The Roles of King Boromrajadhiraj ll (Chao SaamPraya) in the History of Ayutthaya

Abstract

This article aims to study the roles of King Boromrajadhiraj || (Chao SaamPraya) in the History of Ayutthaya from the royal chronicles of Ayutthaya and contemporary documents during the Ayutthaya period. As one may expect, the royal chronicles emphasize royal duties or activities, which are wars and the administration. The arts, culture and relations with neighbors are less mentioned and thus they can not be used directly as historical sources.

The results show that even though the royal chronicles do not clearly mention the arts, culture and relations with neighbors, his activities concerning these matters are recounted in the contemporary documents. The contemporary documents during the Ayutthaya period can be used as evidence which reflect the other roles of King Boromrajadhiraj ll (Chao SaamPraya) in the history of Ayutthaya until the end of his reign, and broaden the horizon of knowledge about the king from what already existed in the royal chronicles.