Naresuan (1555/1556 – 25 April 1605), commonly known as Naresuan the Great, or Sanphet II was the 18th monarch of the Ayutthaya Kingdom and the 2nd of the Sukhothai dynasty. He was the king of the Ayutthaya Kingdom from 1590 and overlord of Lan Na from 1602 until his death in 1605. Naresuan is one of Thailand's most revered monarchs as he is known for his campaigns to free Ayutthaya from the vassalage of the First Toungoo Empire. During his reign, numerous wars were fought against Taungoo Burma. Naresuan also welcomed the Dutch. He was the son of King Mahathammarachathirat of Phitsanulok and his queen consort, Wisutkasat. His mother was a daughter of Maha Chakkraphat and queen consort Suriyothai. His father was a Sukhothai noble who had defeated Worawongsathirat in 1548 and put Maha Chakkraphat on the throne. Prince Naret, also known as the "Black Prince" (), had a younger brother Ekathotsarot, known as the "White Prince", and an elder sister, Suphankanlaya.

During the siege of Ayutthaya during the Burmese–Siamese War (1563–64), King Bayinnaung of the Toungoo dynasty of Bago, Burma (formerly known in Burmese as Hanthawaddy () and in Thai as Hongsawadi ()) led a massive army, invading the country and laying siege to Phitsanulok. Maha Thammarachathirat came to believe that the city would not be able to withstand a long siege due to a scarcity of food and a smallpox outbreak, so he surrendered the city. King Bayinnaung took Phitsanulok and Ayutthaya, and made Thailand a Burmese tributary state. He required Maha Thammarachathirat to send his son—the Black Prince—to Bago as a royal hostage to ensure the king's fidelity. After six years in Pegu, 1570, Prince Naret and his brother the White Prince returned to Ayutthaya.

Viceroy

thumb|Royal statue of King Naresuan in [[Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya (city)|Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya]]

Following the 1569 conquest by King Bayinnaung, Ayutthaya was reduced to a vassal of the First Toungoo Empire. Under the reign of Maha Thammaracha, the kingdom endured the pillaging of its capital, mass deportations, and frequent raids from Cambodia.

In 1570, at the age of 15, Naret was appointed by his father as the Uparaja ("viceroy" or "crown prince") of Phitsanulok, taking the name Naresuan.

During his time as viceroy, Naresuan participated in a military expedition alongside his father and the King of Bago to conquer Vientiane, the capital of the restored Lan Xang. However, the campaign was cut short for him when he contracted smallpox, forcing his return to the capital. During his visits to Ayutthaya to see his parents, he resided at the Chankasem Palace, which he had commissioned as a royal residence. King Maha Thammarachathirat issued a command to defend Ayutthaya. The Cambodian besieged Ayutthaya for 3 days, but the city stood strong. The Cambodian army was forced to retreat back to Cambodia and took a large number of prisoners with them.

In 1574, when the Ayutthayan Army under the command of King Maha Thammarachathirat and King Naresuan was assisting Bayinnaung in his campaign to attack Lanxang, Baraminreachea took the opportunity to attack Ayutthaya again. Luckily, King Naresuan contracted smallpox and was forced to return to Ayutthaya to recover. When he got back to Ayutthaya, the Cambodian Navy was present and besieging Nai Kai fortress. The fortress fell to the Cambodian forces. King Naresuan lured the Cambodian navy up the river where they met the Siamese artillery. After heavy bombardment, the Cambodian navy was forced to retreat.

In 1578, Phraya Chin Chantu, a Chinese noble serving under Cambodia attacked the city of Phetchaburi. The attack failed and Phraya Chin Chantu was too afraid to go back to Cambodia. He was allowed to take refuge in Ayutthaya by Maha Thammaracha. Shortly thereafter, he boarded a junk and fled. At that time, King Naresuan was 24 years old and was aware that Phraya Chin Chantu was a Cambodian agent who took refuge in Ayutthaya under false pretenses to gather information on the Siamese court. He ordered Siamese boats to chase Phraya Chin Chantu's junk. Since Chinese junks are much bigger than Siamese junks and were more suited for sailing out to sea, Phraya Chin Chantu was able to escape.

