt; Chris Baker ; Dhiravat na Pombejra; Alfon van der Kraan: Van Vliet's Siam . Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books 2005. ISBN 974-9575-81-4 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Year according to the " Chronicle of Luang Prasoet ", (LP) see Cushman: Royal Chronicles . Other chronicles put his reign on 1514 / 15-1546 / 47 ( CS 876-889 ).
2. ^ David K. Wyatt: Thailand A Short History . Silkworm Books, Chiang Mai 1984, ISBN 974-7047-44-6 , page 89
3. ↑ David K.Wyatt: Van Vliet's Siam , in The Short History of the Kings of Siam 1640 , p 215
4. ↑ Prince Damrong mentions only one son, Kaeo Fa. Damrong Rajanubhab: Naresuan the Great . Übers. And hrs. by Kennon Breazeale. 2008. ISBN 974-06-9716-X . P. 4.
5. ^ David K. Wyatt: Thailand. A short history . Chiang Mai: Silkworm 1994, p. 91