Everything about Nakhon Si Thammarat totally explained
Nakhon Si Thammarat (alternative English transliteration:
Nakhon Sri Thammarat from Pali
Nagara Sri Dhammaraja) is a town in
southern Thailand, capital of the
Nakhon Si Thammarat Province and the
Nakhon Si Thammarat district. It is about 610 km (380 miles) south of
Bangkok, on the east coast of the
Malay Peninsula. The city was the administrative center of southern Thailand during most of its history. Originally a coastal city, silting moved the coastline away from the city. The city has a much larger north to south extension then west to east, which dates back to its original location on a flood-save dune. The modern city centre around the train station is located north of Old Town.
It is one of the most ancient cities of Thailand, previously Kingdom of Ligor, and contains many buildings and ruins of historical significance. With the fall of the Siamese capital of
Ayutthaya in
1767 it regained independence, but returned to its allegiance on the founding of
Bangkok. In the 17th century British, Portuguese and Dutch merchants set up factories here and carried on an extensive trade.
The current name comes from the
Sanskrit, Sri
Dharma Raja.
As of 2005, the city has a population of 105,417.
History
The city of Nakhon Si Thammarat is one of the oldest towns of southern Thailand. Its origins are not fully known. Most historians recognize the
Tambralinga kingdom of Chinese records as a precursor of Nakhon Si Thammarat. The town chronicles of this time are hardly separable from legend, but they do tell of an abandonment and refounding of the town, which would explain the break in history between Tambralinga and Nakhon Si Thammarat.
References to a country named
Poling appear in
Chinese chronicles from the
Tang dynasty period down to the early
Ming dynasty. Many scholars identify Poling with
Maling and
Danmaling was one of the member-states of Sanfoqi (mean
Srivijaya in
Chinese language) in the central part of the Malayu Peninsula or
now a day the southern Thailand. Consequently, Poling may also be equated to the Tambralingarat (Tambralinga state) that appear in Indian sources. By the end of the 12
th century,
Tambralinga had become independent of
Srivijaya kingdom. Its rapid rise to prominence since the 13
th century till the beginning of 14
th century,
Tambralinga had occupied the entire
Malay Peninsula and become one of the dominant
Southeast Asian states. By the end of the 14
th century, Tambralinga had become a part of
Siam (now
Thailand) named Nakhon Si Thammaraj.
At the time of the
Sukhothai kingdom, the
Nakhon Si Thammarat kingdom was already listed as one of the kingdoms under control of the Thai, which it has remained during most of its history. It was usually known as
Ligor to European merchants in the 16th century. At the end of the 19th century, the kingdom was finally fully absorbed into Siam by converting it into the
Monthon Nakhon Si Thammarat. With the abolishment of the monthon system in
1932, the town now is simply a provincial capital.
Wat Phra Mahathat Woromaha Vihan
Wat Phra Mahathat (Thai วัดพระมหาธาตุวรมหาวิหาร) is the most important temple of Nakhon Si Thammarat and southern Thailand. It was constructed at the time of the founding of the town, and contains a tooth relic of Buddha. The 78 m high
chedi is surrounded by 173 smaller ones. While the chedi is now in Sri Lankan style, it's said to be built on top of an earlier Srivijaya style chedi.
At the base of the chedi is a gallery named
Viharn Tap Kaset, decorated with many Buddha statues and elephant heads emerging from the chedi.
Viharn Phra Song Ma is the buildings which contains the staircase which leads to a walkway around the chedi above the gallery. At the bottom of the staircase are demon giants (
yak) as guardians. Adjoining to the north is the
Viharn Kien, which contains a small temple museum.
South of the chedi is the large
ubosot building, the
Viharn Luang. The monk living quarters are located across the street in a separate temple, Wat Na Phra Boromathat.
The chedi is the symbol of the Nakhon Si Thammarat province, present in the seal of the province. It is also displayed on the
25 satang coin.
City wall
The city chronicle already mentions a fortification when the town was refounded in
1278. Restorations were recorded at the time of King
Ramesuan (14th century), as well as King
Narai (
1686). The latter one was supported by the French engineer M. de la Mare.
The walls spread 456 m from East to West, and 2238 m North to South, thus enclosing an area of about one square kilometre. The northern wall had only one gate, called
Prathu Chai Nua or
Prathu Chai Sak, also the southern wall had only one gate. To the east there were three gates, which connected the town with the sea. To the west were five gates. Today only the northern gate still exists, together with a short stretch of the northern city wall.
Educational institutions
Nakhon Si Thammarat is has three large secondary schools, Kanlayanee Si Thammarat School, Benjamarachutit School and
Srithammarat Suksa School.
Museums
Further Information
Get more info on 'Nakhon Si Thammarat'.
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