The Siam Society Lecture: A History of Ayutthaya (28 June 2017) 

The Siam Society Lecture
A History of Ayutthaya
A talk by Dr Chris Baker and Dr Pasuk Phongpaichit
Early European visitors placed Ayutthaya alongside China and India as the three great powers of Asia. 250 years ago, the city was destroyed, and its history has been neglected. This new book is the first English-language study of the full 400-plus years from Ayutthaya’s emergence in the 13th century until its fall in 1767. With a focus on themes of commerce, kingship, Buddhism, and war, the book draws on chronicles, memoirs, visitors’ accounts, laws, literary works, wat murals, landscape, language and recent scholarship. “With thorough research and examination, and exquisite articulation, the book will not be surpassed for years, perhaps decades to come” (Thongchai Winichakul).
Dr Chris Baker is a historian, long-time resident, and honorary editor of The Journal of the Siam Society. Dr Pasuk Phongpaichit is Professor of Economics at Chulalongkorn University. Together they have written widely on Thailand’s history, political economy and current affairs including A History of Thailand, Thaksin, and Unequal Thailand. They have also translated historical works, laws, and literary classics including The Tale of Khun Chang Khun Phaen; Yuan Phai, the Defeat of Lanna: A 15th Century Thai Epic Poem; and The Ayutthaya Palace Law and the Thammasat.
----
Disclaimer
The Siam Society is diffusing this lecture for academic, educational and scholarly research purposes only. At no times does The Siam Society take responsibility for any ideas and opinions presented by the lecturer or persons making comments or asking questions.
The Siam Society is deeply grateful to the James H.W. Thompson Foundation
for its generous support of the Lecture Series.