Dvaravati
Dvaravati (Mon: ဒွါရဝတဳ) was an ancient Mon political principality from the 6th century to the 11th century that was located in the region now known as central Thailand.: 234 It was described by Chinese pilgrims in the middle of the 7th century as a Buddhist kingdom named To-lo-po-ti situated to the west of Isanapura (Cambodia) and to the east of Sri Ksetra (Burma).: 76 : 37 Dvaravati also refers to a culture, an art style, and a disparate conglomeration of principalities of Mon people. Archaeological research over the past two decades or so has revealed the presence of a "Proto-Dvaravati" period which spans the 4th to 5th centuries, and perhaps earlier.
Dvaravati Kingdom | |||||||||||||||
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6th–11th century | |||||||||||||||
SIND UYGHUR KHAGANATE RASHTRA- KUTAS PALA EMPIRE NAN- ZHAO TURK SHAHIS TANG DYNASTY SILLA Tungus Tatars SRIVIJAYA Kyrgyzs Samoyeds Kimeks Tanguts Shatuos OGHUZ- YABGUS TIBETAN EMPIRE ◁ ▷ The Dvaravati Kingdom and contemporary Asian polities, circa 800. | |||||||||||||||
Spread of Dvaravati Culture and Mon Dvaravati sites. Mon Wheel of the Law (Dharmacakra), art of Dvaravati period, c. 8th century CE. Buddha, art of Dvaravati period, c. 8th-9th century CE. Bronze double denarius of the Gallic Roman emperor Victorinus (269-271 AD) found at U Thong, Thailand. Khao Khlang Nai was a Buddhist sanctuary. The central stupa, rectangular in shape and oriented toward the east, is characteristic of dvaravati architectural style, dated back around 6th-7th century CE. Khao Khlang Nok, was an ancient Dvaravati-style stupa in Si Thep, dated back around 8th-9th century CE, at present, it is large laterite base. | |||||||||||||||
Capital |
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Religion | Buddhism, Hinduism | ||||||||||||||
Historical era | 6th-11th century | ||||||||||||||
• Established | 6th | ||||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 11th century | ||||||||||||||
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Dvaravati lost its importance after the rise of the Angkor in the lower Mekong basin around the 11th–13th centuries. In the 14th century, one of its main principalities, Si Thep, was almost left abandoned, while the remaining was split into the city-state confederation of Suphannabhumi in the west and the Lavo Kingdom in the east. However, a new kingdom, Ayutthaya, was subsequently founded southward on the bank of the Chao Phraya River in 1351, as the succeeded state, as its capital's full name referred to the Kingdom of Dvaravati; Krung Thep Dvaravati Si Ayutthaya (Thai: กรุงเทพทวารวดีศรีอยุธยา). All former Dvaravati principalities, Lavo, the northern cities of the Sukhothai Kingdom, and Suphannabhumi, was later incorporated to the Ayutthaya Kingdom in 1388, 1438, and the mid-15 century, respectively.: 274
According to an inscription on a bronze gun acquired by the Burmese in 1767, when Ayuthia, Siam's capital at the time, fell to an invading Burmese force, the Burmese still referred to Ayutthaya as Dvaravati. Several genetic studies published in the 2020s also founded the relations between the Mon people and Siamese people (Central Thai people) who were the descendants of the Ayutthaya.