during the first half of the 13th century the Thai rulers of Sukhothai broke free the Khmer yoke and set up and independent Thai kingdom.
One of the victorious Thai chieftains became the first king of Sukhothai, with the name of Sri inthrathit.
Sukhothai's power and influence expanded in all directions by conquest, by a farsighted network of marriage alliances with the ruling families of other Thai states, and by the use of a common religion, Theravada Buddhism, to cement relations with other states.