Major Periods In North Thailand History
Prehistory PeriodPrehistory;1,000,000-750 B.C.E [ the Palaeolithic period ]. Stone tools found at Lampang and Phra date from I,000,000 to 600,000 years B C E and from the Neolithic period 600,00-600 B.C.E. after the currently prevailing climate type for the area stabilized. Younger sites [ 5000 B C E onwards ] are numerous through out Lan Na. From 3000 B C E rice was introduced and the metal age was introduced between 800-500 B C E. Today we are unable to describe the distinctive features and languages of these peoples but the hunter gather people the Mlabri, together with the H 'tin and Lawa are possibly today's ancestors of such tribes,[ or those still distinctly separate and not yet assimilated culturally or ethnically mixed with the subsequent Mon and Tai arrivals ]. All these groups belong to the Mon- Khmer division of the Austro-Asiatic language group and have racial and cultural similarities with the Mon.
The Mon Kingdom of LamphunThe Mon era of Lamphun as described in the Haripunchai Kingdom link.
The Tai KingdomsThe arrival of the Tai and the various Tai Kingdoms took place between 1050 and 1300. King Mangrai [ 1239-1317 ] became the ruler of Chiang Saen in 1259 and in 1262 moved his capital to the new city of Chiang Rai and merged other principalities. The Mon kingdom of Haripunjaya was to the south with its capital at Lamphun. In 1292 Mangrai conquered the Austro-Asiatic speaking Mon and created as his capital in 1296 the new city of Chiang Mai. In 1338 the Kingdom of Phayao was absorbed. The Principality of Nan made its alliances with the Siamese Kingdom of Sukhothai following its defeat of the Khmer in the Lower North and the creation and expansion of the Sukhothai Kingdom, its art, culture and political Empire.
The Golden Age of Lan NaThe Golden Age of Lan Na. [1400-1525 ], for art & architecture of the Lan Na Kingdom.
Decline and Collapse In Lan Na [1526-58 ]Decline and collapse in Lan Na [1526-58 ] and the Burmese occupation of Lan Na [1558-1775 ] the Burmese Empire
Integration With The Siam Empire In 1775In 1774 allied forces of Siamese and Khon Muang armies took back control from the Burmese, Chiang Mai city is deserted and its valleys depopulated and Khon Muang rulers vassals to the Siamese rule from Lamphun and Lampang. In 1788 Nan becomes a vassal of Siam. In 1882 Siam takes over Chiang Mai by the beginning of the 19th C all major Khon Muang principalities were merged into greater Siam as tributaries. In 1908 the remaining powers of the local princes were abolished and the area was fully absorbed into the national political system of modern Siam [ now called Thailand ].
Statue In Chiang Mai Of King Mangrai 1296
Chiang Mai Fortifications 19th C