Uthumphon

Uthumphon (; ) Maha Thammarachathirat III or Uthumphon Mahaphon Phinit (; c. 1733 – 1796) was the 32nd and penultimate monarch of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, ruling in 1758 for about three months. Facing various throne claimants, Uthumphon was finally forced to abdicate and enter monkhood. His preference of being a monk rather than keeping the throne earned him the epithet "Khun Luang Ha Wat" , or "the king who lives in the temple".

His memorial tomb is located in the Linzin Hill (, ) cemetery in Amarapura, about northeast of the U Bein Bridge.

Early life Uthumphon was born in 1730 during the reign of his uncle King Thai Sa. Uthumphon's father Prince Phon was the younger brother of King Thai Sa and the Wangna or vice king of the Front Palace, the royal heir presumptive. Uthumphon's mother was Princess Consort Phlap, one of the two main consorts of Prince Phon, daughter of Chaophraya Bamroe Phuthorn , a prominent noble during the reign of King Phetracha. Shortly before Uthumphon's birth, his father Prince Phon dreamed of seeing flowers of Udumbhara or Buddhist holy fig. As the flowers of the Udumbhara are of rare occurrences, sighting one implies a significant event. Prince Phon them named his newborn son Prince Uthumphon (from Udumbhara) or Dok Ma Duea ("fig flower") or Dokduea.

Uthumphon was the youngest child

With supports from prominent ministers, Uthumphon finally consented to his father's wish. Uthumphon underwent Uparajabhisekha ceremony to be consecrated as the new Uparat or Prince of the Front Palace and technically heir presumptive to his father Borommakot in 1757. Uthumphon was also given his half-niece, a daughter of the deceased prince Thammathibet, to be his consort but the couple never produced children. Uthumphon did not move into the Front Palace or Chanbaworn Palace on the northeastern corner of Ayutthaya per his position but continued to stay at his residence at Suan Kratai Pavilion, bordering Wat Phra Si Sanphet temple to the west. King Borommakot also forced Prince Ekkathat, Uthumphon's older brother, to shave his head to become a Buddhist monk at Wat Lamut temple to the northeast of Ayutthaya in order to prevent Ekkathat from contesting against Uthumphon for the throne in the future.

Meanwhile, to the west of Siam, King Alaungpaya of the rising new Burmese Konbaung dynasty, conquered the Kingdom of Hanthawaddy of the Mon people of Lower Burma in 1757, unifying Upper and Lower Burma under his new regime.

The Three Princes On the fifth waning of the sixth month, to persuade the Three Princes to surrender peacefully. The five virtuous monks then visited the Three Princes to beseech them to cease their belligerent actions. A week later, on he eleventh waning of the sixth month off the eastern wall of Ayutthaya citadel. Uthumphon's abdication and entrance into the Theravadin Buddhist religion earned him the epithet Khun Luang Ha Wat or the King Who Sought Temple.

Rebellion of Prince Thepphiphit After Uthumphon's abdication, Ekkathat left monkhood to take the throne as the last king of Ayutthaya. Ekkathat performed his Rajabhisekha enthronement ceremony in the waxing of the eight month perceived Siam's support to Mon people against Burma and the Burmese king's Chakravartin expansionist ideology of universal ruler, in December 1759, and the Siamese defending forces were massacred and dispersed. Chaophraya Kalahom, the Minister of Military, was killed by a Burmese lance-throw while retreating from the battlefield. Siamese commanders were captured by the Burmese

Uthumphon was resettled near Ava, along with other Ayutthaya ex-nobles, numbering over 2,000 princes and princesses and their entourages, and over 800 queens bearing titles. At Ava, the history, government, and ceremonies of the Ayutthayan court were documented in a Burmese language chronicle called the Yodaya Chronicle (ယိုးဒယားရာဇဝင်). The Yodaya Chronicle was later translated back into Thai, entitled Ayutthayan affidavit or The Testimony of the King who Entered a Wat although there is no evidence that Uthumphon provided input into the testimony.

Uthumphon, as a Buddhist monk, stayed at Ava for about fifteen years until 1783 when the new Burmese king Bodawpaya moved the Burmese royal capital to Amarapura. Uthumphon and his Yodayan followers moved to the new Burmese royal seat of Amarapura, settling at Yawahaeng or Rahaeng villiage. Uthumphon spent another thirteen years at Amarapura until his death in 1796 at about the age of sixty-six. Upon his death, Uthumphon was entombed in a chedi at the Linzin Hill graveyard on the edge of Taungthaman Lake in Mandalay Region's Amarapura Township, about northwest of U Bein Bridge.

Legacy On 29 June 2013, Burmese and Thai authorities announced that the site of Utumphon's memorial tomb would be renovated and turned into a historical park. Since February 2013, a joint Burmese-Thai excavation team of archaeologists, uncovered bones and fragments of a monk's robes in a gilt glass mosaic alms bowl containing bones and robes. The Thai restoration team is expected to spend on the project. In late 2013, archaeologists uncovered a brick structure believed to be a monastery that once held stone inscriptions. The team has laid out plans for a memorial ground and is seeking the permission of local authorities to establish a cultural heritage centre there, including restoration of the royal graveyard complex, at a cost of at least 39 million baht .

Uthumphon's grandson, Maung Maung Tin was a Burmese royal courtier, civil servant, and historian, best known for authoring the country's last royal chronicle, the Konbaung Set Yazawin.

Ancestry