Chaophraya PhitsanulokCenter for Buddhist Studies. (2016). The Chulalongkorn Journal of Buddhist Studies. Bangkok : Chulalongkorn University, 2016. Centre de documentation et de recherches sur l'Asie du Sud-Est et le monde indonésien. (1981). Asie du Sud-Est and monde indonésien. 12, (1-4). (, ; 1719 – November 1768), personal name Rueang () or Boonrueang (), was governor of Phitsanulok with the noble title Chaophraya Surasi Bisanuvadhiraj () from 1732 to 1767. He was governor from the reign of King Borommakot, until the fall of the Ayutthaya Kingdom during the reign of King Ekkathat.
In 1768, he declared himself King Rueang of Phitsanulok, claiming for Phitsanulok and part of Nakhon Sawan to be a new independent state.Patit Paban Mishra. (2010). The History of Thailand: The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations. Santa Barbara, CA : ABC-CLIO. 182 pp.Ronald Bishop Smith. (1967). Siam; or The History of the Thais from 1569 A.D. to 1824 A.D. Vol. 2. Rockville, ML : Deactur Press.Kanai Lal Hazra. (2000). Thailand: Political History and Buddhist Cultural Influence. New Delhi : Decent Books. He was also known as Prince Rueang,Thanapol Chadchaidee. (2014). Essays on Thailand. Bangkok : Bangkok Book House. the King of Siam. His descendants were given the Thai noble surname Rochanakul (), a patronymic from Rueang's family, by King Rama VI.Royal Proclaim of Surname Issuing No. 5 : ประกาศพระราชทานนามสกุล ครั้งที่ ๕ (in Thai). Royal Thai Government Gazette Vol. 30, p. 1,246. 14 September 1913 (B.E. 2456).
Biography Ancestry Rueang was born in the Ayutthaya Kingdom. He descended from Chaophra Pichayasurindara (), the grandson of King Phetracha,Likhitpricha (Kum), Luang. Thamniep trakunsangkep krang krung kao [A concise descendants list of clan since Ayutthaya Kingdom] : ธรรมเนียบตระกูลสังเขปครั้งกรุงเก่า (in Thai). n.p.Chao Rupatewin. (1985). History of life and times of King Taksin, King of Siam, 1734-1782. Vol. 1 : ย่ำอดีต พระราชประวัติสมเด็จพระเจ้าตากสินมหาราชกับงานกู้อิสรภาพของชาติไทย เล่มที่ 1 (in Thai). Bangkok : Phi. Wathin. in Ban Phlu Luang dynasty, and later H.R.H. Prince of Krommamun Indarabhakdi ()Prayut Sitthiphan. (1962). Ton trakun khunnang Thai [Origin of Thai noble family] : ต้นตระกูลขุนนางไทย (in Thai). Bangkok : Khlang Witthaya. 544 pp. conferred by King Thai Sa era. His wife was Lady Qingchiang (),Damrong Rajanubhab. (1962). Phraratcha Phongsawadan Chabap Phraratcha Hathalekha Lem 2 [The Royal Chronicle of Letters by the King's Own Hand Volume 2]. พระราชพงศาวดาร ฉบับพระราชหัตถเลขา เล่ม 2 (in Thai). (2nd Ed.). Bangkok : Odiant Store. lady of Phitsanulok (), a half-Siamese-Chinese woman of the Chen family, and a daughter of Phraya Rajsubhawadi (), from a Chinese village in Ayutthaya. His younger brother was deputy governor of Phitsanulok, Phra Indara-akorn (),Ministry of Education Thailand. (1891). Phraratcha Phongsawadan Siam Parichet 2 [The Royal Chronicle of Siam Chapter 2] : พระราชพงศาวดารสยาม: ปริเฉท 2 (in Thai). Bangkok : Supphamit Bamrung. 174 pp. or Phraya Chaiyabun (), personal name Chan ().K.S.R. Kulap, ed., National Library of Thailand, pub. (1965). Tongwongtrakun payasrisahadep chuethongpeng [The first primogenitor of Phraya Srisahadep named Thongpeng] : ต้นวงศ์ตระกูลพะญาศรีสหเทพชื่อทองเพ็ง (in Thai). Bangkok : n.p. 454 pp. His mother died after the second fall of the Ayutthaya Kingdom.
