Capital of the Ayutthaya Kingdom

Timeline

1. c. 1350–1351Island at the bend of the Chao Phraya River · Chao Phraya River basinKing Uthong moved away from Lopburi and built a city on the island at the confluence of three branches of the Chao Phraya River, naming it Ayutthaya, and established Buddhism as the state religion along with a written legal code.
2. 1351–1360Ayutthaya · Chao Phraya River basinPalaces and temples were successively built in the new capital; the kingdom consolidated Sukhothai power to the south and resisted Lanna pressure to the north, while Chao Phraya river trade rapidly brought prosperity to the city.
3. 1400–1767Ayutthaya · Chao Phraya River basinFor the following centuries Ayutthaya controlled the trade networks linking mainland Indochina with the Indian Ocean and South China Sea, receiving merchant envoys from China, India, Persia, and Europe, and became one of Southeast Asia's wealthiest metropolises.