Siam Empire
As Siam / i (Siem, Sejem, Sayam, Thai ประเทศ สยาม, pronunciation: [ prat ʰ ê ː t sàjǎ ː m], native name เมือง ไทย - [ mɯaŋ t ʰ aj ] )? , Was until 1939 refers to the country in Southeast Asia, which corresponds largely to the present-day Thailand. At the time of its greatest expansion in the 19th century, it corresponded approximately to the present-day territory of Thailand, Cambodia and Laos and parts of Malaysia and Myanmar.
Siam was, like other Southeast Asian kingdoms, until well into the 19th century, no nation-state with defined borders. With " Siam" rather the areas were referred abroad by a particular center of power, Sukhothai from 1238 to 1351, and 1767, Ayutthaya, Thonburi until 1782 and then Rattanakosin or Bangkok, were dependent. The degree of dependence, however, was downgraded and took from the center to the outer edge. While prevailed in areas close to the respective capital of the king directly or through appointed by him governors, passed on the edges of communities with great autonomy and their own rulers, who were obliged to Siam tribute. However, this could be the same also dependent on several realms, so to overlapping zones of influence include (Mandala model). The proper name was never " Siam", but in each case the name of the capital. The idea of Siam as a geographically defined territory (geo -body ) has developed only during the colonization of the surrounding areas Siam by France and Great Britain. Siam itself was never a colony.
History of the term
Thai historians refer to like a relief in Angkor Wat (southern gallery) from the 12th century, on the first of " Siam " is mentioned. Here a certain Jayasinghavarman is represented in a long troops parade before Suryavarman II, the troops from Lavo ( Lopburi today ) and a group of " Syam Kuk " mercenaries leads. This " brown-skinned people " - this is probably the original meaning - should come from the area of the River Kok, which flows into the present province of Chiang Rai.
Towards the end of the 13th century is in Chinese sources " Siem " is mentioned, a Thai tribe from the Chao Phraya valley.
George Coedes (1886-1969), Southeast Asia researcher at the École française d' Extrême -Orient, found in northern Thailand a document from the year 1516 in the Pali language, the events in 1339 describes in " Sukhotayapura " in " Syamadesa ", that took place in the city of Sukhothai in the land of Syam. In Pali -English Dictionary by Rhys Davids (The Pali Text Society, London) is Sayam, which has the root sama, translated as " black, yellow, green or golden ." It is also known that the area was referred to the Chao Phraya valley in Pali as " Suvarnabhumi " (Golden Land).
The first Europeans who reported Siam, were the Portuguese, who had experienced in Ayutthaya under Viceroy Afonso de Albuquerque after the conquest of Malacca in 1511 there by a "kingdom Sayam " and a king.
Simon de La Loubère, who was in 1687 as a French ambassador in Ayutthaya, wrote in 1693 in his book You royaume de Siam ( German description of the Kingdom of Siam, Nuremberg 1800), that the name of Siam the Siamese is unknown self: "You have yourself given the name of Tai, which is the Free ... And those who are the language of Pegu powerful, confirm that Siam free mean in that language. " ( Pegu was at the time La Loubères the capital of Mon - Empire. )
However, in contracts that were up to the early Rattanakosin period closed during the Ayutthaya period with other countries, was used in European languages the word Siam, in the Thai language Krung Sri Ayuddhaya ( " shining city Ayutthaya ").
On 24 June 1939, the country name at the behest of the dictator Plaek Phibunsongkhram of " Siam " to " Thailand " was ( Thai: ประเทศไทย - [ ʰ ê ː t prat -t ʰ ai ] ) changed. The reason given was that " Siam" is a name that was only used by foreigners. On the advice of Japan, the UK needs a new identity under which all Thais should be united. This has provided to date for controversial discussion. With the new Constitution of 1946 was the re-naming in Siam, but this was back in 1949 reversed.
Some intellectuals, including Sulak Sivaraksa and the historian Charnvit Kasetsiri, still prefer to call it, Siam '. Their main argument is that, Siam ' is less than nationalistic connotations, Thailand ' and unlike this also included the Minderheitenethnien.
In early May 2005, by ML Panadda Diskul, president of Prince Damrong - Rajanubhab library, proposed to use the name " Siam" parallel to "Thailand " as a middle name, in honor of the 60th anniversary jubilee of King Bhumibol Adulyadej ( Rama IX. ) in 2007. Netherlands were eventually known as Holland, Switzerland as Helvetia and the United States as America.