Rama I

From New World Encyclopedia
Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (Rama I)
King of Siam
Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke portrait.jpg
Reign 6 April, 1782 – 7 September, 1809
Coronation 6 April, 1782
Full name Thong Duang (birth name)
Titles Chao Phraya Chakri (pre-reign military title)
Born March 20 1737(1737-03-20)
Ayutthaya
Died 7 September 1809 (aged 72)
Predecessor Taksin (of Thonburi)
Successor Buddha Loetla Nabhalai
Consort Queen Amarindra
Issue 42 sons and daughters

Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke or Phutthayotfa (1737 – 1802), posthumously titled Rama I the Great, was King of Siam (now called Thailand) from 1782 to 1809, and the founder of the Chakri dynasty which rules Thailand to this day.


Biography

The future king, whose birth name was Thong Duang was born on March 20, 1737 in Ayutthaya. His father was a court offical and a nobleman and an ethnic Mon. His mother was part-Chinese.[1][2][3][4]. After receiving his education in a Buddhist temple, his father sent him to become a squire for king Uthumphon, and it was at this moment that he met his friend Tak Sin, who would become King Taksin, Rama's future predecessor. After the fall of Ayutthaya, he rejoined the ranks of king Taksin under the name Chao Phraya Chakri. He was given the name Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke posthumously by king Rama III, Nangklao. Chao Phraya Chakri and Phraya Pichai were considered Taksin's most valuable generals.

Military Service

While serving as Taksin's general, Rama conquered Vientiane in 1778-79, putting the country under vassalage, and removing its Emerald Buddha and Phra Bang to Thonburi. In april 4 1782, when Taksin was declared mad after a coup d'etat and was later executed, Rama assumed power, establishing the Chakri dynasty.

As King of Siam

He was crowned on April 6 as Rama I; the date is now Chakri Memorial Day, a public holiday in Thailand. His first act as king was to transfer the capital from Taksin's capital, Thonburi, to what became Bangkok. He set about reforming the adminsitration. He strengthened the Buddhist monastic order, convening a Council in 1788 to decide which scriptures should be considered orthodox. He salvaged Buddhist texts lost in the chaos after the sacking of Ayutthaya by the Burmese in 1767. As king, he was a generous supporter of art and literature, commissioning and funding a Thai translation of the Hindu epic, the Ramayana. He built his palace, the Wat Phra Kaew, to house the Emerald Buddha, a national treasure believed to have been made in India as early as 43B.C.E., and created a new code of laws, the Book of three seals. He appointed the first Supreme Patriarch of Thai Buddhism.

The Emerald Buddha



He continued Taksin's task of saving the newly reunited country from attack by Burma, and repulsed several Burmese invasions. Culturally, Rama I also reestablished the traditions of the country by . He also moved the capital from Taksin's capital of Thonburi and built the new capital Bangkok. As literature was his passion, he also wrote a Thai version of the Ramayana epos called Ramakian.

Statue of Rama I at the Phra Buddha Yodfa Memorial Bridge, Bangkok (1932)

On his death, he was succeeded by his son prince Isarasundorn, who assumed the throne name of King Buddha Loetla Nabhalai (now posthumously titled Rama II).

Notes

  1. Baker, Chris
  2. "Rama I", Encyclopedia Britannica Rama I Retrieved October 6, 2007.
  3. Down Sampeng Lane: The Story of Bangkok's China Town
  4. "Thailand: Doing Business in", Reference for BusinessThailand, doing business in Retrieved October 6, 2007.

External Links

Dutton's Tay Son Timeline

Chakri Dynasty
Born: 20 March 1737; Died: 7 September 1809
Preceded by:
Taksin
(
of Thonburi)
King of Siam
1782–1809
Succeeded by: Buddha Loetla Nabhalai

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.