Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand, and formerly known as Siam, is a country located in Mainland Southeast Asia. It shares land borders with Myanmar to the west and northwest, Laos to the east and northeast, Cambodia to the southeast, and Malaysia to the south. Its maritime boundaries include the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea and shares maritime borders with Vietnam, Indonesia, and India. Thailand has a population of nearly 66 million people and covers an area of approximately 513,115 km2 (198,115 sq mi). The capital and largest city is Bangkok.
After the fall of Ayutthaya, King Taksin reunified the kingdom and established the Thonburi Kingdom, which lasted only 15 years before he was overthrown by Phutthayotfa Chulalok (Rama I), the founder of the Chakri dynasty. King Rama I established the Rattanakosin Kingdom and moved the capital to Bangkok in 1782. During the era of Western imperialism, Siam remained the only country in Southeast Asia to avoid colonisation by European powers, although it ceded territory, trade rights, and legal privileges through several unequal treaties. The governance system evolved into an absolute monarchy centralised under the rule of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V). Siam adapted to international relations during the imperialist era and joined World War I on the side of the Allies, a political decision aimed at revising the effects of unequal treaties and enhancing Siam's international status.
The Thai Canal (Thai: คลองไทย), also known as the Kra Canal (คลองกระ) or the Kra Isthmus Canal (คลองคอคอดกระ), is any of several proposals for a canal that would connect the Gulf of Thailand with the Andaman Sea across the Kra Isthmus in southern Thailand. Such a canal is suggested to significantly reduce travel times through heavily-navigated trade routes.
The canal would provide an alternative to transit through the Strait of Malacca and shorten transit for shipments of oil to Japan and China by 1,200 km. China refers to it as part of its 21st century maritime Silk Road. Proposals, as of 2015,[update] measure 102 kilometres long, 400 meters wide and 25 meters deep. Plans for a canal have been discussed and explored at various times. Cost, environmental concerns, and geopolitical concerns have been weighed against the potential economic and strategic benefits. (Full article...)
The kingdom governed based on the mandala system. This allows for high-autonomy locally with the kingdom influencing and effectively ruling its area of suzerainty. At its zenith in 1805 to 1812, the Kingdom was composed of 25 polities, ranging from duchies and principalities to federations and kingdoms. With the furthest extent reaching the Shan States, southern Yunnan, Laos, Cambodia, northern Si Rat Malai and Kawthoung. The kingdom was founded by Rama I of the Chakri dynasty. The first half of this period was characterized by the consolidation of Siamese power in the center of Mainland Southeast Asia and was punctuated by contests and wars for regional supremacy with rival powers Burma and Vietnam. The second period was one of engagements with the colonial powers of Britain and France in which Siam remained the only Southeast Asian state to maintain its independence. (Full article...)
Siamosaurus (meaning "Siam lizard") is a potentially dubiousgenus of spinosauriddinosaur that lived in what is now Thailand and possibly China during the Early Cretaceousperiod (Barremian to Aptian) and is the first reported spinosaurid from Asia. It is confidently known only from tooth fossils; the first were found in the Sao Khua Formation, with more teeth later recovered from the younger Khok Kruat Formation. The only speciesSiamosaurus suteethorni, whose name honours Thai palaeontologistVaravudh Suteethorn, was formally described in 1986. In 2009, four teeth from China previously attributed to a pliosaur—under the species "Sinopliosaurus" fusuiensis—were identified as those of a spinosaurid, possibly Siamosaurus. It is yet to be determined if two partial spinosaurid skeletons from Thailand and an isolated tooth from Japan also belong to Siamosaurus.
Since it is based only on teeth, Siamosaurus's body size is uncertain, though it has been estimated at between 5.1 to 9.1 metres (17 to 30 feet) in length. The holotype tooth is 62.5 millimetres (2.46 inches) long. Siamosaurus's teeth were straight, oval to circular in cross-section, and lined with distinct lengthwise grooves. Its teeth had wrinkled enamel, similar to teeth from the related genus Baryonyx. As a spinosaur it would have had a long, low snout and robust forelimbs, and one possible skeleton indicates the presence of a tall sail running down its back, another typical trait of this theropod family. Siamosaurus is considered by some palaeontologists to be a dubious name, with some arguing that its teeth are hard to differentiate from those of other Early Cretaceous spinosaurids, and others that it may not be a dinosaur at all. Based on dental traits, Siamosaurus and "S." fusuiensis have been placed in the subfamilySpinosaurinae. (Full article...)