In 1580, Baraminreachea still believed Siam was weak and ordered Thotsa Racha and Surin Racha to invade Siam with a force of 5,000, including elephants and cavalry. The plan was to raid cities around Ayutthaya such as Saraburi and capture loot and people. Naresuan led a force of 3,000 men out of Ayutthaya to engage the Khmer army. The Khmer army was destroyed and forced to retreat back to Cambodia. This battle made King Naresuan revered among the Siamese and Burmese courts. As a result of this, the Khmers did not dare to attack Thailand again.

Wars with the Taungoo Dynasty

thumb|upright=1.5|King Naresuan shot his gun across the [[Sittoung River, killing Surakamma, chief of the Burmese army]]

In 1581, Bayinnaung died, and was succeeded by his son Nanda Bayin. Nanda's uncle Viceroy Thado Minsaw of Ava then rebelled in 1583, forcing Nanda Bayin to call upon the viceroys of Prome, Taungoo, Chiang Mai, Vientiane, and Ayutthaya for assistance in suppressing the rebellion. On 2 February 1584, Naresuan left with his troops to Bago as ordered, and arrived at the border only in April. According to Damrong, this raised Nanda's suspicions, who ordered his son, the Maha Uparaja Mingyi Swa, to remain in the capital and kill Naresuan.

According to Damrong, Naresuan reached Kraeng the border town, where he learned that Phraya Ram and Phraya Kiet had been sent by the Maha Uparat to attack Naresuan from the rear while Maha Uparat attacked from the front. Naresuan called a council, which included priests, Phraya Kiat, Phraya Ram, and other Mons. Naresuan then "poured water on the earth from a gold goblet to proclaim to the devatas in the presence of the persons assembled, that from that day forth Siam had severed friendship with Hongsawadi and was no longer in amity as of yore." Naresuan defeated the Viceroy of Chiang Mai near Pa Mok and Bang Kaeo, capturing his encampment at Ban Saket with 10,000 soldiers, 120 elephants, 100 horses, 400 boats plus arms, ammunition, and provisions. Nanda Bayin himself led the Burmese armies to Ayutthaya and begin the third invasion of Ayutthaya. Nanda Bayin armies laid siege to the city for five months, but failed to take the city due to an aggressive defense by Naresuan. He retreated. Naresuan was crowned King of Ayutthaya as Sanphet II.

The Burmese army led by Phra Maha Uparat attacked Siam again, but Naresuan defeated it near Ban Khoi. The Burmese army retreated back to Bago, losing many men, elephants, horses, arms, and ammunition. Nanda Bayin ordered his son to attack Ayutthaya again. Mingyi Swa, Natshinnaung the son of the viceroy of Taungoo, and the viceroy of Prome formed three divisions. Mingyi Swa went through Three Pagodas Pass while the other two divisions came via Mae Lamao. The chief of Chiang Mai sent a boat force. Naresuan had been planning to attack Cambodia because of its border incursions, but then adjusted to the Burmese threat. Naresuan marched towards Suphan Buri and encamped his armies at Nong Sarai near the Thakhoi River. Naresuan formed a battle plan which involved a retreat, allowing the Burmese to follow, and then attack the disordered advance with his main army.

The personal battle between Naresuan and Mingyi Swa was a highly romanticized historical scene known as the "Elephant Battle" ( .)

After a prolonged duel and narrowly missing Naresuan but cutting his helmet, Naresuan was able to cut Mingyi Swa with his ngao (glaive). Prince Somdet Phra Ekathotsarot was also able to kill the governor of Muang Chacharo. The main Siamese army then arrived and the Burmese were routed and scattered. The King of Bago then ordered the other two divisions to retreat. According to Terwiel, there are ten different accounts of the battle by indigenous, European and Persian authors: (four Siamese, one Burmese, four late 16th and early 17th century European accounts and late 17th century one Persian account). Only one Siamese account says there was a formal elephant duel between Naresuan and Swa. However, Jeremias van Vliet's account of Siam in early 1630s includes interviews with Siamese subjects who were contemporaries of King Naresuan and who insisted that the elephant combat, which resulted in the death of the Burmese crown prince at the hands of Naresuan (whom the Siamese called "the black prince"), did indeed happen. According to Van Vliet's Description of the Siamese Kingdom:

