Lavo Kingdom

Origins

Lavo emerged as one of the Mon towns of the Dvaravati world, with Lopburi as its centre from about the 7th century. Chronicles say Chamadevi of Hariphunchai was a Lavo princess. In the 10th and 11th centuries Lavo came under the control of the Khmer Empire.

Rule and society

Under Khmer rule from the reign of Suryavarman I, Lopburi was a provincial capital with temples such as Phra Prang Sam Yot and Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat showing the Khmer style. Mahayana Buddhism and Hindu cults coexisted with older Theravada traditions. Lavo also sent its own missions to the Song court in the 12th century, and to the Yuan in the late 13th, suggesting periods of independence.

Decline and legacy

As Khmer power waned in the 13th century, Lavo was linked by marriage and politics with Suphannaphum, and in 1351 U Thong founded the Ayutthaya Kingdom on the Chao Phraya, combining both. Lopburi remained a secondary royal city, used by King Narai as a residence.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.