A guide to the ruins of Sukhothai, Thailand – National Geographic

The ruins of Sukhothai are one of Thailand’s best-kept secrets. Dotted with the columns and spires of 700-year-old temples and shrines presided over by the serene visages of massive Buddha statues, the remnants of the Thai state’s first capital have an enchanted, frozen in time feeling.The historic town of Sukhothai—meaning “The Dawn of Happiness”—and surrounding region are designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. The site encompasses more than 29,000 acres and includes the ancient towns of Si Satchanalai and Kamphaeng Phet along with Sukhothai itself.Located in the lower north of present-day Thailand, Sukhothai was the capital of the Kingdom of Siam for some 200 years beginning in the 13th century when it gained its independence from the Khmer empire. While the kingdom was initially small, the third ruler of Sukothai, King Ramkhamhaeng— considered the founding father of the Thai nation—expanded its rule north into present-day Laos, west to the Andaman Sea, and south to the Malay Peninsula.
Sukhothai became an important center of worship as well as politics and commerce. Nearby Si Satchanalai was known for its ceramics industry, temples, and Buddhist monasteries, while Kamphaeng Phet guarded the kingdom’s southern frontier from invaders.The area also became the cradle of Thai culture, scholarship, art, and architecture. The earliest examples of Thai writing were found in stone inscriptions on the site, laying out details of the political, economic, social, and religious life.The kingdom thrived with the help of an impressive system of hydraulic engineering. To keep floods at bay, the rulers of Sukhothai commissioned a network of dams, reservoirs, ponds, and canals that irrigated the land, while moats protected its residents.But Sukhothai’s independence was short-lived. The kingdom was conquered and absorbed by the Ayutthaya kingdom in 1438. After losing its place as the seat of power, Sukhothai was abandoned in the late 15th or early 16th century.

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https://www.nationalgeographic.com/...storic-town-of-sukhothai-world-heritage-site/