Phrae (Wiang Kosai) is the moated town of the middle Yom, with a relic stupa on the ridge behind it (Phra That Cho Hae, a few kilometres to the south-east).
Its chronicle gives it a foundation in 828 (the English Wikipedia article, unsourced) and a ruling line that nothing dated supports. What is certain is that a walled town on this ground controls the crossing of the Yom, the rice plain, and the roads east to Nan, west over the Phi Pan Nam to Lampang, north to Muang Song and the Ing, and south to the Sukhothai plain. The chao of 1200 is not known.
Teak is cut in the hills for local boats, halls and pillars; the great export trade in teak is of the nineteenth century.
Who holds it
- Title
- Chao of Phrae
- Since
- not known
- Born
- not known
- Family
- The Phrae chronicle (an undated compilation) gives an early ruling line that nothing dated supports; the English Wikipedia names no ruler before 1889.
- Confidence
- low
English Wikipedia (Phrae).
Lord in 1200
The chao of Phrae (name not known).
What the town holds
- The town and the Yom plain
- The relic hill of Cho Hae
- The roads in all four directions
Allies and rivals
Nan east; Khelang Nakhon west over the Phi Pan Nam; Phayao north; the Sukhothai plain south.
How things stand that morning
A moated town with a chao and a relic hill; no dated event.
Wealth
Rice of the Yom, the road trade, teak for local use.
Military
Moat and bank; no numbers.
Threats
- None dated
Communities
Tai, with Kha and Lawa villagers in the hills.
Walls and castle
Moat and earth bank (the campaign board); no stone castle.
Trade and crafts
Rice, the road trade, local timber.
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.
- 1238 or about 1243, and afterTai rulers hold Sukhothai and look north up the Yom.Depends on: The Sukhothai revolt against the Khmer-titled commander succeeding. Stopped by: A strong Khmer response.
Places of note
- Phra That Cho Hae: relic stupa on the hill east of the town
Where the sources disagree
- English Wikipedia (Phrae): "first established in 1371 BE (828 AD)", unsourced. Not used as a date.
- Board (phrae-wiang-kosai): "contested". Kept as independent with allegiance yom_nan; no outside power is shown to hold it.
Evidence: Chronicle tradition and the moated town itself; no dated inscription or excavation of 1200 reached.
On the map: Near land by the tierra.
Primary sources for Yom and Nan
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 Glass Palace Chronicle of the Kings of Burma, The Royal Historical Commission of King Bagyidaw (Monywe Sayadaw and others), drawing on U Kala's Maha Yazawin (about 1724) and earlier chronicles (1829 to 1832). The standard Burmese court chronicle, compiled six centuries after 1200 from older chronicles now lost. Read online
- 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.
- The Inscriptions of Cambodia, Various (the Khmer kings and their officers), edited by George Coedes (inscriptions of the 6th to 14th centuries; edited 1937 to 1966). The Khmer empire of 1200 is known almost entirely from the great foundation stelae of Jayavarman VII (reigning from 1181), which Coedes edited: the Ta Prohm stele of 1186 (K. Read online
- The Customs of Cambodia, Zhou Daguan (after 1297, from a stay at Angkor in 1296 to 1297). A Chinese envoy's account of Angkor a century after Jayavarman VII, and the only description of the city and its court by an eyewitness. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.