Wiang Prueksa

Wiang Prueksa
556–648 CE
Status	Legendary Kingdom
Government	Democracy
Monarch
• 556–564 (first)	Khun Lang
• 635–648 (last)	Khun Suk
Historical era	Ancient history
• Fall of Yonok	467
• Establishment	556
• Formation of Ngoenyang	638
• Merged into Ngoenyang	648
Preceded by Succeeded by Yonok Nakhon Ngoenyang

Wiang Prueksa (also spelled Wiang Pueksa; Thai: เวียงปรึกษา), also known as Wiang Chiang Saen Noi (เวียงเชียงแสนน้อย), was an ancient polity of the Tai Yuan people,[1] centered at Ban Sop Kham (บ้านสบคำ), in present-day Chiang Saen District, Chiang Rai Province, Thailand.[2] It comprised a number of settlements that survived the fall of the Yonok Kingdom, traditionally attributed to earthquakes in the late 5th century.[1][3]: 98 

In the mid 7th century, the Tai Yuan people of Wiang Prueksa invited Lao Chakkaraj, a leader of the Lawa people from Doi Tung, to become their new ruler. After ascending the throne, Lao Chakkaraj constructed a new city at Mae Sai and established it as his principal center under the name Hiran Nakhon, marking the beginning of the Ngoenyang Kingdom.[4]: 53–4  This polity later developed into the Lan Na Kingdom, which was formally established in 1292 during the reign of King Mangrai the Great.[5]: 130 [6]

Following the fall of Yonok Nakhon and the end of the Singhanati dynasty in the 6th century,[1][7]: 7  a group of survivors led by Khun Lang, together with Khun Phanna and other community leaders, migrated east of the former Yonok capital to establish a new settlement on the western bank of the Mekong River.[1][3]: 98  This settlement became known as Wiang Pueksa or Wiang Prueksa,[1] also referred to as Wiang Chiang Saen Noi (Little Chiang Saen).[2]

The ruler of Wiang Pueksa was not selected through hereditary succession but through public consultation, a process known as pueksa (ปรึกษา; lit. 'consultation'). According to the chronicles, the inhabitants collectively chose their leader, following principles resembling a proto-democratic system, in which each settlement appointed its own governor.[3]: 98, 101  In total, sixteen rulers of Wiang Pueksa are recorded in the traditional accounts.[3]: 105 

During the same broad period, a new political center emerged in the Doi Tung region under Lao Chakkaraj, regarded as the first ruler of Hiran Ngoenyang Chiang Lao. Lao Chakkaraj consolidated surrounding settlements to form this polity and founded the Lao dynasty, which later became the royal lineage of King Mangrai, the founder of the Lan Na Kingdom.[8][9][10]

The list of rulers is derived from the Legend of Singhanati. However, the chronology proposed in the 1973 critical edition of the legend prepared by Manit Vallipodom raises significant historiographical concerns. In this edition, the regnal years of the 16 monarchs are dated between 1558 and 1638 BE (1015–1095 CE),[3]: 105  based on Manit’s identification of the years given in the original legend with the Chula Sakarat era.[3]: 98–101  This dating conflicts with other textual traditions, which associate Wiang Prueksa with the era of Lao Chakkaraj,[4]: 53–4  whose reign is conventionally placed in the mid-7th century CE, beginning around 638[11]: 241–3 /639 CE.[12]: 676  Moreover, during the period proposed by Manit, the Chiang Saen area—the center of Wiang Prueksa—is generally understood to have been in the late phase of Ngoenyang, which itself is regarded as the successor polity to Wiang Prueksa.

Interestingly, Phiset Chiachanphong has suggested that the Tṛtīya Era (ตติยศักราช; lit. 'tertiary era') mentioned in the original legend may belong to the Shaka era (SE).[13] If this interpretation is adopted, the reign of the last ruler of Wiang Prueksa would be contemporary with the beginning of the reign of Lao Chakkaraj, as shown in the final column of the table below.