Phayao Kingdom

Origins

Northern Thai chronicles say Phayao was founded in the late 11th century by Khun Chom Tham, a prince of the Ngoenyang line, on the shores of the lake now called Kwan Phayao. Its early history rests on chronicle tradition.

Rule and society

Phayao was a Tai muang of rice-growing valleys whose rulers were linked by kinship to Ngoenyang and Nan. Its best-known ruler, Ngam Mueang, was an ally of Mangrai of Lan Na and Ram Khamhaeng of Sukhothai; the three are said to have sworn friendship around 1287, an event commemorated by the Three Kings Monument in Chiang Mai.

Decline and legacy

After Ngam Mueang's death Phayao weakened, and Lan Na annexed it in 1338 under King Kham Fu. It became a provincial town of Lan Na and later of Siam, and is now the centre of Phayao province in northern Thailand.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.