Rama I in the context of "Chakri dynasty"

Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya (Thai: พระนครศรีอยุธยา, pronounced [pʰráʔ ná(ʔ).kʰɔ̄ːn sǐː ʔā.jút.tʰā.jāː]), or locally and simply Ayutthaya, is the capital of the Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province of Thailand. Ayutthaya was once the capital of the Ayutthaya Kingdom. Located on an island at the confluence of the Chao Phraya and Pa Sak rivers, Ayutthaya is the birthplace of the founder of Bangkok, King Rama I. The ruins of the old city are preserved in the Ayutthaya Historical Park.

The Ramakien (Thai: รามเกียรติ์, RTGS: Rammakian, pronounced [rāːm.mā.kīa̯n]; lit. 'Glory of Rama'; sometimes also spelled Ramakian) is one of Thailand's national epics. It is a Thai version of the ancient Indian epic Ramayana, and an important part of the Thai literary canon.

King Rama VI was the first person to shed light first on the Ramayana studies in Thailand, by tracing the sources of the Ramakien, comparing it with the Sanskrit Valmiki Ramayana. He found that the Ramakien was influenced by three sources: the Valmiki's Ramayana, the Vishnu Purana, and Hanuman Nataka . A number of versions of the epic were lost in the destruction of Ayutthaya in 1767. Three versions currently exist, one of which was prepared in 1797 under the supervision of (and partly written by) King Rama I. His son, Rama II, rewrote some parts of his father's version for khon drama. The work has had an important influence on Thai literature, art and drama (both the khon and nang dramas being derived from it).

Thai Chinese (also known as Chinese Thais, Sino-Thais) are people of Chinese descent in Thailand. Thai Chinese are the largest mixed group in the country and the largest overseas Chinese community in the world with a population of approximately 9.5 million people, accounting for 11–14 percent of the country's total population as of 2012. It is also one of the oldest and most prominently integrated overseas Chinese communities, with a history dating back to the 1100s. Slightly more than half of the ethnic Chinese population in Thailand trace their ancestry to Chaoshan, proven by the prevalence of the Teochew dialect among the Chinese community in Thailand as well as other Chinese languages. The term as commonly understood signifies those whose ancestors immigrated to Thailand before 1949.

The Thai Chinese have been deeply ingrained into all elements of Thai society over the past 200 years. The present Thai royal family, the Chakri dynasty, was founded by King Rama I who himself was partly Chinese. His predecessor, King Taksin of the Thonburi Kingdom, was the son of a Chinese father from Chaoshan. With the successful integration of historic Chinese immigrant communities in Thailand, a significant number of Thai Chinese are the descendants of intermarriages between ethnic Chinese and native Thais. Many of these descendants have assimilated into Thai society and self-identify solely as Thai.

The Rattanakosin Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Siam after 1855, refers to the Siamese kingdom (in modern-day Thailand) between 1782 and 1932. It was founded in 1782 with the establishment of Rattanakosin (Bangkok), which replaced the city of Thonburi as the capital of Siam. This article covers the period until the Siamese revolution of 1932.

The kingdom governed based on the mandala system. This allows for high-autonomy locally with the kingdom influencing and effectively ruling its area of suzerainty. At its zenith in 1805 to 1812, the Kingdom was composed of 25 polities, ranging from duchies and principalities to federations and kingdoms. With the furthest extent reaching the Shan States, southern Yunnan, Laos, Cambodia, northern Si Rat Malai and Kawthoung. The kingdom was founded by Rama I of the Chakri dynasty. The first half of this period was characterized by the consolidation of Siamese power in the center of Mainland Southeast Asia and was punctuated by contests and wars for regional supremacy with rival powers Burma and Vietnam. The second period was one of engagements with the colonial powers of Britain and France in which Siam remained the only Southeast Asian state to maintain its independence.

Thonburi (Thai: ธนบุรี) is an area of modern Bangkok. During the era of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, its location on the right (west) bank at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River had made it an important garrison town, which is reflected in its name: thon (ธน) a loanword from Pali dhána 'wealth', and buri (บุรี), from púra, 'fortress'. The full formal name was Thon Buri Si Mahasamut (กรุงธนบุรีศรีมหาสมุทร 'City of Treasures Gracing the Ocean'). For the informal name, see the history of Bangkok under Ayutthaya.

In 1767, after the sack of Ayutthaya by the Burmese armies, General Taksin took back Thonburi and, by right of conquest, made it the capital of the Thonburi Kingdom, crowning himself king until 6 April 1782, when he was deposed. Rama I, the newly enthroned king, moved the capital across the river, where stakes driven into the soil of Bangkok for the City Pillar at 06:45 on 21 April 1782 marked the official founding of the new capital. Thonburi remained an independent town and province, until it was merged with Bangkok in 1971. Thonburi stayed less developed than the other side of the river. Many of the traditional small waterways, khlongs, still exist there, while they are nearly gone from the other side of the river.

The Burmese–Siamese War (1775–1776) or Maha Thiha Thura's Invasion of Siam or Athi Wungyi's War (Thai: สงครามอะแซหวุ่นกี้) was a major military conflict between the Konbaung dynasty of Burma (now Myanmar) and the Thonburi Kingdom of Siam (now Thailand).

After the Mon Rebellion of 1774 and the successful Siamese capture of Burmese-held Chiang Mai in 1775, King Hsinbyushin assigned Maha Thiha Thura the general of Sino-Burmese War to conduct a large-scale invasion of Northern Siam in late 1775 in order to curb the rising Siamese power under King Taksin of Thonburi. As the Burmese forces outnumbered the Siamese, the three-month siege of Phitsanulok was the main battle of the war. Defenders of Phitsanulok, led by Chaophraya Chakri and Chaophraya Surasi, resisted the Burmese. The war reached stalemate until Maha Thiha Thura decided to disrupt the Siamese supply line, leading to the Fall of Phitsanulok in March 1776. The Burmese gained upper hand but the untimely demise of King Hsinbyushin ruined the Burmese operations as the new Burmese king ordered the withdrawal of all troops back to Ava. The premature exit of Maha Thiha Thura from war in 1776 left the remaining Burmese troops in Siam to retreat in disarray. King Taksin then took this opportunity to send his generals to harass the retreating Burmese. The Burmese forces had completely left Siam by September 1776 and the war was over.

Wat Phra Kaew (Thai: วัดพระแก้ว, RTGS: Wat Phra Kaeo, pronounced [wát pʰráʔ kɛ̂ːw] ), commonly known in English as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and officially as Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram, is regarded as the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand. The complex consists of a number of buildings within the precincts of the Grand Palace in the historical centre of Bangkok. It houses the statue of the Emerald Buddha, which is venerated as the country's palladium.

Construction of the temple began in 1783 under the orders of Rama I, the first king of the Chakri dynasty. Since then, each successive king has been personally involved in adding, restoring and embellishing the temple during their reigns as a way of making religious merit and glorifying the dynasty. Many important state and royal ceremonies are held within the temple each year, presided by the king in person and attended by government officials. This makes the temple the nation's preeminent place of worship and a national shrine for the monarchy and the state. Throughout the years, each king has donated sacred and valuable objects to the temple, making it a treasury as well.