page_title: Sukhothai Kingdom
section_title: Liberation from Khmer Empire (Lavo)
hierarchical_section_title: Sukhothai Kingdom / History / Liberation from Khmer Empire (Lavo)
caption_attribution_description: English: In parts of Thailand, a Buddha image is traditionally consecrated at dawn. Wax covering the eyes of the image is removed, and the sun's first rays, breaking through the eastern entrance doors of the temple, strike the golden image. Meanwhile monks chant a verse proclaiming that one who knows the truth as taught by the Buddha can ward off evil, just as the dawn drives away darkness and fills the air with light. The consecration of the image is a reenactment of another event that occured at dawn: Sakyamuni Buddha's final victory over evil some 2500 years ago in India. The Buddha at this time of his victory is the subject of this image, and of almost every primary image in the monastaries of Thailand. The Buddha's right arm is lowered in the gesture that brought forth a flood that carried away the evil forces. The waters of the oceans comprimised this flood, and they were equivalent to the good deeds the Buddha had performed in his past lives. The Thai of Sukhothai developed a new curvilinear style of image in the 14th century, which is now looked upon as classic.
context_page_description: The Sukhothai Kingdom was an early kingdom in the area around the city Sukhothai, in north central Thailand. The Kingdom existed from 1238 until 1438. The old capital, now 12 km outside Sukhothai in Tambon Mueang Kao, is in ruins and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Historical Park.
context_section_description: Prior to the 13th century, Tai kingdoms had existed in the northern highlands including the Ngoenyang Kingdom of the Tai Yuan people (centred on Chiang Saen and the predecessor of the Lan Na), and the Heokam Kingdom of the Tai Lue people (centred on Chiang Hung (today Jinghong in China). Sukhothai had been a trade centre and part of Lavo (present day Lopburi), which was under the domination of the Khmer Empire. The migration of Tai people into the upper Chao Phraya valley was somewhat gradual.
  Two friends, Pho Khun Bangklanghao and Pho Khun Pha Mueang revolted against the Khmer Empire governor of Sukhothai. Khun, before becoming a Thai feudal title, was a Tai title for a ruler of a fortified town and its surrounding villages, together called a mueang; in older usage prefixed by pho (พ่อ) "father", (comparable in sound and meaning to rural English Paw). Bangklanghao ruled Sukhothai as Sri Indraditya – and began the Phra Ruang Dynasty—he expanded his primordial kingdom to the bordering cities. At the end of his reign in 1257, the Sukhothai kingdom covered the entire upper valley of the Chao Phraya River (then known simply as แม่น้ำ (mae nam, 'mother of waters'), the generic Thai name for rivers.)
  Traditional Thai historians considered the foundation of the Sukhothai Kingdom as the beginning of their nation because little was known about the kingdoms prior to Sukhothai. Modern historical studies demonstrate that Thai history began before Sukhothai. Yet the foundation of Sukhothai is still a celebrated event.
caption: Seated Buddha in "Maravijaya", second half of century (Sukhothai).[9] The Walters Art Museum
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