Founding the Cities
Phaya Mangrai, the 25th ruler of the Lao Dynasty was the son of phaya Lao Mang of Ngoen Yang and Nang Thep Kham Khayai, who was the daughter of the Tai Leu ruler of Chiang Rung. A charismatic leader, he ascended to the throne of Ngoen Yang in 1259 determined to reunite the divided cities and prevent further suffering from the constant fighting along the border. Phaya Mangrai decided to subdue the smaller city states by calling all the leaders to come and pay homage to Ngoen Yang Chiang Saen.
Phaya Mangrai subjugated any city that refused. Once he had successfully brought all the cities in the Kok River bas8in under his power, he declared it a dominion which he called Khwaen Yon or Yonok. From there he extended his power to the west and to the south. He decided to move the capital from Ngoen Yang Chiang saen and established it in the city of Chiang Rai in 1262. Six years later he captured chiang khong. In 1272 he moved his capital to Fang to seek a place nore suited to the expansion of his kingdom.
Phaya Mangrai ’s next move was to come when he learned that the Mon had extended their power throughout the Ping River basin. The Mon cities of Nakhon Haripunchai and Nakhon Khe Lang under Phaya Yi Ba and his younger brother Phaya Boekl, served as the centres of administration. A merchant who had come to trade in Muang Fang also informed Phaya Mangrai that Haripunchai was a prosperous trading city that served as a major centre by river and by land.
The Legend of Chiang Mai states;
…In that time, many merchants journeyed from Haripunchai to Muang Fang for purpose of trading. Phaya Mangrai sought knowledge of this city and asked, “Is the city of Haripunchai rich?” The traders said, “Indeed the city of Haripunchai is rich with many merchandises. Men of trade come by land and water form far places like Muang Yothiya, and the people are prosperous and good.” The king asked of the merchants, “Is the ruler of the city also rich with elephants, horses, strong citizenry and city treasures?” The traders answered and said, “The ruler of the city is indeed rich with all manner of things and that the treasures of the city bring happiness and joy to all…”
Inspired by the prospects of greater power, Phaya Mnagrai desired to include these cities in his own domain. However, the Mon had long been in the region and were well with manpower and weapons. By comparison, Phaya Mangrai had only just started to establish his kingdom and did not have the military might re1quired. How could he be victorious?
Phaya Mangrai realised that the use of force would result in his own defeat unless he could under mine the strength of the city. Thus he decided to send the merchant Ai Fa to cause unrest and sow the seeds of destruction in the relationship between Phaya Yi Ba and his subjects.
Phaya Mangrai ‘s plan called for the pretence of punishment by whipping Ai Fa and confiscating his wife and children, and all his possessions. Then by expelling him from the city, Ai Fa Would go to seek refuge with Phaya Yi Ba of Haripunchai. There he would seek to win the confidence of the king and his subjects. Phaya Yi Ba would then give him the power to make decisions and collect taxes for the royal treasury.
Ai Fa succeeded well in his mission, creating discontent among the people by collecting taxes at an unusually high rate. He conscripted the people to dig irrigation canals and build dams within short periods of time during the dry season when the earth was dry and hard. These canals were later to become known as muang khaeng (hard canals), and traces of them can be seen to this doy. Ai Fa further conscripted labourers to fell trees in the forest and drag the logs across fields where the rice was maturing in order to build a palace for Phaya Yi Ba. He blamed Phaya Yi Ba for his orders, and so the people became enraged and wanted to take revenge against Phaya Yi Ba. When discontent filled the city, Ai Fa saw the opportunity to extol Phaya Mangrai and make the people want Phaya Mangrai to come and rule. Ai Fa quickly sent a message to Phaya Mangrai who mobilised his forces and, in 1283, easily conquered Haripunchai. Ai Fa had taken seven years to bring down the city of
Haripunchai, which had survived previously for 618 years.
The Birth of Wiang Kum Kam
After seizing control of Hiripunchaim, Phaya Mangrai resided there for three years before handing it over to Ai Fa to control. Haripunchai was too small a city with little oppoortunity for territorial expansion, and therefore it was not suited to serve as his new administrative capital. As an ancient, prosperous city with many the temples of great renown, it would serve better as a religious centre. After presenting the city to Ai Fa, Phaya Mangrai first established his new capital, Muang Cha Wae, to the northeast of the old city. Regular flooding in the rainy season, however, forced him to move the capital to a new site which became known as Wiang Kum Kam.
Wiang Kum Kam was founded in a shallow, fertile basin where the Ping River flowed. An old community already existed on the site when Phaya Mangrai chose it for his capital. He ordered moats dug on all four sides and let the waters of the Raming, as the Ping was then known, flow in. In choosing this location Phaya Mangrai was influenced by the location of Haripunchai, which was sited next to ariver for convenience of transportation and trade. Traditionally, the Lao Dynasty preferred to establish their cities in the low foothills at the base of mountains.
The culture of Haripunchai influenced not just the choice of sites for the caapital but many other aspects of the Kingdom of Lanna. For example, the Lanna religious script known colloquially as tua muang, was adapted from the Mon Haripunchai script. The religious architecture was also copied in the construction of Wat Ku Kham (Wat Chedi Liam), which was based on the style of Wat Ku Kut in Haripunchai.
Wat Ku Kham was equal in importance to Wat Kan Thom(named after Nai Kan Thom, the craftsman who built the temple) in the city of Wiang Kum Kam. The chedi of Wat Lan Thom, however, was not built in the style of Haripunchai and reflects the beginnings of a blending of cultures between the different peoples under Phaya Mangrai. The local ethnic Mon Haripunchai and the Tai Lawa were joined by the Mon Hongsawadi(Pegu) who had come with Nang Usapaikho, the wife of Phaya Mangrai. These Mon had followed her when her father, seeking friendship with Phaya Mangrai. In addition, there were also the Tai Yai of Muang Angwa(Ava), who were goldsmiths and metal workers. From the mixing of these different cultural origins, the artistic culture of Lanna first began to find its own identity.
Phaya Mangrai resided at Wiang Kum Kam for five years. But this site was also subject to flooding during the rainy season, causing hardship and difficulty. Thus a search began for a
better location, one that would serve as the permanent capital of the Lanna
Kingdom.