Thailand History

Located in Southeast Asia, Royal Kingdom of Thailand is a remarkable country famous for its exquisite natural beauty, splendid wildlife, delicious cuisine and its unique culture and heritage. Although Thailand history is believed to have started around 6th century, archaeological excavations reveal that Thailand history is around 4,000 years old.

The principal religion of Thai people is Buddhism. It is believed that Indian missionaries who traveled to this region during 2nd and 3rd century BC introduced Buddhism. Hence, Thailand history dates back to this period. Several agricultural communities were existent in Southern Thailand during 6th century. But, the history of modern Thailand is from 10th century AD, which was called the Dvaravati Period. During this period, Thai people migrated from Southern China to their ancestral home and started establishing their own states. For several years Khmer, Mon and Malay Kingdoms ruled Thailand. Neighboring Khmers, Burma and Vietnam constantly challenged the sovereignty of this region.

Later, the Sukhothai Kingdom came into existence during the 13th century. This was the first truly independent Thai Kingdom. During the Sukhothai era, Thailand transformed into a culturally and economically prosperous region.  Afterwards, the Ayutthaya Kingdom became prevalent during the 14th and 15th century. Ayutthaya rulers established successful trade routes to the west and concentrated on overall development and stability of the region. Although, the Burmese occupied the kingdom during the 16th century, they were unsuccessful in maintaining the control. Burmese made another vain attempt in 1765. But, finally the Thais were successful in holding on their motherland. To prevent any further attacks, General Taksin shifted the capital from Ayutthaya to Thonburi in 1769. General Chakri, the founder of Chakri dynasty, again changed the capital to Bangkok. Rulers of the Chakri dynasty are currently in power.