Vientiane

**Vientiane** (, Lao  *Wiang-jun*; Thai  *Wiang-chan*, ; literally "Ceety o Sandalwood") is the caipital an lairgest ceety o Laos, situatit in the Mekong River. Vientiane became the caipital in 1563 due tae fears o a Burmese invasion. Durin French rule, Vientiane wis the admeenistrative caipital an due tae economic growthe in recent times, it haes acome the economic centre o Laos.

The estimatit population o the ceety is 726,000 (2007) while the nummer o fowk livin in the Vientiane metropolitan aurie (the entire Vientiane Prefecture an pairts o Vientiane Province) is believed tae be ower 730,000. The ceety hostit for the first time the 25t Sootheast Asian Gemmes in December 2009 celebratin the 50 years o SEA Gemmes.

*Sri Sattanak*, or *Sisattanak* (; Pali: श्रि शत्तनक् शिसत्तनक्), is a umwhile name o Vientiane.  It is aften confused wi Sri Sattanakanahut, the Pali name o Lan Xang, the Kinrick o the Million Elephants. Sisattanak nou is the name o ane o the five destricts o the ceety Vientiane.

## Oreegin of the name
The name o the ceety is derived frae Pali, the liturgical leid o Theravada Buddhism. Its oreeginal meanin is "ryal sandalwood grove" or "ceety o sandalwood", this tree bein heichlie valued in classical Indie for its fragrance. In modren Lao, the meanin o Vientiane is ambiguous, an is aften mistakenly believed tae mean "ceety o the moon", acause the wirds for 'moon (candra (चन्द) in Sanskrit)' an 'sandalwood (candana (चन्दन) in Sanskrit)' are written an pronoonced identically as 'jan'. Housomeivver, the name in Thai, เวียงจันทน์, retains the etymologically correct spellin, an clearly indicates "ceety o sandalwood" as the meanin. The romanized spellin "Vientiane" is o French oreegin, an reflects the difficulty the French haed in pronooncin the haurd "j" soond in the Lao wird; a common Inglis-based spellin is "Viangchan", or occasionally "Wiangchan".

## History

The great Laotian epic, the Phra Lak Phra Lam, claims that Prince Thattaradtha foondit the ceety when he left the legendary Lao kinrick o *Muong Inthapatha Maha Nakhone* acause he wis denied the throne in favor o his yunger brither. Thattaradtha foondit a ceety cawed *Maha Thani Si Phan Phao* on the wastren banks o the Mekong River; this ceety wis tauld tae hae later acome the day's Udon Thani, Thailand. Ane day, a seiven-heidit Naga tauld Thattaradtha tae stairt a new ceety on the eastren bank o the river opposite *Maha Thani Si Phan Phao*. The prince cawed this ceety *Chanthabuly Si Sattanakhanahud*; which wis tauld tae be the predecessor o modren Vientiane.

Contrary tae the Phra Lak Phra Ram, maist historians believe Vientiane wis an early Khmer dounset centred aroond a Hindu temple, which the Pha That Luang wad later replace.
In the 11t an 12t centuries, the time when the Lao an Thai fowk are believed tae hae entered Sootheast Asie frae Soothren Cheenae, the few remainin Khmers in the aurie wur aither killed, removed, or assimilatit intae the Lao civilization, which wad suin owertake the aurie.

In 1354, when Fa Ngum foondit the kinrick o Lan Xang, Vientiane became an important administrative ceety, even tho it wis no made the caipital.
Keeng Setthathirath offeecially establisht it as the caipital o Lan Xang in 1563, tae avoid Burmese invasion. When Lan Xang fell apiart in 1707, it became an independent Kinrick o Vientiane.  In 1779, it wis conquered bi the Siamese general Phraya Chakri an made a vassal o Siam.

When Keeng Anouvong raised an unsuccessful rebellion, it wis obliteratit bi Siamese airmies in 1827. The ceety wis burned tae the grund an wis spulyied o nearly aw Laotian airtifacts includin Buddha statues an fowk. Vientiane wis in great disrepair when the French arrived, arrived tae ae fynd a depopulatit region wi even the great ceety o Vientiane disappearin intae the forest.It eventually passed tae French rule in 1893.  It became the caipital o the French protectorate o Laos in 1899. The French rebuilt the ceety an rebuilt or repaired Buddhist temples sic as Pha That Luang, Haw Phra Kaew, an left mony colonial biggins ahint.

Durin Warld War II, Vientiane fell wi little resistance an wis occupied bi Japanese forces, unner the command o Sako Masanori, on 9 Mairch 1945. French paratroopers arrived an "liberatit" the ceety on 24 Aprile 1945.

As the Laotian Ceevil War brak oot atween the Ryal Lao Government an the Pathet Lao, Vientiane became unstabled. In August 1960, Kong Le seized the caipital an insistit that Souvanna Phouma, acome Prime Meenister. In mid-December, General Phoumi then seized the caipital an owerthrew the Phouma Government an instawed Boun Oum as Prime Meenister. In mid-1975, Pathet Lao troops haed muive towards the ceety an American personnel began evacuatin the caipital. On August 23, 1975, a contingent o 50 Pathet Lao weemen, seembolically  "liberatit" the ceety.

## Administration
Vientiane is locatit in an is the caipital o the Vientiane Prefecture (*kampheng nakhon Vientiane*). Thare is an aa the Vientiane Province — the prefecture wis split aff frae the province in 1989.

## Sister Ceeties
*  Bangkok, Thailand
*  Chittagong, Bangladesh
*  Phnom Penh, Cambodie

## References