Ramaratchathirat

Ramrachathirat (, ) was a king of Ayutthaya, an ancient kingdom in Thailand.

A son of Ramesuan and member of the House of Uthong, he succeeded his father to the throne of Ayutthaya in 1393. He reigned until 1395 when he was deposed in a coup by Inracha, his uncle from the House of Suphannaphum.

Historical sources vary in relation to the fate of the dethroned monarch. Some say he was banished. Some say he was executed.

Name

+ List of abbreviations in this article Abbreviation For BE Thai Buddhist Era CE Common Era LE Lesser Era LP Luang Prasoet Chronicle VV Van Vliet Chronicle

He is merely known as Ram (; "Rāma") in most historical sources, including the Bradley Chronicle, the British Museum Chronicle, LP, the Phan Channumat Chronicle, the Phonnarat Chronicle, and the Royal Autograph Chronicle.

VV, a Dutch document written by Jeremias van Vliet in 1640 CE, refers to him as Prae Rhaem (; "Divine Rāma").

But modern documents often refer to him as Ramracha (; "Rāma the Lord") or Ramrachathirat (; "Rāma the Supreme Lord of Lords"). The latter is the name accepted by the Historical Revision Commission of Thailand .

Early life and ascension to the throne

All historical sources state that Ram was a son of Ramesuan, a king of the Ayutthaya Kingdom from the House of Uthong.

Ramesuan gained the throne in 750 LE (1931 BE, 1388/89 CE) after carrying out a violent coup against Thong Lan, a young son of his maternal uncle, Boromrachathirat I from the House of Suphannaphum.

According to LP, Ram succeeded to the throne of Ayutthaya upon the demise of his father, Ramesuan, in 757 LE (1938 BE, 1395/96 CE).

The third treasure fleet sent by China to Southeast Asia arrived in Ayutthaya in 1410 CE, perfectly around the time Inracha staged a coup against Ram. Historian Suchit Wongthet (สุจิตต์ วงษ์เทศ) believed the fleet, which was led by Admiral Zheng He, was sent for political purposes, probably to support Inracha as a new monarch of Ayutthaya, so that Ayutthaya would become a dependency of China. This inscription is the only known legislative text engraved on stone emanating from any of the Southeast Asian kingdoms and remains a document of peculiar importance for the study of the legal history of the region.

Historical documents from Northern Thailand state that King Mahathammaracha III of Sukhothai marched his royal army to assist Lord Yi Kum Kam in seizing the throne of Lan Na from King Sam Fang Kaen . The event took place in 1945 BE (1402/03 CE), according to Jinakālamālī. Historian Prasert na Nagara expressed the opinion that this means Sukhothai had already been independent from Ayutthaya by that time. Chao Phraya Mahasenabodi , despite the fact that such title did not yet exist at his time.

VV gives a slightly different piece of information regarding the coup, stating that after Ram had reigned in Ayutthaya for three years, Inracha marched his troops in from Suphan Buri (written Soupanna Boury in the document), successfully seized the throne of Ayutthaya, and put Ram to death.

This coup was part of a series of conflicts between the royal houses of Uthong (of which Ram was a member) and Suphannaphum (to which Inracha belonged). The two clans had long struggled with each other for the throne of Ayutthaya. But the victory of Inracha on this occasion would allow Suphannaphum to remain in power over the Kingdom of Ayutthaya for almost the next two centuries.

Ancestry