AYUTTHAYA HISTORICAL PARK
Text by Tricky Vandenberg - February 2011
According to the Luang Prasoet chronicle, Ayutthaya was established by King Ramathibodi I on Friday 4 March 1351 in the vicinity of an ancient
settlement dating since the Dvaravati era (6th to the 11th centuries). The city state expanded its boundaries over the centuries, absorbing the Tai
Kingdom of Sukhothai in the 15th century. A magnificent city in the 17th and 18th century with a cosmopolitan character, it became one of the most
important trading hubs of Asia. Ayutthaya was for 417 years the capital of the Siamese. The city fell on Tuesday 7 April 1767 at nightfall to the
Burmese, never to arise of its ashes.