AYUTTHAYA

the kingdom of ayutthaya existed from 1350 to 1767. together with the state lan na (which was linked, and controlled for some time) it covered an area similar to modern thailand. its capital was ayutthaya (same name).

this city florished between 1550 and 1750, in both trade and culture, and its population was near to a million in its prime time. here is a dutch painting from 1560.

the kingdom of ayutthaya had several wars with burma (the "burma-siam" wars), and it was burma which in 1767 beat the ayutthayian army and burned the metropolis down. all what remained were ruins. much later modern ayutthaya was founded, a small town 10 km east of the old city.

some of the ruins have been restored, and the "ayutthaya historical park" is now an unesco world heritage area. four of the historic buildings, all large ones, are shown below.

beside all the ruins is one modern temple, together with a high-score restaurant - to please the wealthy visitors of ayutthaya!