The idea of this early Kingship was based on two grand concepts based from Hinduism (which the Thais inherited from its previous rulers the Khmers) and Theravada Buddhist beliefs. The first concept is based on the Vedic-Hindu caste of: “Kshatriya”, or warrior-ruler, in which the King derives his powers from military might. The second is based on the Theravada Buddhist concept of “Dhammaraja”, Buddhism having been introduced to Thailand somewhere around the sixth century AD. The idea of the Dhammaraja (or Kingship under Dharma), is that the King should rule his people in accordance with Dharma and the teachings of the Buddha. These ideas were briefly replaced in 1279, when King Ramkhamhaeng came to the throne. Ramkhamhaeng departed from the Khmer tradition and created instead a concept of “paternal rule”, in which the King governs his people as a father would govern his children. This idea is reinforced in the title of the King, as he is still known today, Pho Khun Ramkhamhaeng (“Pho” is Thai for Father). However this lasted only briefly, by the end of the Kingdom the two old concepts had returned as symbolized by the change in the style of the Kings; “Pho” was changed to “Phya” or Lord.