MongkutMongkut (มงกุฏ; 18 October 1804 1 October 1868) was the fourth monarch of Siam (Thailand) under the House of Chakri, titled Rama IV. He ruled from 1851 to 1868. His full title in Thai was Phra Bat Somdet Phra Menthora Ramathibodi Sri Sinthara Mahamakut Phra Mongkut Phra Siam Deva Mahamakut Wittaya Maharaj (พระบาทสมเด็จพระปรเมนทรรามาธิบดีศรีสินทรมหามงกุฎ พระจอมเกล้าเจ้าอยู่หัว พระสยามเทวมหามกุฏวิทยมหาราช).
Mandala (political model)Maṇḍala is a Sanskrit word meaning 'circle'. The mandala is a model for describing the patterns of diffuse political power distributed among Mueang or Kedatuan (principalities) in medieval Southeast Asian history, when local power was more important than the central leadership. The concept of the mandala balances modern tendencies to look for unified political power, eg. the power of large kingdoms and nation states of later history – an inadvertent byproduct of 15th century advances in map-making technologies.
Thai languageThai, or Central Thai (historically Siamese; ภาษาไทย), is a Tai language of the Kra–Dai language family spoken by the Central Thai people and a vast majority of Thai Chinese. It is the sole official language of Thailand. Thai is the most spoken of over 60 languages of Thailand by both number of native and overall speakers. Over half of its vocabulary is derived from or borrowed from Pali, Sanskrit, Mon and Old Khmer. It is a tonal and analytic language. Thai has a complex orthography and system of relational markers.
BuddhismBuddhism (ˈbʊdɪzəm , USalsoˈbuːd- ), also known as Buddha Dharma, and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in the eastern Gangetic plain as a śramaṇa–movement in the 5th century BCE, and gradually spread throughout much of Asia via the Silk Road. It is the world's fourth-largest religion, with over 520 million followers (Buddhists) who comprise seven percent of the global population.
Thonburi KingdomThe Thonburi Kingdom (ธนบุรี, thōn būrīː), or the Early Bangkok Empire (1767–1851), was a major Siamese kingdom which existed in Southeast Asia from 1767 to 1782, centered around the city of Thonburi, in Siam or present-day Thailand. The kingdom was founded by Taksin the Great, who reunited Siam following the collapse of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, which saw the country separate into five warring regional states.
DaweiDawei (, dəwɛ̀; ဓဝဲါ, həwài; ทวาย, RTGS: Thawai, thā.wāːj; formerly known as Tavoy) is a city in south-eastern Myanmar and is the capital of the Tanintharyi Region, formerly known as the Tenasserim Division, on the northern bank of the Dawei River. The city is about southeast of Yangon. Its population (2014 estimate) is 146,964. Dawei is a port at the head of the Dawei River estuary, . from the Andaman Sea. As a result, the city is prone to flooding during the monsoon season.
Nakhon Si Thammarat KingdomNakhon Si Thammarat Kingdom (อาณาจักรนครศรีธรรมราช ), Nagara Sri Dharmarashtra or Kingdom of Ligor, was one of the major constituent city states (mueang) of the Siamese kingdoms of Sukhothai and later Ayutthaya and controlled a sizeable part of the Malay peninsula. Its capital was the eponymous city of Nakhon Si Thammarat in what is now Southern Thailand. Most historians identify the Tambralinga kingdom (existing c. 10th to 13th century) with a precursor of Nakhon Si Thammarat.
Siamese revolution of 1932The Siamese revolution of 1932 or Siamese coup d'état of 1932 (การปฏิวัติสยาม พ.ศ. 2475 or การเปลี่ยนแปลงการปกครองสยาม พ.ศ. 2475) was a coup d'état by Khana Ratsadon (the People's Party) which occurred in Siam on 24 June 1932. It ended Siam's centuries-long absolute monarchy rule under the Chakri dynasty, and resulted in a bloodless transition of Siam into a constitutional monarchy, the introduction of democracy and the first constitution, and the creation of the National Assembly.
BorommatrailokkanatBorommatrailokkanat (บรมไตรโลกนาถ, bɔ̄ː.rōm.mā.trāj.lôːk.kā.nâːt, Brahmatrailokanātha) or Trailok (1431–1488) was the king of the Ayutthaya Kingdom from 1448 to 1488. He was one of many monarchs who gained the epithet King of White Elephants (พระเจ้าช้างเผือก). He was the first Thai king to possess a "noble" or white elephant, which, according to Hindu belief, was a "glorious and happy sign". His reign was also known for massive reforms of Thai bureaucracy and a successful campaign against the Lan Na Kingdom to the north.
YakshaThe Yakshas (यक्ष yakṣa; yakkha) are a broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or capricious, connected with water, fertility, trees, the forest, treasure and wilderness. They appear in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist texts, as well as ancient and medieval era temples of South Asia and Southeast Asia as guardian deities. The feminine form of the word is or yakshini (यक्षिणी yakṣiṇī; Pali:Yakkhini). In Hindu, Jain and Buddhist texts, the has a dual personality.
