Thailand - Chieng Saen / Chiang Saen - 568-1177
The Thais who migrated from south China and reached the North of the Menam valley formed themselves into separate principalities which subsequently developed into kingdoms. The kingdom of Chieng Saen adjoined Nanchao to the North and Haripunjayain to South. Prince Singhanavati led his followers to find a suitable site for his new city which he founded in 568. Chieng Saen became an easy prey to the Khmer incursion, due to a series of weak kings who ruled over it and it capitulated, paying tribute to the Khmers.
A king who has established the kingdom of Chiang Saen, was invaded by a great king of Mons from the City of Satong. Since the King of Chiang Saen was unable to resist the invasion, he took flight to the south and established a new city called Trai Trueng. The fourth king of this new kingdom had a beautiful daughter who was fond of eating eggplant. A poor man by the name of Saen Pom kept a garden to grow eggplants. (“Saen Pom” means 100,000 skin growths all over the body). On one of the plots near his hut, big eggplants grew and Saen Pom always urinated on the plants. When he knew that the daughter of the King extremely liked eggplants, he picked the biggest one and presented it to her. The King’s daughter soon got pregnant and eventually gave birth to a fatherless boy. The King immediately summoned all the male subjects in the kingdom and asked each one of them to bring one kind of food. He used this occasion to prove that if the baby boy took any food given by one of them, that man was surely the boy’s father. The boy took the balled rice from Saen Pom and ate it. The King got so mad and embarrassed to find out that his daughter had chosen an ugly looking commoner. He expelled her and the boy including Saen Pom from the palace.
Saen Pom took them to the forest. Since Saen Pom was divinely blessed, the God Indra transformed himself as a monkey and handed him a magic drum. He was told that if in his prayer, he made three wishes and then beat the drum, he would be granted all that he wished for. Saen Pom requested for all the skin tumours to disappear so that he would be handsome, for him to rule a kingdom and for his son to have a golden cradle. All his three wishes were granted. He ascended the throne as King Sirichai Chiang Saen.
Prince Prohm, a son of Puncaraj who was the 43rd king of Chieng Saen, was born in 1098 and grew up to be an exceptionally brave and capable leader. He planned to declare independence against the Khmers, so he urged his father to stop the payment of tribute to them. The Khmers, in response, sent an army to crush Chieng Saen. Prince Prohm with his army routed the Khmer forces and conquered their territory down to Jalieng. Having extended his power as far as Lannatai, Luong Prabang, Wiengchan and Lanchang, he founded the city of Fang for himself to rule and named it Jaiprakarn. In the year 1117, at the request of his son, Puncaraj moved out of his place, Chieng Saen, and continued to rule Jaiburi. Prohm is praised as the first Thai king who deserved the title "The Great". Prohm died at the age of 79 in 1177.
His son, Jaisiri, was confronted by a large Mon army which invaded his city. Unable to resist it, he avoided the impending danger by moving his people out and leading them towards the South, at first to Kampaeng Phet, then to Traitruongs and finallyto Nakhon Pathom which was then designated as Nakhon Chaisi.
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