Ramathibodi II

Somdet Phra Chettathiraj (Thai: สมเด็จพระเชษฐาธิราช) or (upon accession to the Ayutthayan throne) Somdet Phra Ramathibodi II (Thai: สมเด็จพระรามาธิบดีที่ 2) (1473–1529) was the King of Sukhothai from 1485 and King of Ayutthaya from 1491 to 1529. His reign was marked by the first Western Contact with the Portuguese.

King of Sukhothai

Prince Chettathiraj was the youngest of Trailokanat's three sons. His eldest brother, Prince Borommaracha, was appointed the regent of Ayutthaya during his father's campaigns against Lanna kingdom. His another brother, Prince Indraracha, died during the wars with Lanna. In 1485, Prince Chettathiraj was appointed the Uparaja, or Crown Prince, and was crowned as the King of Sukhothai (The title King of Sukhothai was the title of Ayutthayan Crown Prince.)

In 1488, Trailokanat died. Though Chettathiraj was the Crown Prince, the Ayutthayan throne was inherited by his brother Prince Borommaracha, as Borommaracha III. In 1491, Borommaracha III died, leaving the throne to Chettathiraj, thus reuniting the two kingdoms.

King of Ayutthaya

Chettathiraj took the reigning name in Ayutthaya as Ramathibodi II.

Invasion of Malacca

In 1500, Ramathibodi II sent the Siamese armies to subjugate the Sultanate of Malacca. Though unable to conquer Malacca, Siam managed to exact tributes from the Malacca sultanate and other sultanates like Pattani, Pahang, and Kelantan.

In 1511, however, Malacca fell to the Portuguese under Afonso de Albuquerque. Albuqueque's men arrived Siam in 1511 and the first European contact was established. The Portuguese became the first European to settle in Siam and introduced the arquebus technology.

War with Lanna

In 1513, King Kaew of Lanna invaded Sukhothai. Ramathibodi II led the Siamese armies to crush the invading armies and proceeded further to Lanna heartlands. In 1515, he sacked Lampang (a Southeast Asian practice to sack but not to occupy). He then appointed his son, Prince Atitayawongse as King of Sukhothai.

Establishment of Corvée system

Main article: Corvée

In Southeast Asia, manpower was the source of other powers. In 1518, Ramathibodi II established the Siamese Corvée system, the very system that lasted until its abolition by Chulalongkorn in 1905. The Siamese commoners - called phrai (Thai: ไพร่) - were subjected to lifelong labour service to the government. All Siamese men aged 18 would be registered to be conscripted - to be sent to war {Phrai Thaan) or public construction (Phrai luang. It was similar to modern form of conscription. However, the Siamese Corvée system existed in various forms. Krom Phra Suratsawadi, a department of the royal bureaucracy, oversaw conscription.

Death

Ramathibodi II died in 1529, during which a great comet appeared as recorded in the Siamese Chronicles:

“

...In the 891th [sic?] Year of the Era, being the Year of the Ox, an aerial sign, like an arrow of the God Indra, was seen in the air from the southwest to the northwest, having the colour of white. On Sunday, the 8th day of the waxing moon in the 12th month, Somdet Phra Ramathibodi Chao passed on.

”

His son, Prince Atitayawongse, succeeded to the throne as Borommaracha IV.

Preceded by Borommaracha III	Kings of Ayutthaya 1491-1529	Succeeded by Borommaracha IV
Preceded by Trailokanat	Uparaja King of Sukhothai 1485-1515	Succeeded by Prince Atitayawongse (Borommaracha IV)

Persondata
Name	Ramathibodi 02
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Date of birth	1473
Place of birth
Date of death	1529
Place of death