The typical Southeast Asian 'kingdom‘ was a coalescence of
localized power centres, ideally bound together not by
force but through a complex interweaving of links
engendered by blood connections and obligation.
• Leadership, conceived in personal and ritual terms,
required constant reaffirmation. On the death of each ruler,
therefore, his successor's authority had to be reconstituted
with a renewal of marriage bonds and a vow of loyalty.
• While the women surrounding a leader were an important
political statement, they could also provide an abundance
of potential heirs, whose claims they could work to
support. As states became larger, the liminal period
between the death of one king and the installation of the
next could often prove to be a time of crisis.
A prime example is the kingdom of Ayutthaya, which at the
end of the fifteenth century dominated the central Menam
basin. The territory under Ayutthaya's control, however,
was divided into a number of graduated muang or
settlements, each under its own governor. The latter might
acknowledge the overlordship of Ayutthaya and drink the
sanctified water of allegiance to show their loyalty, but as
royal relatives and muang lords their status could be almost
equivalent to that of the ruler.
• Independence naturally increased with distance from the
centre, and although a law of 1468-9 claims that twenty
kings paid Ayutthaya homage, its hold sat lightly on distant
Malay Muslim tributaries such as Pahang, Kelantan,
Terengganu, and Pattani. These areas essentially acted as
autonomous states and as long as appropriate gifts were
sent regularly to Ayutthaya there was little interference in
their affairs.
The typical Southeast Asian 'kingdom‘ was a coalescence oflocalized power centres, ideally bound together not byforce but through a complex interweaving of linksengendered by blood connections and obligation.• Leadership, conceived in personal and ritual terms,required constant reaffirmation. On the death of each ruler,therefore, his successor's authority had to be reconstitutedwith a renewal of marriage bonds and a vow of loyalty.• While the women surrounding a leader were an importantpolitical statement, they could also provide an abundanceof potential heirs, whose claims they could work tosupport. As states became larger, the liminal periodbetween the death of one king and the installation of thenext could often prove to be a time of crisis.A prime example is the kingdom of Ayutthaya, which at theend of the fifteenth century dominated the central Menambasin. The territory under Ayutthaya's control, however,was divided into a number of graduated muang orsettlements, each under its own governor. The latter mightacknowledge the overlordship of Ayutthaya and drink thesanctified water of allegiance to show their loyalty, but asroyal relatives and muang lords their status could be almostequivalent to that of the ruler.• Independence naturally increased with distance from thecentre, and although a law of 1468-9 claims that twentykings paid Ayutthaya homage, its hold sat lightly on distantMalay Muslim tributaries such as Pahang, Kelantan,Terengganu, and Pattani. These areas essentially acted asautonomous states and as long as appropriate gifts weresent regularly to Ayutthaya there was little interference intheir affairs.
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