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Phra Pathommachedi
Phra Pathommachedi or Phra Pathom Chedi (Thai: พระปฐมเจดีย์) is a Buddhist stupa in Thailand. The stupa is located in the Wat Phra Pathommachedi Ratcha Wora Maha Wihan (Thai: วัดพระปฐมเจดีย์ราชวรมหาวิหาร), a temple in the town center of Nakhon Pathom, Nakhon Pathom Province, Thailand. Phra Pathommachedi is the second tallest stupa in the world. The top of its spire reaches 120.45 meters, with the base circumference of 235.50 meters.
The name Phra Pathommachedi means the first holy stupa, given by king Mongkut. Modern Historians believe that the stupa was one of the principal stupas of ancient Nakhon Pathom, the largest city of the ancient Mon kingdom of Dvaravati in Nakhon Pathom area together with the nearby Phra Prathon Chedi (Thai: พระประโทณเจดีย์) during the 6th to the 8th centuries. (Full article...)
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The UDD protest at Ratchaprasong intersection on 8 April 2010
A series of political protests were organised by the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) (also known as "Red Shirts") in Bangkok, Thailand from 12 March to 19 May 2010 against the Democrat Party-led government. The UDD called for Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to dissolve parliament and hold elections earlier than the end of term elections scheduled in 2012. The UDD demanded that the government stand down, but negotiations to set an election date failed. The protests escalated into prolonged violent confrontations between the protesters and the military, and attempts to negotiate a ceasefire failed. More than 80 civilians and six soldiers were killed, and more than 2,100 injured by the time the military violently put down the protest on 19 May. (Full article...)
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The 1909 delimitation map (the Annex I Map of the ICJ case) that gave rise to the dispute Cambodia and Thailand have been involved in a territorial dispute over certain areas of their border. The dispute began in the 1950s, shortly after Cambodia's independence from France, and first centred on ownership of the Preah Vihear temple. The case was brought to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), who decided in 1962 in favour of Cambodia. The issue became dormant over the following decades as Cambodia fell into civil war, but remained unresolved as sections of the countries' borders were never jointly demarcated. The dispute erupted into open conflict in 2008, following Cambodia's nomination of the temple as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Thai protesters pushing their government over the issue. The clashes led to a request for interpretation from the ICJ to clarify the 1962 ruling, which was decided in 2013. During this round of conflict, disputes also arose over other overlapping border areas, including those around the ancient Khmer temples of Prasat Ta Muen Thom and Prasat Ta Krabey. The conflict subsided for over a decade until it erupted again in 2025, with the worst fighting since the dispute began.
The dispute mostly stems from the Franco-Siamese treaties of 1904 and 1907, which defined the final boundary between Siam (as Thailand was then known) and French Indochina, the borders of which were inherited by Cambodia. While the treaty defined the relevant segment of the boundary along the watershed line of the Dangrek Mountains, demarcation of the border by French surveyors produced maps that deviated from the line in the now-disputed areas, including around the Preah Vihear temple. While Thailand argued at the ICJ that it never approved the maps and that the temple's location on a cliff, more accessible from the Thai side, indicated that it was on Thai territory, the ICJ decided in favour of Cambodia largely based on the fact that Siam never officially protested the map or claimed ownership of the temple while it was under French control. Cambodia also views itself as having rightful claims to the temples due to closer cultural affinity as successor to the Khmer Empire. (Full article...)
Phutthayotfa Chulalok (born Thongduang; 20 March 1737 – 7 September 1809), posthumously honoured as King Phutthayotfa Chulalok the Great, also known by his regnal nameRama I, was the founder of the Rattanakosin Kingdom (now Thailand) and the first King of Siam from the reigning Chakri dynasty. He ascended the throne in 1782, following the deposition of King Taksin of Thonburi. He was also celebrated as the founder of Rattanakosin (now Bangkok) as the new capital of the reunited kingdom.
