Dvaravati
Dvaravati (Mon: ဒွါရဝတဳ) was an ancient Mon kingdom from the 6th century to the 11th century that was located in the region now known as central Thailand.: 234 It was described by Chinese pilgrims in the middle of the 7th century as a Buddhist kingdom named To-lo-po-ti situated to the west of Isanapura (Cambodia) and to the east of Sri Ksetra (Burma).: 76 : 37 Dvaravati also refers to a culture, an art style, and a disparate conglomeration of principalities of Mon people. Archaeological research over the past two decades or so has revealed the presence of a "Proto-Dvaravati" period which spans the 4th to 5th centuries, and perhaps earlier.
Dvaravati Kingdom | |||||||||||||||
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| 6th–11th century | |||||||||||||||
The Dvaravati Kingdom and contemporary Asian polities, circa 800. | |||||||||||||||
Spread of Dvaravati Culture and Mon Dvaravati sites. Mon Wheel of the Law (Dharmacakra), art of Dvaravati period, c. 8th century CE. Buddha, art of Dvaravati period, c. 8th-9th century CE. Bronze double denarius of the Gallic Roman emperor Victorinus (269-271 AD) found at U Thong, Thailand. Khao Khlang Nai was a Buddhist sanctuary. The central stupa, rectangular in shape and oriented toward the east, is characteristic of dvaravati architectural style, dated back around 6th-7th century CE. Khao Khlang Nok, was an ancient Dvaravati-style stupa in Si Thep, dated back around 8th-9th century CE, at present, it is large laterite base. | |||||||||||||||
| Capital | Si Thep | ||||||||||||||
| Religion | Buddhism, Hinduism | ||||||||||||||
| Historical era | 6th-11th century | ||||||||||||||
• Established | 6th | ||||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 11th century | ||||||||||||||
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Dvaravati lost its importance after the rise of the Angkor in the lower Mekong basin around the 11th–13th centuries. In the 14th century, its center of power, Si Thep, was almost left abandoned; however, a new kingdom, Ayutthaya, was subsequently founded southward on the bank of the Chao Phraya River in mid-14th CE, as the succeeded state, as its capital's full name referred to the Kingdom of Dvaravati; Krung Thep Dvaravati Si Ayutthaya (Thai: กรุงเทพทวารวดีศรีอยุธยา).