Southeast Asia · Tai kingdoms and Majapahit
Phayao Kingdom
Kingdom (mandala kingdom of the Tai Yuan; capital Phayao) · 11th century – 1338
The Phayao Kingdom, also called Phukamyao, was a Tai Yuan (Yonok) kingdom centred on the city of Phayao in the Yonok basin of the upper Ing river, in what is now northern Thailand. Chronicle tradition holds that the earlier polity of Old Phukamyao (centred on Sakkawanrajathani) fell rulerless, and that Lao Ngoenrueang of Ngoenyang sent his younger son Khun Chomtham to found a new dynasty there — dated variously from 1037 to 1131 depending on the chronicle.
- Type
- Kingdom (mandala kingdom of the Tai Yuan; capital Phayao)
- Existed
- 11th century – 1338
- Shown on the map
- 1294–1343
- Peak area
- ~5,000 km² (dataset)
- Region
- Southeast Asia
Origins & foundation
The Phayao Kingdom, also called Phukamyao, was a Tai Yuan (Yonok) kingdom centred on the city of Phayao in the Yonok basin of the upper Ing river, in what is now northern Thailand. Chronicle tradition holds that the earlier polity of Old Phukamyao (centred on Sakkawanrajathani) fell rulerless, and that Lao Ngoenrueang of Ngoenyang sent his younger son Khun Chomtham to found a new dynasty there — dated variously from 1037 to 1131 depending on the chronicle. Chomtham restored the old capital and built a new one beside it, the "two capitals" Wiang Namtao and Wiang Phayao, and reorganised the realm into 12 or 36 panna districts.
Political history & notable rulers
Chomtham's son Chueang left Phayao to take the Ngoenyang throne, dying in battle in 1192; his brother Chong ruled Phayao for twenty years and is praised in the chronicle for governing by Buddhist royal virtues. The historically best-attested king is Ngammueang (r. from 1261), whose reign is remembered as Phayao's golden age. He conquered the Nan kingdom's capital Pua in 1263, and — after Mangrai of Ngoenyang founded Chiang Rai — chose alliance over war: the famous Three Kings alliance of Phayao, Ngoenyang/Lan Na and Sukhothai was sworn on the bank of the Ing river between Ngammueang, Mangrai and Ramkhamhaeng, an entente that scholars such as Sarassawadee Ongsakul link to the common Mongol threat. Ngammueang attended the founding of Chiang Mai in 1296, where Mangrai returned the ceded cities of Phan and Chiang Khian.
Economy, culture & religion
Phayao was a small inland rice-growing mandala in the Ing, Kok, Wang, Yom, Nan and Khop river basins, ringed by the Phi Pan Nam mountains; its administration divided between the core Mueang Phayao and the outer cities (Hua Mueang Nok). Religion mixed Tai folk cults with Theravada Buddhism; the chronicle records Ngammueang's lavish endowment of Wat Phra That Chomthong with 70 families of temple servants.
Peak & territorial extent
The kingdom covered parts of modern Chiang Rai, Phayao, Lampang, Phrae and Nan provinces plus Khop district in Laos — at most a few thousand square kilometres of core territory, though its Hua Mueang Nok periphery ran from the Kok river to the upper Yom basin.
Decline & end
Phayao survived its ally-generation by only decades. In 1338 Khamfu of Lan Na (ruler of Chiang Saen) invited Phaya Phanong of Nan to a joint attack; the two sacked Phayao's twin capitals, King Khamlue fled, and Khamfu annexed Phayao into Lan Na while Nan absorbed the eastern Yom-basin towns.
Legacy & modern connections
Phayao endures in Thai memory chiefly through the Three Kings Monument (Mangrai, Ngammueang, Ramkhamhaeng) in Chiang Mai, celebrating the alliance that founded Lan Na. The Phayao Chronicle remains a prime source for Tai Yuan ethnogenesis, and Phayao is today a province of Thailand.
Common questions
- What was the Phayao Kingdom?
- The Phayao Kingdom, also called Phukamyao, was a Tai Yuan (Yonok) kingdom centred on the city of Phayao in the Yonok basin of the upper Ing river, in what is now northern Thailand. Chronicle tradition holds that the earlier polity of Old Phukamyao (centred on Sakkawanrajathani) fell rulerless, and that Lao Ngoenrueang of Ngoenyang sent his younger son Khun Chomtham to found a new dynasty there — dated variously from 1037 to 1131 depending on the chronicle.
- When did the Phayao Kingdom exist?
- The Phayao Kingdom existed 11th century – 1338. On this map it is drawn 1294–1343.
- How large was the Phayao Kingdom at its height?
- The kingdom covered parts of modern Chiang Rai, Phayao, Lampang, Phrae and Nan provinces plus Khop district in Laos — at most a few thousand square kilometres of core territory, though its Hua Mueang Nok periphery ran from the Kok river to the upper Yom basin.
- Who ruled the Phayao Kingdom?
- Chomtham's son Chueang left Phayao to take the Ngoenyang throne, dying in battle in 1192; his brother Chong ruled Phayao for twenty years and is praised in the chronicle for governing by Buddhist royal virtues. The historically best-attested king is Ngammueang (r. from 1261), whose reign is remembered as Phayao's golden age.
- How did the Phayao Kingdom end?
- Phayao survived its ally-generation by only decades. In 1338 Khamfu of Lan Na (ruler of Chiang Saen) invited Phaya Phanong of Nan to a joint attack; the two sacked Phayao's twin capitals, King Khamlue fled, and Khamfu annexed Phayao into Lan Na while Nan absorbed the eastern Yom-basin towns.
- What did the economy and culture of the Phayao Kingdom rest on?
- Phayao was a small inland rice-growing mandala in the Ing, Kok, Wang, Yom, Nan and Khop river basins, ringed by the Phi Pan Nam mountains; its administration divided between the core Mueang Phayao and the outer cities (Hua Mueang Nok). Religion mixed Tai folk cults with Theravada Buddhism; the chronicle records Ngammueang's lavish endowment of Wat Phra That Chomthong with 70 families of temple servants.
- Why does the Phayao Kingdom still matter?
- Phayao endures in Thai memory chiefly through the Three Kings Monument (Mangrai, Ngammueang, Ramkhamhaeng) in Chiang Mai, celebrating the alliance that founded Lan Na. The Phayao Chronicle remains a prime source for Tai Yuan ethnogenesis, and Phayao is today a province of Thailand.
Sources
Every source below was consulted while writing this entry.
- Wikipedia: Phayao Kingdom en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phayao_Kingdom
This entry was written from the sources above and last updated .
This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made
Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.
Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).
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