The Tale of Khun Chang and Khun Phaen is the seminal work in Thai classical literature. The romance between Khuns Chang and Phaen and the female love interest Wanthong are our window into Ayutthayan gender and social class. While what we find may be disagreeable to modern sensibilities, we are nonetheless compelled to bear witness and learn more - to better understand the era in question. Visit this episode's webpage for the Dramatis Personae...
Jan 03, 2023•1 hr 15 min
In which we reveal the identity of Series 4 - along with an announcement of the schedule.
Apr 30, 2022•3 min
Ayutthaya is gone, but Siam lives. A new kingdom, forged by two capable generals, restored Thai authority over their country. That New Siam would survive, stronger than ever, to the present day, becoming modern Thailand. Series Website
Apr 29, 2022•37 min
Ayutthaya would fall in much the same way it did in 1569: at the hands of an ambitious Burmese King. But this time, there would be no comign back. Ayutthaya was no more, and the future of Thai history would be entirely new. Series website
Apr 15, 2022•32 min
The reigns of Thai Sa and Borommakot were peaceful and prosperous. The half-century before the city's fall thus became a golden age for art, literature and religion. This "Age of Culture" would last just until the collapse, but would forge Thai culture as it exists today. Series website
Mar 25, 2022•31 min
No, not that one. The Ban Phlu Luang, founded by the usurper Phetracha, would be Ayutthaya's last. They oversaw an era of social upheaval which fundaentally altered Thai society. Their first two kings, if the chronicles are to be believed, were cruel and violent men, though, and the bane of decency. Series website
Mar 11, 2022•28 min
Half a world away, four months before the famous "Glorious Revolution" another revolution had taken place in Siam. King Narai, bereft of an heir, had perhaps bequeathed too much power to his Greek minister, Constantine Phaulkon. Soon, irate court ministers would rally against the minister - and his French allies. Series Website
Feb 25, 2022•47 min
Throughout the middle of Narai's reign, court intrigue plagued the Palace in Lopburi. Ministers vied for power over the King, with their factions waxing and waning in turn. Amidst the King's failure to produce an heir, and increasing harshness and paranoia, this feuding paved the way for a new advisor to enter the fray - Constantine Phaulkon. Series Website
Feb 11, 2022•29 min
Narai "the Great" is Ayutthaya's most famous King outside of Thailand. But he cuts an unusual figure, breaking with the pattern of his predecessors. Warlike to a degree not seen since Naresuan, and unconcerned with tradition, he followed his own desires and interests. Foreign visitors and communities in Ayutthaya never found a firmer friend than King Narai. Indeed, it was by their aid that he came to the throne at all. Persians, Japanese, Malays, Dutch and Chinese were rewarded for service or si...
Jan 28, 2022•51 min
A quick appendix to 3.12 + schedule announcements for 2021/22
Dec 18, 2021•7 min
You arrive in Ayutthaya, April 1685, along with the French embassy to King Narai. While in the city, you are treated to a tour of the capital by an Englishman in the service of the European Mahatthai. What do you see there? And what are your impressions? Series Website
Dec 18, 2021•53 min
The early 17th century was an age of contradictions - peace abroad and prosperity at home contrasted with political intrigue and civil wars upon the death of kings. Illustrative of this was the coup of King Prasat Thong - "Golden Tower" - a distant relative who utilized wealth and influence to steal the throne for himself. Series Website
Nov 19, 2021•43 min
Naresuan's death spells the death of the Age of Warfare. In its place: the Age of Commerce. Trade, diplomacy, and urbanization are the defining order of the day. Merchants from all across Asia congregated in Ayutthaya to exchange goods - with the King of Siam reaping the profit.
Nov 05, 2021•29 min
The Age of Warfare dies with King Naresuan. The final years of his reign were marked by the reestablishment of Ayutthayan supremacy across the region. Old vassals were restored to subservience, trade routes were brought back under central control, and rebels were snuffed out in an instant. But King Naresuan garnered a reputation for being quick to anger, cruel and merciless. His epithet "The Black Prince" reveals much of his perception then and now. Indeed, the Age of Warfare was as much a rejec...
Oct 22, 2021•31 min
Ayutthaya was a husk of its former self. A burnt out shell, ruled by a puppet king installed by their conquerors in Burma. But that puppet would not sit dormant. He rebuilt the city, drove off attackers from Cambodia, and prepared the way for an Ayutthayan resurgence. But this is not, really, his story. The liberation of Ayutthaya would not have happened without the capable leadership of Prince - then King - Naresuan, the "Black Prince" of Ayutthayan history. Though cruel, abrasive, and obsessed...
