Amphoe Chiang Saen (Chiang Saen)
According to an ancient chronicle, the original city of Chiang Saen (Chiang: 'offshoot', saen: '100,000') was built in 545 CE in an area called Yonok by Tai migrants from the Chinese province of Yunnan, and was an important city (Southeast Asia Mandala-model mueang) of the Lanna ('million paddies') Kingdom. No reliable written history of the city exists until the arrival of King Mengrai in the 13th century. His grandson, Saen Phu, ruler of the Lanna Kingdom, founded Chiang Saen in 1325 or 1328.
The city was sacked by Chao Kawila of Chiangmai during the reign of Rama I, because it had been the Burmese base of operations in the preceding years. The city was deserted, while its inhabitants resettled in other Bangkok-allied Lanna cities such as Lampang and Chiang Mai. Several ancient ruins are found in the old cities. For example, Wat Pa Sak hosts a well-preserved Lanna-style phrathat.
The mueang was converted into a district at the beginning of the 20th century in the Thesaphiban reforms, with an additional branch or minor district (king amphoe) also named Chiang Saen covering the central area. The minor district was abolished in 1925. The minor district was recreated two years later, then named Chiang Saen Luang (เชียงแสนหลวง). In 1939 the minor district was renamed Chiang Saen, while the former district Chiang Saen became Mae Chan. The minor district was upgraded to a full district on 6 April 1957.
Map - Amphoe Chiang Saen (Chiang Saen)
Map
Country - Thailand
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Tai peoples migrated from southwestern China to mainland Southeast Asia from the 11th century. Indianised kingdoms such as the Mon, Khmer Empire and Malay states ruled the region, competing with Thai states such as the Kingdoms of Ngoenyang, Sukhothai, Lan Na and Ayutthaya, which also rivalled each other. European contact began in 1511 with a Portuguese diplomatic mission to Ayutthaya, which became a regional power by the end of the 15th century. Ayutthaya reached its peak during the 18th century, until it was destroyed in the Burmese–Siamese War. Taksin quickly reunified the fragmented territory and established the short-lived Thonburi Kingdom. He was succeeded in 1782 by Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke, the first monarch of the current Chakri dynasty. Throughout the era of Western imperialism in Asia, Siam remained the only nation in the region to avoid colonization by foreign powers, although it was often forced to make territorial, trade and legal concessions in unequal treaties. The Siamese system of government was centralised and transformed into a modern unitary absolute monarchy in the reign of Chulalongkorn. In World War I, Siam sided with the Allies, a political decision made in order to amend the unequal treaties. Following a bloodless revolution in 1932, it became a constitutional monarchy and changed its official name to Thailand, becoming an ally of Japan in World War II. In the late 1950s, a military coup under Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat revived the monarchy's historically influential role in politics. Thailand became a major ally of the United States, and played an anti-communist role in the region as a member of the failed SEATO, but from 1975 sought to improve relations with Communist China and Thailand's neighbours.
Currency / Language
ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
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THB | Thai baht | ฿ | 2 |
ISO | Language |
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EN | English language |
TH | Thai language |