Early career In his early life, Rueang was in charge of Siamese military affairs and also worked as a scribePrakop Choprakan. (1981). Patiwat sam samai : prawattisat kanmuang Thai, rueang khong khon Thai [3 Eras of revolution : History of Thailand's Politics, a story of Thais] : ปฏิวัติสามสมัย : ประวัติศาสตร์การเมืองไทย เรื่องของคนไทย (in Thai). Bangkok : Ruam Khao. 1,152 pp. in Krom Mahatthai of the Ayutthaya Kingdom during King Thai Sa's rule.
In his adolescence, he was mostly in military service at Phitsanulok, coordinating officially with Luang Pinit Akson (Thongdi) (). Later, he became the permanent secretary of Phitsanulok ().
In adulthood, after the previous governor of Phitsanulok died, King Borommakot appointed Rueang as governor of Phitsanulok and granted him the title Chaophraya Surasi Bisanuvadhiraj.(.Pongsripian, Winai (2004). Kotmai tra sam duang: waen song sangkhom thai [Three Seals Code: Mirror of Thai Society]. Bangkok: Thailand Research Fund. He was a regent of the northern region. During the Burmese-Siamese War (1765–1767), Rueang was appointed commander of northern military affairs. He had a reputation as a famous elder warrior, and was respected by many Ayutthaya courtiers following the successful defeat of Burmese royal troops who attacked Phisanulok city during the Burmese–Siamese War.Damrong Rajanubhab. (1920). The chronicle of our wars with the Burmese: hostilities between Siamese and Burmese when Ayutthaya was the capital of Siam. Vol. 2. Bangkok : Rong Pim Thai. 392 p.
In The Royal Sword, by the Ministry of Interior (Thailand), it was said that:
Death In 1768, after the second fall of the Ayutthaya Kingdom interregnum, Chaophraya Phitsanulok (Rueang) proclaimed himself King Ruang, to be King of Siam.B. J. Terwiel. (1983). A History of Modern Thailand, 1767–1942. Brisbane St. Lucia : University of Queensland Press. 379 pp. cited in University of Queensland Press' histories of Southeast Asia series. He occupied the throne for only six months (some sources said he died only seven days after the ceremony) and died in November 1768King Taksin The Great, Luang Wichitwathakan (Wichit), and Ki U-Pho. (1931, 23 November). A verse drama of the Ramayana: composed by the King Taksin of Thonburi : บทละครเรื่องรามเกียรติ์ พระราชนิพนธ์สมเด็จพระเจ้ากรุงธนบุรี (in Thai). Bangkok : Phra Chan. Cited in the Chronicle of Buddhist Councils (The Sangitiyavansa). of a coughing fit.Chris Baker and Pasuk Phongpaichit. (2017). A History of Ayutthaya : Siam in the Early Modern World. Cambridge, England : Cambridge University Press. 325 pp. Various sources said he died of abscess, scrofula, or smallpox symptoms when he was forty-nine years old.,Somdet Phra Phonnarat of Wat Phra Chettuphon. (1915). The Royal Chronicle of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya in the Language of Magadha, and Its Translation : พงษาวดารกรุงศรีอยุทธยา ภาษามคธ แลคำแปล (in Thai). Translated by Phraya Photchanasunthon (Rueang Atipremanon). Bangkok : Thai Printing House at Yotse Bridge. while others said he was fifty-two years old at the time of death. His younger-brother, Phraya Chaiyabun (Chan), ruled Phitsanulok city afterward.
