Candraraja

Candrarāja (Thai: จันทราชา) was a Siamese monarch mentioned in the Ayutthaya Testimonies as the ruler of the Sukhothai Kingdom.

Background and family

He was born in the year 516 of the Chula Sakarat Era (1154 CE) to Sirisudhārājadevī (สิริสุธาราชเทวี), a queen consort of Suryaraja of Vicitraprakāra, identified with the present-day Kamphaeng Phet. Sūryarāja was a descendant of King Padumasuriyavamsa. Candrarāja had two queen consorts, Sūryadevī (สุริยเทวี) and Nang Nak (นางนาค). The latter, who potentially was the Tai princess, bore an elder prince named Phra Ruang (IV), also known as Si Inthrathit, while another consort gave birth to a younger prince, likewise named Phra Ruang (V), and one princess named Suvaṇṇadevī (สุวรรณเทวี). The elder prince was appointed to govern Mueang Bang Yang (เมืองบางยาง; present-day Nakhon Thai), a polity that had formerly served as the power base of his grandfather's counsin, Pra Poa Noome Thele Seri. He would later ascend the throne as the sovereign of the Sukhothai Kingdom in 1238. In contrast, Phra Ruang IV or Si Intharathit, is recorded in the Legend of Sawankhalok (ตำนานเมืองสวรรคโลก ฉบับพระมุนินทรานุวัตต์ [มุนินทร์ สุนฺทโร]) as having an elder brother, Phra Ruang III, who ruled Mueang Fang (เมืองฝาง), identified with present-day Sawangkaburi[th].

Accession and reign

Candrarāja succeeded his father at Vicitraprakāra at the age of 30, in the year 546 of the Chula Sakarat Era (1184 CE). Subsequently, after the death of his cousin Pra Poa Noome Thele Seri in 1204/05, he moved northward to reconstruct Sukhothai, establishing it as his new political and administrative center. He then ceased the payment of tribute to the suzerain polity of Indaprasthanagara (อินทปรัษฐ์นคร) following the counsel of his elder son, Si Inthrathit. This defiance precipitated hostilities between the two realms; however, the Sukhothai forces, commanded by Si Inthrādhit, achieved victory. Thereafter, Indaprasthanagara refrained from interfering in Sukhothai's internal affairs. It is further recorded that Lavo was under his authority following this episode.

Around 1200 CE, Sukhothai’s southern neighbor—a polity in the Phraek Si Racha region known as Chen Li Fu (possibly Indaprasthanagara)—is recorded to have asserted a degree of autonomy by independently dispatching tribute to the Chinese imperial court. This polity has also been speculated to have maintained some form of dynastic connection with Angkor.

Death and succession

Candrarāja's reign concluded in the year 576 of the Chula Sakarat Era (1214 CE). Accounts of subsequent events vary across sources. The Ayutthaya Testimonies assert that he was succeeded directly by his son, Phra Ruang IV or Si Inthrathit; however, this narrative contrasts with the more widely accepted interpretation derived from the Wat Si Chum Inscription, which records that the Mon monarch named E Daeng Phloeng ruled Sukhothai following Candrarāja's death, and was later overthrown in 1219 by Sri Naw Nam Thom and his son Pha Mueang of Mueang Chaliang.

Ancestry

Notes

Citation

Sources

• Fine Arts Department, ed. (1968) [First published in Thai in 1912.]. [Testimony of the King Who Entered a Wat, Testimony of the Inhabitants of the Old Capital, and Royal Chronicle of the Old Capital: Luang Prasoet Aksorn Version] (PDF) (in Thai). Bangkok: Rung Rueang Tham. Archived from (PDF) on 25 April 2023.