Page 80 - A History of Siam

A HISTORY OF SIAM
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there to the present day, though doubtless often since
restored. 1 This reverse kept Chiengmai quiet for the
rest of the reign of King Ramesuen. 1
In war broke out with Cambodia.* The
1393, King
of Cambodia, Kodom Bong, was the aggressor. He
invaded the
suddenly Jonburi and Chantabun districts,
and removed 6,000 or 7,000 of the population back to
Cambodia.
King Ramesuen took prompt and forcible action. He
at once assembled an army and invaded Cambodia.
The Cambodian forces were routed and the
utterly
Siamese advanced to the capital, Angkor T'om. The
King of Cambodia escaped by boat and his final fate is
not recorded. The Crown Prince was and a
captured,
grandson of King Kodom Bong, named Sri Suriyo
P'awong, was set up as a vassal King, under the
of the Siamese
tutelage General, P'ya Jai Narong,
who remained in Cambodia with a of five
garrison
thousand men.
No less than 90,000 Cambodians were taken away as
to Siam.
prisoners
1 According to some authorities, however, these elephants are of much more
modern origin, having been set up by Pnnce Kawila in 1780.
*The P'ongsawadan, except the earliest version (Luang Prasoet's history),
gives a detailed account of an invasion of Chiengmai by King Ramesuen. The
wall of Chiengmai was battered down by a big cannon. The King of Chiengmai
demanded a truce, which he treacherously made use of to repair the damage.
The city was then taken by force, and a son of the King, named Nak Srang,
was set up in his place. A large number of prisoners were taken.
It seems impossible that these events can really have taken place. King
Sen Muang Ma of Chiengmai succeeded to the throne during the reign of King
Boromoraja I of'Siam. He was not set up by the Siamese, who, on the contrary,
supported a rival claimant, Prince P'rohm. The date of King Sen Muang Ma's
death is variously given, but the earliest possible date was six years after the death
of King Ramesuen. The next King of Chiengmai, Fang Ken, was likewise not
set up by the Siamese, who again supported a rival candidate.
The literary style in which this alleged invasion of Chiengmai is related is
quite out of keeping with that used in describing other events of the period.
The story is an interpolation. It is probably a description of some quite different
war at a much later date. The name Nak Srang is rather suggestive of Cambodia.
*
Cambodian war. According to Cambodian history, this invasion took place
in A.D. 1357, during the reign of Rama T'ibodi I. It is inserted here on the
authority of Prince Damrong.