Oct 08, 2021•38 min
Southeast Asia in the 16th century was a playground for ambitious kings hoping to build their empires. The kings of Ayutthaya, Burma, Lan Xang and Cambodia vied for dominance - to become a Chakkavatti - a "Wheel Turning King" from Buddhist philosophy. From the many, only one would stand victorious. The question is: Who would it be? And what would become of the losers? Series Website
Sep 24, 2021•55 min
A brief lull in the fighting presents an opportunity to discuss the Ayutthayan military in the so-called Age of Warfare. The reforms of Trailokanat and his successors enabled the kingdom to muster larger armies than ever before. The result was greater bloodshed, longer wars and widespread suffering. Little more than a half century after Trailok's death, tragedy would befall Ayutthaya as a direct result of this Age of Warfare. Series Website...
Sep 10, 2021•29 min
In 1448 King Trailokanat ascended to the Ayutthayan throne. His 40 year reign would see Ayutthaya transformed from just-another-Muang city state to a centralized, autocratic kingdom. Bolstered by intensifying commerce, his armies would fan out across the Northern Cities in a great war with Lan Na, expanding Ayutthaya's borders and forcing the city to expand its bureaucracy to meet the needs of administration. Series Website...
Aug 27, 2021•36 min
The foundation of Ayutthaya - parsing history from legend, and surveying the city's first 100 years. A curious blend of maritime commerce, with Tai martial culture, Ayutthaya would go on to become the greatest kingdom of the Southeast Asian mainland in the Early Modern period. Series website
Aug 13, 2021•31 min
The Tai migrated into Southeast Asia over the course of centuries. During that time, they became transformed as a people through their encounters with the hostile Chinese and the indigenous peoples they found in Southeast Asia.
Jul 23, 2021•32 min
The Classical Age of Southeast Asian history laid the foundation for the future Tai kingdoms of the Chaophraya, the Khmer and Dvaravati civilizations especially. Today, we explore these cultures and their legacy on the region. Series Website
Jul 09, 2021•31 min
Introducing Southeast Asia: The land and people who live there. The history of Ayutthaya begins with the peopling of the Indochinese Peninsula, ca. 40,000 years ago. Since then, the development of agriculture, metalworking and urbanization led to the rise of states and kingdoms. Before we learn about Ayutthaya, we have to set the stage for its emergence.
Jun 25, 2021•33 min
In which we see what Tibet was up to ca. 842-1642, starring old friends like the Fifth Dalai Lama and new ones, like the mystics Atisha and Tsongkhapa, or Emperors like Kubilai Khan and Jangchub Gyaltsen. Series Website
May 14, 2021•42 min
The last Emperor of Tibet, Darma "the Bull", waged a campaign of persecution against the Buddhists of Tibet. In doing so, he opened the floodgates to chaos and instability that would cost him his life - and the Empire itself. Series Website
Apr 30, 2021•27 min
Ralpachen, son of Sadnalegs, was the last Dharma king - and the last Buddhist Tsenpo - of a united Tibetan Empire. His reign is remembered for his religious contributions, but his death did as much to define Tibet as his life. Series Website
Apr 16, 2021•33 min
In which we look at legal and medical knowledge in the Tibetan Empire. Tibet was a litigious society, and to remedy this, widespread use of contracts, legal documents and complex civil and criminal codes were used in order to make sense of it all. Combined with the deep medical traditions, borrowing from three distinct backgrounds, the Tibetan Empire's framework of knowledge - far more than any table of ranks for the ministers - was deeply intertwined with the average person's life. Series Websi...
Apr 02, 2021•36 min
Trisong Detsen, Second Dharma King of Tibet, is not long for the world. But of the four sons who he fathered, who would succeed him? One died a premature death, another exiled for a vile act, still another a hopeless dreamer, and the last too young to take up the throne. Tibet would see its first Tsenpos raised in the Buddhist faith in the early 9th century. Even more committed to the religion than their father had been, they sought to cement the Dharma's legacy in their country, permanently. Ch...
Mar 19, 2021•30 min
In which we discuss the Bon religion of Tibet, its past and present, and unpack how much we can know about a religion whose identity has changed so much over the last thousand years. Series Website Check out the History of Africa Podcast!
Mar 05, 2021•27 min
In which we cover the life of the historical Buddha, the context in which he lived, and the meaning and significance of the belief system he founded. Buddhism is complicated, too much so to truly cover in just 40 minutes. But we do our best to lay the foundation of a faith so often misunderstood by western observers. Check out the series page , including glossary of terms, maps, gallery and bibliography.
Feb 19, 2021•40 min
In which we announce our third season of History Unwritten.
Feb 19, 2021•5 min
