Editing History of Thailand (section)

===Central Thailand===
{{main|Dvaravati|Lavo Kingdom}}
{{multiple image|perrow=2/1|total_width=300|caption_align=center
| title = Dvaravati
| image1 = DvaravatiMapThailand.png|caption1=Territory of Dvaravati.
| image2 = Vishnu-khmer.jpg|caption2=Khmer period sculpture of [[Vishnu]] c. tenth century CE.
| image3 = Wat Dhammachaksemaram-HDR.jpg|caption3=A 13 meter long reclining Buddha, [[Nakhon Ratchasima]].
}}
The [[Chao Phraya River]] in what is now central Thailand had once been the home of the Mon Dvaravati culture, which prevailed from the seventh century to the tenth century.<ref>{{Harvnb|Wyatt|2003|p=18}}</ref> Samuel Beal discovered the polity among the Chinese writings on Southeast Asia as "Duoluobodi". During the early 20th century, archaeological excavations led by [[George Coedès]] found [[Nakhon Pathom Province]] to be a centre of Dvaravati culture. The two most important sites were Nakorn Pathom and U Thong (in modern [[Suphan Buri Province]]). The inscriptions of Dvaravati were in Sanskrit and Mon using the script derived from the [[Pallava alphabet]] of the [[South India]]n Pallava dynasty.

It is believed that the Dvaravati borrowed [[Theravada|Theravada Buddhism]] through its contacts with Sri Lanka, while the ruling class participated in [[Hindu]] rites. [[Dvaravati art]], including the Buddha sculptures and [[stupa]]s, showed strong similarities to those of the [[Gupta Empire]] of India. The eastern parts of the Chao Phraya valley were subjected to a more Khmer and Hindu influence as the inscriptions are found in Khmer and Sanskrit.<ref>Brown, Robert L. (1996). ''The Dvaravati wheels of law and the Indianization of South East Asia''. Leiden: E.J.Brill</ref>

Dvaravati was a network of city-states paying tribute to more powerful ones according to the [[Mandala (Southeast Asian political model)|mandala political model]]. Dvaravati culture expanded into [[Isan]] as well as south as far as the [[Kra Isthmus]]. Dvaravati culture lost its influence around the tenth century when they submitted to the more unified Lavo-Khmer polity.

[[File:Wat Phra Prang Sam Yod-001.jpg|thumb|The Khmer temple of Wat Phra Prang Sam Yod, [[Lopburi]].]]
Around the tenth century, the city-states of Dvaravati merged into the mandalas of: [[Lavo]] (modern [[Lopburi]]) and [[Suvarnabhumi]] (modern [[Suphan Buri]]). According to a legend in the Northern Chronicles, in 903, a king of [[Tambralinga]] invaded and took Lavo and installed a Malay prince on the Lavo throne. The Malay prince was married to a Khmer princess who had fled an Angkorian dynastic bloodbath. The son of the couple contested the Khmer throne and became [[Suryavarman I]] (1006–1050), thus bringing Lavo under Khmer domination through marital union. Suryavarman I also expanded into the [[Khorat Plateau]] (later styled "Isan"), constructing many temples.

Suryavarman, however, had no male heirs and Lavo again became independent. After the death of King Narai of Lavo, the Lavo kingdom was plunged into a bloody civil war. The [[Khmer Empire]] under [[Suryavarman II]] took advantage by invading Lavo and installed his son as the King of Lavo. The repeated but discontinued Khmer domination eventually Khmerized Lavo. Lavo was transformed from a Theravadin Mon Dvaravati city into a [[Hindu]] Khmer one. Lavo became the [[entrepôt]] of Khmer culture and power of the Chao Phraya river basin. The bas-relief at [[Angkor Wat]] shows a Lavo army as one of the subordinates to Angkor. One interesting note is that a Tai army was shown as part of the Lavo army, a century before the establishment of the [[Sukhothai Kingdom]].