Burmese Invasion and the second fall of Ayutthaya Kingdom
Resistance Background Lan Na (Thailand's history, preferably called Chiang Mai) was in apparent rebellion against the Burmese royal court during 1761–1763, when it was state-independent and under the reign of Phraya Chantha ()The Fine Arts Department of Thailand. (1991). Silkakorn Journal Vol. 34 [The Fine Arts Department of Thailand's bi-monthly Journal Vol. 34] : วารสารศิลปากร (in Thai), 34.Santi Phakdikham, ed. (2015). Phraratcha Phongsawadan Chabap Somdet Phra Phonnarat of Wat Phra Chettuphon. Truatsobchamrajagtuakhieant [The Royal Chronicle of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya : Version by Somdet Phra Phonnarat of Wat Phra Chettuphon. checked against original manuscripts.] : พระราชพงศาวดาร ฉบับสมเด็จพระพนรัตน์ วัดพระเชตุพน ตรวจสอบชำระจากเอกสารตัวเขียน (in Thai). Bangkok : Amarin Printing & Publishing. 558 pp. and the support of the military of the Ayutthaya Kingdom. According to the allegation of the Burmese King's lèse-majesté,Narathip Praphanphong. (1962). Phraracha Pongsawadan Phama Lem 2 [The Royal Chronicles of Myanmar Vol. 2], composed in 1913 A.D. by Prince Narathip Praphanphong : พระราชพงศาวดารพม่า เล่ม 2 (in Thai). Bangkok : Suksapan Panit. King Naungdawgyi, the King of Burma deployed troops of 50,000 men and appointed General Ne Myo Thihapate as commander-in-chief to criminalize Chiang Mai.
Chiang Mai defeated by Burmese troops In January 1762, Phraya Chantha of Chiang Mai wrote a royal letter with a tribute presented to King Ekkathat, the King of Siam, informing him of an invasion from Burma and requesting that Chiang Mai become a tributary state of Siam and for Siamese troops to fight against the Burmese troops.
King Ekkathat deployed Siamese troops of 5,000 men and appointed Chaophraya Phitsanulok (Rueang) as commander-in-chief. Once Phitsanulok's army arrived at Ban Rahaeng () located in Tak city, approximately 280 km south of Chiang Mai,. However, Chiang Mai was already defeated by Burmese troops within 4–5 months, and Abyagamani ( () was appointed to rule Chiang Mai, the state colony of Burma. King Ekkathat acknowledged that and then stated a royal order to discharge Phitsanulok troops.
The Royal Chronicle of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya said :
On November 28, 1762, King Alaungpaya died. To uphold Alaungpaya's wish, King Hsinbyushin assembled Burmese troops of 20,000 men to reinforce his troops in Chiang Mai. General Ne Myo Thihapate was appointed to control the troops and a number of courtiers were also appointed in readiness for marching to Ayutthaya Kingdom.
The Royal Chronicle of Myanmar composed in 1913 A.D. by Prince Narathip Praphanphong said :
A siege of Burmese troops in northern cities of Siam
The two large arrays of the Burmese expeditionary army marched to Ayutthaya Kingdom in 1765; the northern array of Burmese troops, as the main front, numbered over 20,000 men (in the history of Thailand, up to 10,000 men) during their stay in Lampang city nearby Ayutthaya Kingdom. While the south array of the combined troops, approximately 20,000 men, was commanded by Maha Nawrahta . King Ekkathat then appointed Chaophraya Phitsanulok (Rueang), Governor of Phitsanulok, as commander-in-chief of the northern front to eliminate the Burmese troops from northern cities to the Ayutthaya Kingdom's center. Consequently, the Governor of Phitsanulok marched to Ayutthaya, where he encamped at Wat Phu Khao Thong (), located approximately 3 km northwest of the Ayutthaya Grand Palace, where the Mon pagoda in the temple was built by King Bayinnaung in 1569 as the monument of Burmese victory in the Burmese–Siamese War (1568–1569), also known as the first fall of Ayutthaya Kingdom.