Ayutthaya's
Mighty Kingdom, Part 2
The Heroism of
Queen Suriyothai
The year is 1548 and His Majesty,
King Chakrapat, is in the Grand Palace, in his Capital
City of Ayutthaya, conferring with his Council of Nobles
and Military Commanders. The Burmese in the North have
been causing problems and the possibility of aggression
has been vexing the Siamese Monarch. Suddenly a messenger
enters the chamber, prostrates himself to the floor in
homage, and delivers his news - a Burmese army is
approaching and is almost at the gates of the city. There
is an immediate call to arms, Nobles and Commanders rush
to their duties and the King's personal servants hastily
buckle him in to his fighting armor. How did this state of
affairs arise? How was the Burmese army able to catch
Ayutthaya by surprise?
Since its foundation 198 years
earlier in 1350, the city of Ayutthaya had grown and
prospered. Under successive Monarchs it had, indeed,
become the Stately Capital of the Siamese Nation. Its
influence, with vassal states paying tribute, extended
from Luang Prabang, in the north, to Mergui and Tenasserim
in the west, east as far as Chantaboon (Chantaburi) and
reaching south through the Malay States to Malacca and
Johore Baru. Princes and Sultans throughout the land
regularly sent "trees" of gold and silver as tribute and
indications of their allegiance to Ayutthaya. Ayutthaya
was the acknowledged kingpin of South East Asia.
However, maintaining such a
widespread nation required a lot of political finesse on
the part of the Siamese Monarch and, sometimes, military
persuasion to keep vassal states in line. Ayutthaya's hold
on some far-flung territories was tenuous at best so it
was no great trauma when, in 1511, the Portuguese seized
Malacca. Nevertheless, the Portuguese didn't want a war on
their hands the only wanted Malacca as a trading base so
they sent emissaries to the Thai Monarch (King Ramatibodi
II) to establish friendly relations. The King appreciated
this and, in return, sent a Thai emissary to represent him
in Malacca.
Thus was established the first
positive trading and commercial link with a European
nation. Business flourished with the export of sugarcane,
timber, spices and gemstones. The Thai Monarchs held
monopolies on all goods entering or leaving the Kingdom so
taxation revenues were abundant indeed. After cordial
relationships were established with the Portuguese, King
Ramatibodi purchased the latest in musketry and cannons
from them. Also, as part of trade and goodwill, the King,
and his successors, began to employ Portuguese mercenary
soldiers to teach the Thais about the new weaponry and to
become part of the regular army. While most states
accepted the power and influence of the Kingdom of
Ayutthaya, the Burmese were an ongoing threat and had to
be watched.
And so Ayutthaya blossomed;
European trading vessels began to arrive as they were able
to navigate up the great Menam Chao Phraya, as far as
possible, and discharge or load cargoes using small
barges. So it was a situation which afforded substantial
success and power to the Siamese Kingdom with the Capital
of Ayutthaya at its centre. The growing power of an
aggressive Burma had to be controlled but what was
overlooked were the intrigues, betrayals and rivalries
within the Thai Royal Court. It was the latter which
almost destroyed Ayutthya just prior to the first Burmese
attack.
In Burma factions had been
fragmented for years with a lot of infighting between the
Burmese, Mons and Shans. However, when the Burmese King
Tabinshweti succeeded to the throne at Toungoo, he was
able control the various elements and unite them under his
personal banner. Tabinshweti was to become possibly the
mightiest of Burmese Kings as he expanded his influence
though aggression and conquest. In doing so, he threatened
the power and stability of Ayutthaya and the relative
peace it had enjoyed for so long. The northern province of
Chiangmai had already fallen to Burmese occupation.
