Ayutthaya Forts and Gates
The city walls of Ayutthaya, a significant historical capital of Siam, were a complex system of fortifications developed over centuries. The earliest walls were likely constructed in the 15th century, with significant rebuilding and expansion occurring under King Maha Thammaracha (reign 1569-1590), who ordered the construction of new brick walls to replace earlier wooden stockades, citing a threat from Cambodia.
These walls were extended to the riverbanks around 1580, and the city's full Sanskrit name, Maha Nagara Dvaravati, meaning "Great City with Gates," underscores the importance of its gate system. The walls were substantial, with the height from ground level to the parapet reaching 6 meters, and an internal raised earthwork for patrolling, 3 meters high and 5 meters wide, running inside the wall.
The city's defensive system included a network of moats, forts, and numerous gates. Historical documents from the late Ayutthaya period describe a total of 23 great gates with ...
The Portuguese were the first Europeans to establish sustained contact with the Kingdom of Ayutthaya, beginning in 1511 shortly after their capture of the vital entrepôt of Malacca. Aware that Malacca had been a distant vassal of Siam, the Portuguese commander Afonso de Albuquerque promptly dispatched an envoy, Duarte Fernandes, by Chinese junk up the Chao Phraya River to the Siamese court. King Ramathibodi II received the visitor cordially, accepted the fait accompli of the Portuguese conquest, and opened the way for further diplomatic exchanges. Subsequent missions followed: one led by António de Miranda de Azevedo in 1512 and another by Duarte Coelho in 1516–1518. These culminated in a formal treaty of friendship and commerce, the first such agreement between Siam and a European power.
Under its terms the Portuguese obtained permission to reside and trade at Ayutthaya and other Siamese ports, to practise their religion freely, and to enjoy certain commercial privileges and tax exemptions. In ...
The ruin commonly identified as Wat Worapho, also known by its earlier name Wat Rakhang or the Monastery of the Bell, stands directly west of the former Grand Palace within the Ayutthaya Historical Park.
It forms part of a protected cluster of restored ruins that also includes Wat Worachettharam and Wat Lokaya Sutha, and it is most easily reached from the western side of Khlong Tho. The site occupies a large area that once stood on the north bank of Khlong Fang and the west bank of Khlong Pak Tho, with traces of a surrounding moat still visible in places though partially obscured by later road construction.
The precise date of the monastery’s founding remains uncertain, yet it clearly predates 1600. The Royal Chronicles first record it in connection with the ordination of Prince Si Sin around 1602. While living as a high-ranking monk there under the title Phra Phimontham Anantapricha, the prince gained renown as a Buddhist scholar deeply versed in the scriptures and royal manuals. His scholarly ...
Wat Sam Wihan, also known as the Monastery of the Three Preaching Halls and formerly called Wat Sam Phihan, is an active Buddhist temple located north of the historic city island in Ayutthaya Thailand.
It stands near the junction of Khlong Hua Ro and Khlong Mueang, along what was once the course of the Lopburi River, opposite the site of the former Maha Chai Fortress.
The temple is said to have been established around 1377 during the reign of King Boromracha I (also known as Khun Luang Phra Ngua), in the early years of the Ayutthaya Kingdom. According to traditional accounts, Mom Luang Chi Dam and her two younger brothers, Chao Fa Khao and Chao Fa Khiao, all of royal descent, founded the monastery as a place to enshrine the ashes of their mother and other relatives. They divided the construction among themselves, with Mom Luang Chi Dam responsible for the reclining Buddha and its vihara.
The ordination hall received its boundary stones around 1387. The name reflects the original presence of three viharas ...
