Chao of Phayao

Who he is

Title

Chao (Phaya) of Phayao

Since

not known

Born

not known

Family

The Phayao Chronicle (several versions) makes the first king Chomtham, a younger son of Lao Ngoen Rueang of Ngoenyang; then Chueang, Chong, Kaewwaenmueang and successors Chom Prasat, Lao, Phan, Sao and Mingmueang; Ngammueang (1258 to about 1318) is the first Phayao ruler attested outside the chronicles. The foundation is dated 1037, 1056, 1096, 1099 or 1131 in different versions. The ruler of 1200 is one of the middle names, not pinned.

Confidence

low

English Wikipedia (Phayao Kingdom).

Overlord

none (a cadet line or friend of Ngoenyang in the chronicles)

What it holds

• Phayao and the lake (Kwan Phayao)
• The Ing valley rice and the Chun, Chiang Kham and Thoeng muang below it
• The road south over the ridge to the Wang and east to the Yom

How it was acquired

By descent in the chronicle line.

Allies and rivals

Ngoenyang (kin); Haripunjaya and Khelang Nakhon on the south (some chronicle traditions say Phayao bordered them); Nan to the east (Phayao takes Pua in 1263).

How things stand that morning

A lake muang with its own line of chiefs. No dated event in 1200.

Wealth

Lake fish, rice of the Ing, the roads.

Threats

• None dated

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. 1258 to about 1318Ngammueang rules; he takes Pua in 1263 and is Mangrai's friend; Phayao is "annexed" in 1338 by Lan Na.Depends on: The chronicle line. Stopped by: A war with Ngoenyang.

Places of note

• Phayao: lake town
• Wiang Lo: moated town on the Ing

Where the sources disagree

• English Wikipedia (Ngoenyang infobox): Phayao seceded in 1094. The Phayao article says the 1094 date is not in its source and the sources run from 1037 to 1131. Not used.

Evidence: Phayao Chronicle versions (undated compilation) and the Ngoenyang chronicles; the first attested ruler is Ngammueang, in the 1250s to 1290s.

On the map: A seeds drawing; the Ing valley is in the realm record as claimed.

Primary sources for Ngoenyang

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• The later Tai, Lao and Mon chronicles of the north, Ratanapanna (Jinakalamali); Bodhiramsi (Chamadevivamsa); anonymous monks and court scribes (the Chamadevivamsa about 1410; the Jinakalamali 1516 to 1528; the Chiang Mai Chronicle in its surviving form 1827; the Nithan Khun Borom 16th to 17th century). There is no text of 1200 for the Mon kingdom of Haripunjaya, the Tai muang of Ngoenyang (Chiang Saen), Chiang Rung, the Yom and Nan valleys, or the Lao middle Mekong.