Li Thai

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Statue of King Li Thai in Wat Chedi Yot Thong, Phitsanulok

Li Thai (Li Tai, Phaya Li Thai, Thai พญา ลิ ไท , also Lue Thai or Lü Thai; † 1374 ) or Phra Mahathammaracha I. (Thai พระ มหา ธรรมราชา ที่ 1 ) was king of the Sukhothai Empire in the 14th century . He ruled from around 1346/47 to 1368 or 1374.

Li Thai was the grandson of King Ramkhamhaeng , who is considered to be the inventor of the Thai script . The exact succession to the throne of the Sukhothai Empire is not clear, but the traditional texts mention Li Thai as the 4th king of the empire. Between Li Thai and his father, Loe Thai , there seems to have been at least one regent, Ngua Nam Thum and possibly also Sai Songkhram , who briefly held or administered the throne in the absence of Loe Thai after Ramkhamhaeng's death.

Li Thai served as uparat (viceroy) during his father's reign in Si Satchanalai , which is considered the sister city of ancient Sukhothai . There were important production facilities for metals and the so-called Sawankhalok ceramics , which were manufactured in Sukhothai, as well as in Si Satchanalai and the nearby Sawankhalok .

Li Thai is credited with the authorship of the Buddhist text Traibhumikatha / Trai Phum Phra Ruang (The three worlds of Phra Ruang), where Phra Ruang stands for the name of the Sukhothai dynasty. This is a treatise on the Thai conception of the universe at the time and one of the oldest surviving works in Thai literature . It offers a very complex amalgamation of Buddhist and Hindu elements and is not only considered a theological, but also a political treatise that should also justify the Thai's claim to the throne over Sukhothai in terms of religious philosophy.

Today in the old main temple of Phitsanulok , the Wat Chedi Yot Thong , there is a statue in honor of the king from more recent times.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ David K. Wyatt: Thailand. A short history. 2nd edition, Silkworm Books, Chiang Mai 2004, p. 309.
  2. ^ David K. Wyatt: Studies in Thai History . Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books 1999. p. 65.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Li Thai
ALTERNATIVE NAMES พญา ลิ ไท; Phra Thammaracha Li Thai; พระ มหา ธรรมราชา; Lue Thai; Lü Thai
BRIEF DESCRIPTION thai king
DATE OF BIRTH 14th Century
DATE OF DEATH 1374