CHAIRACHA.

Phrabat Somdet Phra Chairachathirat (Thai: สมเด็จพระไชยราชาธิราช, commonly shortened to Chairacha ไชยราชา,) reigned 1534-1546 as King of the Ayutthaya kingdom of Siam. His reign was remarkable for the first battle between Siam and Burma, and for the influx of Portuguese traders, mercenaries, and early Modern warfare technology.
Contents[hide]
1 Uparaja
2 Coup
3 King of Ayutthaya
3.1 Wars with Burma
3.2 Invasion of Lanna
3.3 Sukhothai nobles
4 Mysterious Death
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[edit] Uparaja
Prince Chairachathirat was a son of King Ramathibodi II. In 1533, following the death of his brother Borommaracha IV, his nephew Prince Ratsadathirat (Borommaracha IV's son) succeeded the Ayutthayan throne. Chairachathirat was then appointed the Uparaja of Pitsanulok.
[edit] Coup
Government authority under five-year-old Ratsadathirat proved to be weak. In 1534, only five months after his nephew's ascension, Chairacha marched to Ayutthaya to stage a coup, killed his nephew, and took the throne of Ayutthaya.
[edit] King of Ayutthaya
[edit] Wars with Burma
In 1539, Tabinshweti of Pegu led Burmese armies into Siam and took the Siamese fort of Chiang Kran. Chairacha then led the Siamese armies to recapture Chiang Kran. The Siamese were able to retake the fort - thanks to Portuguese arquebusiers. The Chiang Kran campaign was known as the first of the conflicts between Siam and Burma that would last for another two centuries.
Chairacha then granted the lands near Ayutthaya to establish Portuguese quarters - a place for the Portuguese to reside and trade. He also permitted the constructions of the monasteries and the entrance of Catholic missionaries.
Chairacha ordered a shortcut to be made through the bends of the Chao Phraya river in the area of current-day Bangkok. This is now the main river course.
[edit] Invasion of Lanna
In 1545, King Kaew Kesa of Lanna was overthrown. Chairacha took this opportunity to invade Lanna, where he was greeted peacefully by Queen Chiraprapa - daughter of King Kaew Kesa. However, Tabenshweti was able to impose the Burmese influence over Lanna kingdom under Queen Chiraprapa. Chairacha, fearing that Lanna would became the base for the Burmese to invade Siam, led an expedition in 1546 to get rid off the Burmese influence. He sacked Lampang and Lampoon and he ordered Uparaja Tianracha to invade Chiang Mai. Queen Chiraprapa then sued for peace and made her kingdom a tributary state of Ayutthaya for the first time.
[edit] Sukhothai nobles
Chairacha appointed his brother Prince Tianracha (later Maha Chakkrapat) as the Uparaja but did not granted him the title of King of Sukhothai as Chairacha tried to unite the two kingdoms by reducing the power of Sukhothai nobles.[1] He also called the Sukhothai nobles to Ayutthaya to move them from their base at Pitsanulok and made Ayutthaya the sole center of authority.
[edit] Mysterious Death
Chairacha's wife, Queen Jitravadee, dies shortly after giving birth to the heir Yodfa. The king takes a new consort, Sri sudachan, and has another son by her. After several years of peace, Chairacha leaves the capital, Ayutthaya, for a military campaign in the north. Soon after, Srisudachan, descended from the deposed U-Tong dynasty, takes Boonsri Vorawongsathirat, another U-Tong descendant, as a lover and starts plotting to take over the throne.
The king is wounded in battle and comes back to the capital to recuperate, where Srisudachan poisons him and attempts to blame the deed on Tien. Tien saves his own life by becoming a Buddhist monk. Srisudachan proceeds by naming Worawongsa as regent and promptly poisoning young Yodfa, thereby assuming power. Suriyothai then summons her old friend Piren, who was Chai Raja's troop commander, to help set things right. His troops ambush and kill Worawongsa and Srisudachan, and Tien accepts the throne despite his monkhood.
The sources conflicts about the nature of Chairacha's death. The Portuguese chronicles of Fernão Mendes Pinto said he was poisoned by his concubine Sri Sudachan from Uthong clan in 1546. This can be inferred from the later power struggles involving Sri Sudachan and her lover Khun Vorawongsathirat. However, some Siamese chronicles said Chairacha died of an illness after going to war.