Sai Setthathirath II

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Sai Setthathirath II. Or Xetthathirat (birth name: Sai Ong Hue or Xai Ong Ve , full throne name Somdet Brhat Chao Maha Sri Jaya Setha Adiraja Dharmikaraja Chandrapuri Sri Sadhana Kanayudhi ; * 1685 in Huế , Annam ; † 1730 in Vientiane ) was between 1698 and 1706 King of the Lao Kingdom of Lan Xang . After it was split into three parts, he received the throne in the Kingdom of Vientiane .

Sai Ong Hue was the eldest son of Prince Som Phu, the brother of King Sulinyavongsa of Lan Xang (ruled 1638–1690). In order to rule out a possible rivalry, Som Phu had sent Som Phu into exile in Annam (Vietnam), so that Prince Sai Ong Hue grew up at the Vietnamese court in Huế. Its traditional name refers to this city. The Vietnamese placed him at the head of an army of 9,000 men, which was to appoint him as the new king of Lan Xang, albeit under the suzerainty of Annam. Sai Ong Hue entered into an alliance with the prince of the Phuan in Xieng Khouang , whose land he was able to use as a starting point for his campaign. In 1698 Sai Ong Hue reached his goal, conquered the capital Vientiane , where he was later proclaimed the new king, and killed the usurper Nantharat, who had meanwhile come to the throne .

He took the name Sai Setthathirath, a reference to the eminent king of the same name in the 16th century. Since he played a historically much less important role than this, this name has apparently not really caught on, so that many sources refer to him as Chao Sai Ong Hue even during his time as king. The grandchildren Sulinyavongsa, Kingkitsarat and Inthasom , who would actually have been considered as heir to the throne, fled to Sipsong Panna in order not to be murdered. Although the close connection to Vietnam made him unpopular, if not hated, by large sections of the Lao nobility, it gave him the power to keep himself permanently on the throne. In 1705, Sai Setthathirath had the Buddha statue Phra Bang and the Emerald Buddha brought from Luang Prabang to Vientiane, so that the political and spiritual center of the empire was also shifted there. With this he drew the anger of the local population.

In 1706, Prince Kingkitsarat returned to Luang Prabang with a force that the ruler of Sipsong Panna had put at his disposal and took the city. Sai Setthathirath's half-brother Chao Nong, whom he had installed as viceroy ( Uparat ) in Luang Prabang, fled. Kingkitsarat then continued to advance against Vientiane, intending to take the throne he believed was due to him. He besieged the capital but was unable to take it. In this situation Sai sent Setthathirath for help from the Siamese king of Ayutthaya . According to Laotian records, it should have been Phetracha , which seems implausible, since according to Thai historiography Phrachao Suea was on the throne from 1703 . Either the name or the year must be wrong. In any case, the Siamese king himself sent a large army to Vientiane and urged both sides to split Lan Xang into two new kingdoms: Vientiane and Luang Phrabang . The once powerful northeastern neighbor and rival of Siam was permanently robbed of its importance. Sai Setthathirath was able to maintain supremacy over the Principality of the Phuan in Xieng Khouang and over Nakhon Phanom , but had to accept in 1713 that with Champasak in the south a third kingdom emerged from the lost Lan Xang.

Sai Setthathirath was married to a daughter from the Trinh clan in Hue. He died in his palace in Vientiane in 1730, leaving three sons and a daughter:

  1. Prince ( Sadet Chaofa Anga ) Lankaya ( Ong Long ), who succeeded the throne as King of Vientiane in 1730 and ruled until 1767
  2. Prince ( Sadet Chaofa Anga ) Bunya (Ong Bun), who became King of Vientiane as Bunsan (r. 1767 to 1779 and 1780 to 1781)
  3. Prince ( Sadet Chaofa Jaya ), who was appointed Upayuvaraj (Viceroy) in 1730
  4. a daughter who was married to the Maha Uparat of Ayutthaya , Phrachao Sarasak (a son of King Phetracha ) in 1699

See also

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Peter and Sanda Simms: The Kingdoms of Laos. Six Hundred Years of History. Curzon Press, Richmond (Surrey), 1999, p. 107.
  2. ^ A b Martin Stuart-Fox: Historical Dictionary of Laos. Pp. 382-383, entry Xai Ong Ve .
  3. ↑ Simms: The Kingdoms of Laos. 1999, p. 109.
personal data
SURNAME Sai Setthathirath II
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sai Ong Hue; Somdet Brhat Chao Maha Sri Jaya Setha Adiraja Dharmikaraja Chandrapuri Sri Sadhana Kanayudhi
BRIEF DESCRIPTION King of the Lao Kingdom of Lan Xang
DATE OF BIRTH 1685
PLACE OF BIRTH Huế , Annam
DATE OF DEATH 1730
Place of death Vientiane