Ngam Mueang

Monument to King Ngam Mueang of Phayao on Lake Phayao

Ngam Mueang ( Thai งาม เมือง , * 1238 in Phayao ; † 1298 ibid) was from 1258 until his death ruler of Phayao, a city-state ( Müang ) in northern Thailand .

At the age of 14, Ngam Mueang was brought to Doi Duan to see a hermit where he was trained. At the age of 16 he went to Lop Buri , the then Lavo, where he continued studying and befriended Ramkhamhaeng , who would later become king of the Sukhothai kingdom .

In 1258 Ngam Mueang became ruler of Phayao. Around the same time was Mengrai of Ngoenyang an aspiring leader, the villages of Chiang Rai , catching and later Chiang Mai founded. Ngoen Yang was a center of political power in the north of what is now Thailand , which also expanded its power through clever marriage policies. A princess, Nang Ua Chian Saen, was sent to the court of Ngam Mueang to ensure good relations between the two areas. This did not prevent Mengrai from attempting to conquer Phayao in 1276. This was canceled after negotiations on both sides.

The Mueang Ngoen Yang Chiang Saen annals report a friendship between Ngam Mueang and Mengrai, which, together with the good relations with King Ramkhamhaeng, worked well when the Mongol storm turned towards Southeast Asia . The so-called Epiphany Agreement of 1287 between Ramkhamhaeng, Mengrai and Ngam Mueang is one of the earliest state treaties in Southeast Asia.

Ngam Mueang avoided touching territories of the friendly empires and headed east to Pua, later Nan , where he sent his wife Nang Ua and his son Chao Amam to rule there for several years. The leader of Pua, Nang Phaya Mae Thao Khamphu, was forced to leave the city and gave birth to a son named Phaya Phanong during her escape. Ngam Mueang controlled Pua for about two decades before Phanong grew up and was able to recapture the territory his family was entitled to.

Ngam Mueang worked together with Ramkhamhaeng as a consultant in the construction of the new city of Chiang Mai , which Mengrai had built on Mae Nam Ping (Ping River) in 1296 and determined Lan Na as the new capital of his empire . Mengrai had big plans, but the two advisors managed to get Chiang Mai to be built on a much smaller scale than originally planned.

Ngam Mueang died in Phayao in 1298.

The deeds of Ngam Mueang are recorded in the Phaya chronicles, but these are essentially the depiction of deeds and events that are as heroic as possible. A festival is held in Phayao every year on March 5th in honor of Ngam Mueang.

literature

• Sarawassadee Ongsakul: History of Lan Na . Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books 2005. ISBN 974-9575-84-9 .