Sai Thong Som
| Sai Thong Som ใสทองสม | |
|---|---|
| King of Devapura | |
| King of Dvaravati's Kamalanka | |
| Reign | 687–late 8th-c. |
| Predecessor | Shridravya |
| Successor | Unknown (Title next held by Padumasuriyavamsa) |
| Born | Lopburi |
| Died | Late 8th-c. |
| House | Lavo dynasty |
| Father | Balidhiraja of Sukhothai |
Sai Thong Som (Thai: ใสทองสม) is traditionally identified as a mixed Mon–Tai monarch of Dvaravati's Devapura (เทพบุรี) or Rajgir (ราชคฤห์),[1]: 4 which modern scholarship variously associates with Nakhon Pathom, Ratchaburi, or Khu Bua.[1]: 5 His reign is attested in the Legend of the Arhat (Tamnan Nithan Phra Arahant; ตำนานนิทานพระอรหันต์), a chronicle compiled by Aung Wailamlang (อ่อง ไวกำลัง). According to this account, his father, Balidhiraja—a son of Kalavarnadisharaja—migrated from Sukhothai and forcibly deposed the incumbent monarch of Devapura around 687 CE. The throne was subsequently entrusted to his younger son Sai Thong Som.[1]: 3–4
Sai Thong Som is recorded as having had one sibling, his elder brother Balipatijaya, who acceded to the throne of Lavo in 700 CE, following the reign of their grandfather Kalavarnadisharaja.[1]: 4 On the basis of onomastic analysis, the Thai historian Manit Vallibhotama (มานิต วัลลิโภดม) has suggested that Sai Thong Som may have been born of a Tai queen consort.[1]: 5 This interpretation gains plausibility in light of the historical context: after Kalavarnadisharaja’s enthronement as king of Lavo, he is reported to have extended his political influence northward into the Tai polity of Chiang Saen,[1]: 5 which is mentioned as Nagendhara (นาเคนทร) in the Northern Chronicle.[2]: 25 It is within this framework of political expansion and consolidation that intermarriage between the Mon dynasty of Dvaravati and Tai elites likely occurred, cementing alliances through marital diplomacy and reshaping the ethnopolitical configuration of the region.[1]: 5 By the mid-9th century, this dynamic had intensified; in 861 CE, records note that the Tai Yuan, or Tai Chiang Saen (ไทเชียงแสน), had established a significant presence in Lavo and were increasing in political influence.[3]: 39
No definitive records survive concerning Sai Thong Som’s immediate successor. Nevertheless, archaeological and textual data suggest that by the early 8th century, corresponding with his reign, the political predominance of Dvaravati had entered a phase of decline.[4]: 60 Chinese sources, Cefu Yuangui, identify the western Menam Valley in the late 8th century as belonging to the polity of Gē Luó Shě Fēn (哥罗舍分国),[5]: 38–9 likewise centered at Nakhon Pathom.[4]: 58–9 Some scholars have hypothesized that Gē Luó Shě Fēn and Qiān Zhī Fú of Si Thep were, in fact, the same kingdom,[5]: 38–9 which during this period was reportedly ruled by Pú jiā yuè mó.[6]: 23 Despite this apparent fragmentation of authority, the Chinese dynastic records note that Dvaravati continued to maintain tributary relations with the Tang court, with the last mission being dispatched in 756 CE.[7] This episode illustrates both the persistence of Dvaravati’s diplomatic identity and the gradual contraction of its political power. Ultimately, the emergence of Gē Luó Shě Fēn curtailed the territorial reach of the Dvaravati monarchs, restricting their authority largely to Lavapura of the Lavo in the eastern valley, which was governed by Balipatijaya from 700 CE onward.[1]: 4
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Sukanya Sudchaya. "ตำนานพระประโทณ: ตำนานแบบพึทธศาสนาในสุวรรณภูมิ" [Legend of Phra Praton: Buddhist legend in Suvarnabhumi] (PDF) (in Thai). Retrieved 29 September 2025.
- ^ Northern Chronicle (in Thai)
- ^ Chatchai Sukrakarn (October 2005). "พระเจ้าศรีธรรมาโศกราช" [Sri Thammasokaraj] (PDF) (in Thai). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 August 2024. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
- ^ a b Saritpong Khumsong (2014). โบราณคดีเมืองนครปฐม: การศึกษาอดีตศูนย์กลางแห่งทวารวดี [Nakhon Pathom Archaeology: A Study of the Former Center of Dvaravati] (PDF) (in Thai). Bangkok: Papermet (Thailand). p. 230. ISBN 978-974-641-498-2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 April 2025.
- ^ a b Hoshino, T (2002). "Wen Dan and its neighbors: the central Mekong Valley in the seventh and eighth centuries.". In M. Ngaosrivathana; K. Breazeale (eds.). Breaking New Ground in Lao History: Essays on the Seventh to Twentieth Centuries. Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books. pp. 25–72.
- ^ "钦定四库全书: 册府元龟卷九百五十七宋王钦若等撰". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China (in Chinese).
- ^ "中國哲學書電子化計劃: 《陳書》卷六本紀第六後主" [Chinese Philosophy Text Digitalization Project: Book of Chen, Volume 6 Chronicles of the Sixth Emperor]. ctext.org/zh (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2025-05-19. Retrieved 20 May 2025. Text: 十二月丙辰，頭和國遣使獻方物。司空長沙王叔堅有罪免。戊午夜，天開自西北至東南，其內有青黃色，隆隆若雷聲。