Never to Rise again from the Ruins – Ayutthaya

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Glenn R. Wallis

Ruins of Ayutthaya80 kilometres north of Bangkok lay the ruins of Ayutthaya, or Ayuthaya, or even Ayodhaya. No matter how you spell it, it’s pronounced ah-you-tah-ya. The city became Thailand’s capitol in the mid-14th century and remained the capitol of powerful kings until the late 1700’s. About the time that Americans were tossing tea into the Boston harbour, the Burmese ruthlessly attacked and sacked Ayutthaya.

Krung Thep Dvaravati Si Ayutthaya Ruins in brick, stone and stuccoA ruined and plundered landscapeAyutthaya was a centre of administrative supremacy for the lower Chao Phraya Basin from 1350 onwards. Originally there were 2 Kingdoms, Lavo and Ayutthaya. King U-Thong who later became King Ramathibodi I, commanded the construction of a new city in 1347, founded it in April 1350, and then named it Krung Thep Dvaravati Si Ayutthaya after Ayodhaya, the home of Rama in the Ramayana epic, which means ‘unassailable’ in Sanskrit. Little did he know the irony that this name would come to hold.

The defaced statues of the temples

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2 Responses to Never to Rise again from the Ruins – Ayutthaya

  1. Visamui says:
    August 17, 2011 at 04:48

    What we see of this city today is only ruins when my family went there. What exactly was the reason it is still not the capital today?

    • Coconut Samui Villas says:
      August 17, 2011 at 09:50

      Amazed by the culture and history of Thailand From 1548-1578 the city fell under siege from the Burmese and in 1767 both the City and Empire collapsed. What we see today at the World Heritage Park at Ayutthaya are the ruins in brick, stone and stucco of that event. Ayutthaya did not rise again, and eventually the capital of Siam moved to Bangkok leaving a ruined and plundered landscape. As a result, all that really remains of the greatness of historical Ayutthaya are the Chedi, Prang and defaced statues of the temples; all of the timber buildings, the palaces and the houses from the period are gone. The city of Ayutthaya, once synonymous with Siam the Kingdom in the 18th Century, was never again to have a king sit upon her throne. After the 2nd World War, on May 11 1949, Siam was renamed Prathet Thai, or Thailand as it is known to the world today.

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