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Statue of King Ramkhamhaeng, located in the Sukhothai Historical Park, Sukhothai Province

Ramkhamhaeng the Great (c. 1239 – 1317, aka. Pho Khun Ramkhamhaeng; Thai: พ่อขุนรามคำแหงมหาราช) was the third king of the Phra Ruang dynasty, ruling the Sukhothai kingdom (a forerunner of the modern kingdom of Thailand) from 1277 to 1317, during its most prosperous era. He is credited with the creation of the Thai alphabet and the firm establishment of Theravada Buddhism as the state religion of the kingdom.

His parents were Prince Bang Klang Hao, who ruled as King Sri Indraditya, and Queen Sueang, although a legend describes his parents as an ogress named Kangli and a fisherman.

At the age of 19 he participated in his father's successful invasion of the city of Sukhothai, freeing it from Khmer rule and essentially establishing the independent Sukhothai kingdom. Because of his conduct at war, he was given the title "Phra Ramkhamhaeng", or Rama the Bold. After his father's death his elder brother Ban Muang ruled the kingdom and gave Prince Ramkhamhaeng control of the city of Sri Satchanalai. On his accession, therefore, Prince Ramkhamhaeng had an established reputation for leadership.

Ramkhamhaeng formed an alliance with the Yuan Dynasty of China, from whom he imported the techniques for making ceramics now known as Sangkhalok ware. A story describes his seduction of the wife of King Ngam Muang, the ruler of neighbouring Phayao - an event which may have helped him to form his three-way alliance with Ngam Mueang and with King Mengrai of Chiang Mai, both of whose kingdoms were to the north of Sukhothai. Ramkhamhaeng expanded his kingdom as far as Lampang, Phrae and Nan in the north, Phitsanulok and Vientiane in the east, Mon in the west, as far as the Gulf of Bengal in the northwest and Nakhon Si Thammarat in the south.

Ramkhamhaeng is traditionally credited with developing the Thai alphabet (Lai Sue Thai) from Sanskrit and Pali and Grantha. He wanted Thai to be free of Mon and Khmer influence. He is also still respected as the king who introduced the style of benevolent monarchy that remains today.

He was succeeded by his son Pho Khun Loethai.

Ramkhamhaeng University, the first open university and well-recognised as the most prestigious university in Thailand with campuses throughout the country and in some certain countries, has been named in fond memory of King Ramkhamhaeng the Great for his numerous contributions to the Kingdom of Thailand.

Copy of Rmakhamhaeng stele in the Sukhothai Historical Park

Much of the above biographical information comes from a stone inscription on the Ramkhamhaeng stele, now in the National Museum in Bangkok.

This stone was allegedly discovered in 1833 by King Mongkut (then still a monk) in the Wat Mahathat. It should be noted that the authenticity of the stone -- or at least portions of it -- has been brought into question.^[1] Piriya Krairiksh, an academic at the Thai Khadi Research institute, notes that the stele's treatment of vowels suggests that its creators had been influenced by European alphabet systems; thus, he concludes that the stele was fabricated by someone during the reign of Rama IV himself, or shortly before. The matter is very controversial, since if the stone is in fact a fabrication, the entire history of the period will have to be re-written.^[2]

For this hypothesis, however the most locations of the antiques and the ancient cities recorded in the Inscription One are true. Lots of places have just been discovered since 1953. Therefore it is impossible to be faked in 1833, 550 years after the Inscription One was created.
Some scholars have proposed the linguistic system seem to be more European style, not the ancient Thai style or only the beginning of the 1^st page was created in the period of King Ramkhamhaeng. The rest might be recorded in the period of King Dharmaraja-I. But there are not clear evidences to prove these opinions.

1. ^ Centuries-old stone set in controversy, The Nation, Sep 8, 2003
2. ^ The Ramkhamhaeng Controversy: Selected Papers. Edited by James F. Chamberlain. The Siam Society, 1991

• Photos of all sides of the Ramkhamhaeng Stele, with translations