* sakdina – sakti (power) + na (field, land) – every person in the kingdom had a numerical rank in a precisely defined hierarchy from for slaves up to infinity for the king.
First contacts with
Europe
The Ayutthaya period saw the first contacts, both diplomatic and commercial, with Europeans. First Portuguese (1517), then Dutch (1605), followed by English (1612), Danish (1621) and French (1662). The painting to the right shows the presentation of a letter from Louis XIV of France to King Narai of Ayutthaya in the late 17th century.