Editing Sukhothai Kingdom (section)

==Legacy==
[[File:Bangkok National Museum - 2017-04-22 (008).jpg|right|150px|thumb|The Ram Khamhaeng Inscription at the [[Bangkok National Museum]]]]
The Silajaruek of Sukhothai are hundreds of stone inscriptions that form a historical record of the period. Among the most important inscriptions are the [[Ram Khamhaeng Inscription]] (also known as Inscription No. 1), Silajaruek Wat Srichum (an account on the history of the region itself and of [[Sri Lanka]]), and Silajaruek Wat Pamamuang (a politico-religious record of Loe Thai).

[[Mongkut]] (Rama IV) is considered the champion of Sukhothai narrative history due to his discovery of Inscription No. 1, the "first evidence" of the history of Sukhothai. Mongkut said that he found a "first stone inscription" in Sukhothai which told of heroic kings such as [[Ram Khamhaeng]], the administrative system, and other developments in what was considered the "prosperous time" of the kingdom. The story of Sukhothai was incorporated into Thailand's "national history" in the late 19th century by Mongkut as a historical work presented to the [[British Empire|British]] diplomatic mission.<ref name="JSS_026_1c_Lingat">{{cite journal| last = Lingat | first = R. | author-link = Robert Lingat|year = 1933|title = History of Wat Pavaranivesa|journal = [[Journal of the Siam Society]]
|volume = 26.1c|format = Digital|publisher = Siam Heritage Trust|url = http://www.siamese-heritage.org/jsspdf/1931/JSS_026_1c_Lingat_HistoryOfWatPavaraniveca.pdf |access-date = 17 March 2013
|quote  = In 1837 King Phra Nang Klao made Prince Mongkut Abbot of Wat Pavaraniveca, situated close to the enceinte wall, in the northern part of the city. This monastery had been founded about ten years previously by Prince Cakti, who had been raised to the rank of Second King on the ascension of Phra Nang Klao, his nephew (1824–1832).}}</ref>

[[File:Sukhothai Viharn.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Replica of a Sukhothai royal temple at [[Muang Boran|Mueang Boran]]]]
From then on, as a part of modern nation-building process, modern national Siamese history included the history of the Sukhothai Kingdom. Sukhothai was said to be the "first national capital",<ref name="JSS_014_1b_Coedes">{{cite journal|last=Cœdès|first=G.|author-link=Georges Coedès|year=1921|title=The Origins of the Sukhodaya Dynasty|url=http://www.siamese-heritage.org/jsspdf/1921/JSS_014_1b_Coedes_OriginsOfSukhodayaDynasty.pdf|format=Digital|journal=[[Journal of the Siam Society]]|publisher=Siam Heritage Trust|volume=14.1b|page=1|access-date=17 March 2013|quote=The dynasty which reigned during a part of the 13th and the first half of the 14th centuries at [[Sukhodaya]] and at [[Sri Sajjannlaya]], on the upper Menam [[Yom River|Yom]], is the first historical Siamese dynasty. It has a double claim to this title, both because it cradle was precisely in the country designated by foreigners as "Siam" ([[Khmer language|Khmer]]: Syam; [[traditional Chinese characters|Chinese]] Sien, etc.), and because it is this dynasty which, by freeing the Thai principalities from the [[Khmer Empire|Cambodian yoke]] and by gradually extending its conquests as far as the [[Malay Peninsula]], paved the way for the formation of the Kingdom of Siam properly so called.}}</ref> followed by Ayutthaya and [[Thonburi Kingdom|Thonburi]], until [[Rattanakosin Kingdom|Rattanakosin]], or today [[Bangkok]]. Sukhothai history was crucial among Siam's "modernists", both "conservative" and "revolutionary".{{Citation needed|date=March 2013}} Sukhothai history became even more important after the [[Siamese revolution of 1932|Siamese Revolution of 1932]]. Research and writing on Sukhothai history were abundant.<ref name="JSS_006_1b_Bradley">{{cite journal|last= Bradley | first =C.B.|year= 1909|title=The Oldest Known Writing in Siamese; the inscription of Phra Ram Khamhaeng of Sukhothai, 1293 A.D.|journal= [[Journal of the Siam Society]]
|volume= 6.1b |format= Digital|publisher= Siam Heritage Trust |url= http://www.siamese-heritage.org/jsspdf/1904/JSS_006_1b_Bradley_OldestKnownWritingInSiamese.pdf|access-date= 17 March 2013
}}</ref> Ideas derived from the inscription were studied and "theorised".<ref>[http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1113564catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1113564 "Epigraphical and historical studies, nos. 1–24 published in the Journal of the Siam Society from 1968–1979"—Pref. Includes bibliographical references. Subjects: Inscriptions, Thai. Notes: English and Thai; some Pali (in roman).]</ref>

One of the most well-known topics was Sukhothai's "democracy" rule. Stories of the close relationship between the king and his people, vividly described as a "father-son" relationship,<ref name="JSS_065_1c_Sarasin">{{cite journal|author= Sarasin Viraphol|year= 1977|title= Law in traditional Siam and China: A comparative study|journal= [[Journal of the Siam Society]]
|volume= 65.1c |format= Digital |publisher= Siam Heritage Trust |url= http://www.siamese-heritage.org/jsspdf/1971/JSS_065_1c_SarasinViraphol_LawInTraditionalSiamAndChina.pdf|access-date= 17 March 2013}}</ref> were considered the "seed" of ancient Thai democracy; however, changes in government took place when later society embraced "foreign" traditions, like those of [[Khmer Empire|Angkor]], influenced by [[Hinduism]] and "mystic" [[Mahayana Buddhism]]. The story of Sukhothai became the model of "freedom". [[Chit Phumisak]], a "revolutionary" scholar, saw the Sukhothai period as the beginning of the Thai people's liberation from their foreign ruler in Angkor.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

During military rule beginning in the 1950s, Sukhothai was increasingly featured in the Thai national history curriculum. Sukhothai's "father-son" model for Thai democracy in contrast to Angkorian tradition became one of freedom from the "foreign ideology" of [[Khmer Rouge|Cambodian communism]]. Other aspects of Sukhothai were also explored under the new curriculum, such as the commoner and slave status as well as economics. These topics became the subject of ideological controversy during the [[Cold War]] and the [[communist insurgency in Thailand]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}