Rama I, whose given name was Thongduang, was born from a Mon male line descent family, great-grandson of Kosa Pan. His father served in the royal court of the Ayutthaya Kingdom. Thongduang and his younger brother Bunma served King Taksin in wars against the Burmese Konbaung dynasty and helped him in the reunification of Siam. During this time he emerged as Siam's most powerful military leader. Thongduang was the first Somdet Chao Phraya, the highest rank the nobility could attain, equaled to that of royalty. In 1782, he took control of Siam and crowned himself as the monarch. The most famous event in his reign was the Burmese–Siamese War (1785–1786), which was the last major Burmese assault on Siam. (Full article...)
Mitr Chaibancha (Thai: มิตร ชัยบัญชา; 28 January 1934 – 8 October 1970) was a Thaifilm actor. He acted in 266 films from 1956 to 1970. He died on 8 October 1970 at Dongtan Beach, Jomtien, South Pattaya, after falling from a helicopter during the filming of a stunt for the final scene of Insee Thong (Golden Eagle).
At the height of his career in the 1960s, Mitr, along with Petchara Chaowarat, made a string of hit films that packed cinemas. Of the 75 to 100 films produced each year by the Thai film industry during this period, Mitr starred in nearly half of them. (Full article...)
Born in Chiang Mai Province into a wealthy family of Chinese descent, Yingluck Shinawatra earned a bachelor's degree from Chiang Mai University and a master's degree from Kentucky State University, both in public administration. She then became an executive in the businesses founded by her elder brother, Thaksin Shinawatra and later became the president of property developerSC Asset and managing director of Advanced Info Service. Thaksin served as prime minister from 2001 until 2006 when he was overthrown by a military coup. He fled abroad shortly before he was convicted in absentia of using his position to increase his own wealth. Thereafter, he lived in self-imposed exile to avoid serving his prison sentence until he returned to Thailand in August 2023. (Full article...)
Image 17The ruins of Ayutthaya city was completely buried beneath a mass of jungle vegetation in 1930. (from History of Thailand)
Image 18Phibun welcomes students of Chulalongkorn University, at Bangkok's Grand Palace – 8 October 1940. (from History of Thailand)
Image 19Map showing linguistic family tree overlaid on a geographic distribution map of Tai-Kadai family. This map only shows general pattern of the migration of Tai-speaking tribes, not specific routes, which would have snaked along the rivers and over the lower passes. (from History of Thailand)
Image 56Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall, the royal reception hall built in European architectural style. Construction was started by Rama V, but was completed in 1915. (from History of Thailand)
Image 68Wat Arun was originally a small temple called Wat Makok built in the 17th century. The central prang was completed around 1851. (from History of Thailand)
Image 69Funeral pyre of Chan Kusalo, the patriarch-abbot of northern Thailand. (from Culture of Thailand)
Image 71Display of respect of the younger towards the elder is a cornerstone value in Thailand. A family during the Buddhist ceremony for young men who are to be ordained as monks. (from Culture of Thailand)
Image 72Mainland Southeast Asia Map in 1844 by Carl Radefeld, before French colonization of Annam (from History of Thailand)
Image 73Mainland Southeast Asia in the first millennium map (from History of Thailand)
Salads that are internationally known as Thai salads with a few exceptions fall into four main preparation methods. In Thai cuisine these are called yam, tam, lap and phla. A few other dishes can also be regarded as being a salad. (Full article...)
![Image 1 Proposed Thai Canal routes The Thai Canal (Thai: คลองไทย), also known as the Kra Canal (คลองกระ) or the Kra Isthmus Canal (คลองคอคอดกระ), is any of several proposals for a canal that would connect the Gulf of Thailand with the Andaman Sea across the Kra Isthmus in southern Thailand. Such a canal is suggested to significantly reduce travel times through heavily-navigated trade routes. The canal would provide an alternative to transit through the Strait of Malacca and shorten transit for shipments of oil to Japan and China by 1,200 km. China refers to it as part of its 21st century maritime Silk Road. Proposals, as of 2015,[update] measure 102 kilometres long, 400 meters wide and 25 meters deep. Plans for a canal have been discussed and explored at various times. Cost, environmental concerns, and geopolitical concerns have been weighed against the potential economic and strategic benefits. (Full article...)](/read?url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FFile%3ABlank.png&mode=clean)
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