VientianeVientiane (vi,ɛntiˈɑːn , vjɛ̃tjan; ວຽງຈັນ, Viangchan, wía̯ŋ t͡ɕàn) is the capital and largest city of Laos. Comprising the five urban districts of Vientiane Prefecture, the city is located on the banks of the Mekong, right at the border with Thailand. Vientiane was the administrative capital during French rule and, due to economic growth in recent times, is now the economic center of Laos. The city had a population of 1,001,477 as of the 2023 Census.
Khorat PlateauThe Khorat Plateau (ที่ราบสูงโคราช) is a plateau in the northeastern Thai region of Isan. The plateau forms a natural region, named after the short form of Nakhon Ratchasima, a historical barrier controlling access to and from the area. The average elevation is and it covers an area of about . The saucer-shaped plateau is divided by a range of hills called the Phu Phan Mountains into two basins: the northern Sakhon Nakhon Basin, and the southern Khorat Basin.
Trịnh lordsThe Trịnh lords (Chúa Trịnh; Chữ Nôm: 主鄭; 1545–1787), formally titled as Viceroy of Trịnh (Trịnh vương; 鄭王), also known as the House of Trịnh or the Trịnh clan (Trịnh thị; 鄭氏), were a noble feudal clan that ruled Northern Vietnam (referred to then as Tonkin), during the Later Lê dynasty, Đại Việt. The Trịnh clan and their rivals, the Nguyễn clan, were both referred to by their subjects as "Chúa" (Lord) and controlled Đại Việt while the Later Lê emperors were reduced to only a titular position.
Rattanakosin Kingdom (1782–1932)The Rattanakosin Kingdom (อาณาจักรรัตนโกสินทร์, , ʔāːnāːt͡ɕàk ráttāná(ʔ)kōːsǐn, abbreviated as รัตนโกสินทร์, ráttāná(ʔ)kōːsǐn), the Kingdom of Siam, or the Early Bangkok Empire (1767–1851), were names used to reference the fourth and current Thai kingdom in the history of Thailand (then known as Siam). It was founded in 1782 with the establishment of Rattanakosin (Bangkok), which replaced the city of Thonburi as the capital of Siam. This article covers the period until the Siamese revolution of 1932.
Isan languageIsan or Northeastern Thai (ภาษาอีสาน, ภาษาไทยถิ่นตะวันออกเฉียงเหนือ, ภาษาไทยถิ่นอีสาน, ภาษาไทยอีสาน, ภาษาลาวตะวันตก, ภาษาลาวอีสาน) refers to the local development of the Lao language in Thailand, after the political split of the Lao-speaking world at the Mekong River, with the eastern bank eventually becoming modern Laos and the western bank the Isan region of Thailand (formerly known as Siam prior to 1932), after the conclusion of the Franco-Siamese War of 1893. The language is still referred to as Lao by native speakers.
IsanNortheast Thailand or Isan (Isan/อีสาน, ʔīː.sǎːn; ; also written as Isaan, Isarn, Issarn, Issan, Esan, or Esarn; from Pāli isāna or Sanskrit ईशान्य īśānya "northeast") consists of 20 provinces in the northeastern region of Thailand. Isan is Thailand's largest region, located on the Khorat Plateau, bordered by the Mekong River (along the Laos–Thailand border) to the north and east, by Cambodia to the southeast and the Sankamphaeng Range south of Nakhon Ratchasima.
Lê dynastyThe Lê dynasty, also known in historiography as the Later Lê dynasty (Hậu Lê triều, chữ Hán: 後黎朝 or nhà Hậu Lê, chữ Nôm: 茹後黎), officially Great Việt (Đại Việt; Chữ Hán: 大越), was the longest-ruling Vietnamese dynasty, having ruled from 1428 to 1789, with an interregnum between 1527 and 1533.
ChulalongkornChulalongkorn (จุฬาลงกรณ์, 20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910) was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, titled Rama V from 1 October 1868 to his death in 23 October 1910. Chulalongkorn was born as the son of King Mongkut in 1853. In 1868, he travelled with his father and other Westerners invited by Mongkut to observe the solar eclipse of August 18, 1868 in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province. However, they both contracted malaria which resulted in his father's death.
Lao peopleThe Lao people are a Tai ethnic group native to Southeast Asia, who speak the Lao language of the Kra–Dai languages. They are the majority ethnic group of Laos, making up 53.2% of the total population. The majority of Lao people adhere to Theravada Buddhism. They are closely related to other Tai people, especially (or synonymous) with the Isan people, who are also speakers of Lao language, native to neighboring Thailand. In Western historiography, terms Lao people and Laotian have had a loose meaning.
MueangMueang (เมือง mɯ̄ang, mɯaŋ˧ ), Muang (ເມືອງ mɯ́ang, mɯaŋ˦; Tai Nuea: ᥛᥫᥒᥰ muang), Mong ( mə́ŋ, məŋ˦), Meng () or Mường (Vietnamese) were pre-modern semi-independent city-states or principalities in mainland Southeast Asia, adjacent regions of Northeast India and Southern China, including what is now Thailand, Laos, Burma, Cambodia, parts of northern Vietnam, southern Yunnan, western Guangxi and Assam. Mueang was originally a term in the Tai languages for a town having a defensive wall and a ruler with at least the Thai noble rank of khun (ขุน), together with its dependent villages.