Meanwhile, at the Siamese Royal
Court in Ayutthaya, the combined foes of disease and
treachery were not far away. King Ramathibodi II had
passed away in 1529 the same year that Halley's Comet
scudded across the heavens was this perhaps an ominous
sign? He was succeeded by King Boromrajathira IV who died,
four years later, from smallpox. In turn, King
Chairajathiraj ascended the throne and, through his wife
Queen Sri Sudachan, fathered two sons the Princes Phra
Yord Fah and Phra Sri Silp. Their father died in 1546
suspected by poisoning at the hand of his wife! The Crown
Prince Phra Yord Fah, aged only 11, was too young to rule
so his mother, Queen Sri Sudachan, began to govern as
Joint-Regent with the younger brother of the late King.
This was Phra Tianraja but it was
soon clear that he didn't relate well to Queen Sri
Sudachan, thanks to her constant intrigues, so he resigned
as Co-Regent and became a Monk at Wat Rajpradit. The Queen
was left as sole Regent! The Royal Court and Nobles were
not happy with this and when they suddenly discovered the
Queen had been in an adulterous affair with her cousin,
during her husband's lifetime, they were quite horrified.
Something had to be done! So, using the pretext of
inspecting a new Royal White Elephant, the Queen Pretender
to the Throne was lured outside of the city, ambushed and
put to death. The Nobles then invited Phra Tianraja to
leave his temple and take up the mantle of Kingship. This
he did, so taking the title of King Chakrapat he began to
reign, with his wife Queen Suriyothai by his side, in
1548.
The Burmese King Tabinshweti had
been aware of the disarray within the Court of Ayutthaya
and decided now was the time to march! As the new King of
Ayutthaya, King Chakrapat, prepared his defensive plans,
discussing strategies and details with his Nobles,
Military Chiefs and Officers of the Portuguese
mercenaries, the messenger stumbled into the room,
prostrated himself, and gasped the tidings that the
Burmese army was almost upon them. They had come, not from
the north, but through the Three Pagodas Pass in the
mountains to the west and had already decimated
Kanchanaburi. As Nobles and Military Commanders rushed to
their duties, the news of the advancing Burmese spread
like wildfire.
The year is 1548, foot soldiers
prepare themselves feverishly, muskets are primed, canons
are run out and the great War Elephants
are readied for battle. Not even one year into his reign,
King Chakrapat straps on his armor and, as he does so, his
beloved Queen Suriyothai comes to his side and says she is
going to join him against the Burmese. The King gives an
emphatic "No" but the Queen is a strong-willed lady and,
despite the dangers, insists on fighting alongside her
husband. The King sighs and reluctantly accepts her
joining in the battle. Queen Suriyothai's servants quickly
buckle their Queen into military armor and she, and her
husband, rush to mount their respective elephants.
As the King and Queen enter the
battle, a frenzied fray is going on all around them. Men
are shouting and screaming, canons roar, swords and lances
clash and the air is constantly rent with the trumpeting
of the War Elephants. All is noise,
turmoil and chaos. In normal times the King (or anyone of
high-rank) ride in the howdah atop the elephant but, as
now, the king is astride the elephant's neck in full
control of his war-beast. Atop, in the howdah, an officer
waves batons, right and left, to direct the movement of
the foot soldiers running alongside, urging them forward
to ensure that the flanks of the elephant are protected.
King Chakrapat presses forward to
engage his enemy, King Tabinshweti, but suddenly appears
to lose his balance. Queen Suriyothai sees her King losing
ground and charges her elephant
forward to assist him. In doing so, she is immediately
engaged by the Burmese King's frontline Commander, Phra
Jao Prae Tado Thammaraja, and their long fighting-lances
ring out as they clash together. It is a fierce, hectic
skirmish but the Burmese elephant, pushing forward from
its haunches, destabilizes its Thai counterpart and Queen
Suriyothai is caught by a series of chopping blows which
penetrate her armor and mortally wound her. For
Queen Suriyothai, the battle is finished.
This Queen, one of Thailand's
greatest heroines, dies in combat protecting her husband
and defending her nation. Later, Queen Suriyothai's two
sons, Phra Ramesuan and Phra Mahin retrieve their mother's
body from the battleground. King Chakrapat survives the
fighting and lives to mourn the loss of his Queen.
Ultimately, the war is won and the Burmese are driven off.
But they will return again ... and again!
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