In Terwiel's analysis of the other accounts, however, the Burmese crown prince and Naresuan both fought on their war elephant in the battle, although no formal duel probably ever took place. Per Terwiel, it is highly unlikely that Swa would have agreed to a formal duel since agreeing to do so would have "jeopardized the costly invasion that had thus far progressed without a hitch." During the battle, Naresuan's elephant got surrounded by the Burmese forces. During that crucial moment, a Burmese war elephant went musth, and attacked Swa's elephant. Seeing that Swa was in difficulty, Naresuan "closed in, and he (or one of the warriors riding with him, maybe a Portuguese) fired a gun which mortally wounded the crown prince" Swa. Naresuan was "lucky to escape from a very dangerous situation" but also quick to take advantage of it. According to Terwiel, the "Burmese and European accounts stayed closer to what actually may have happened", and "Naresuan's much repeated challenge to hold a duel, even though it looms large in many Thai history books, should be relegated to a legendary tale."

Invasion of Bago

thumb|180px|King Naresuan entered Bago near [[Shwemawdaw Pagoda, mural from Wat Suwan Dararam, Ayutthaya, Thailand]]

Naresuan then decided to attack Bago in 1595. He laid siege on the city for three months before retreating when the viceroys of Prome, Taungoo, and Ava sent relief forces. Naresuan did take back many prisoners of war, lessening the fighting strength of the Burmese. His brother King Ekathotsarot became his successor as king.

Ancestry

Legacy

Naresuan's reign marked a pivotal era of territorial expansion and economic positioning for the Ayutthaya Kingdom. By liberating Siam from Burmese domination and vassalizing neighboring states such as Lan Na and Cambodia, he expanded Siamese influence to its furthest extent up to that point in history. Furthermore, his seizure of the strategic peninsular provinces of Tavoy and Tenasserim secured vital commercial ports on the Indian Ocean. These military and security consolidations laid the foundations for Ayutthaya's regional dominance and prosperity throughout the 17th century.

  • 50 baht note of series 16, issued to glorify Thai kings of different periods from past to present.
  • Royal Thai Armed Forces Day, 18 January, commemorates his victory in the 1593 elephant duel.
  • , Royal Thai Navy frigate.
  • Naresuan University in Phitsanulok is named after the king and features a large statue of the king.
  • One of the two largest dams in Phitsanulok Province is named the Naresuan Dam. It controls water flow of the Nan River north of the city of Phitsanulok.
  • Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary is the nation's largest conservation site.
  • Following the 2014 Thai coup d'état, a free showing of a King Naresuan film was credited with making viewers feel happy.

thumb|Wax figure of King Naresuan the Great from the film [[King Naresuan (film)|The Legend of King Naresuan, portrayed by Wanchana Sawasdee, exhibited at Madame Tussauds Bangkok]]

King Naresuan's legacy as a warrior-king and his pivotal role in Thai history have made him a prominent figure in contemporary media. His life and military exploits, particularly the legendary elephant duel, have been widely adapted into epic films, television dramas, animation, and digital games.

Films and television

  • Kasattriya — A 2003 television series adaption based on historical events novel by Thailand National Artist, Thommayanti. King Naresuan was portrayed by Arnas Lapanich.
  • Khan Kluay — A 2006 animated film based on the life of the king's war elephant, followed by a sequel, Khan Kluay 2. King Naresuan voice cast was portrayed by Sumet Ong-art.
  • The Legend of King Naresuan — An epic historical film series released between 2007 and 2015, depicting the king's life from childhood to his reign. King Naresuan was portrayed by Wanchana Sawasdee.
  • The Legend of King Naresuan: The Series — A 2017 television series adaptation based on the historical events. King Naresuan was portrayed by Daweerit Chullasapya.
  • Hongsawadee: The Last Duel — A 2026 television series adaption based on Naresuan's time in Hanthawaddy with a young Mingyi Swa. King Naresuan was portrayed by Porapat Srikajorndecha.

Gaming and literature

  • King Naresuan Online — A fantasy MMORPG released in 2010 by KNO, featuring quests and environments based on the historical period.
  • Civilization V — A strategy game released in September 2010, where Siam features a unique military unit named "Naresuan's Elephant" in honor of the king's cavalry.
  • Ayutthaya, Oh Irrawaddy — A Boys' love manga (webtoon) first gaining significant popularity in 2022, featuring a fictionalized version of Naresuan in a parallel universe setting.

Notes