Ramathibodi II รามาธิบดีที่ ๒ |
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King of Ayutthaya kingdom | |||||
King of Siam | |||||
Reign | 1491–1529 | ||||
Predecessor | Borommarachathirat III | ||||
Successor | Borommarachathirat IV | ||||
Born | 1473 | ||||
Died | 1529 | ||||
Issue |
Athittayawong Chairacha Thianracha |
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House | Suphannaphum Dynasty | ||||
Father | Trailokanat |
Full name | |
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Somdet Phra Ramathibodi II |
Chettathirat (Thai: เชษฐาธิราช) or (upon accession to the Ayutthayan throne) Ramathibodi II (Thai: รามาธิบดีที่ 2) (1473–1529) was the King of Sukhothai from 1485 and King of Ayutthaya from 1491 to 1529. His reign was marked by the first Western Contact with the Portuguese.
Prince Chettathirat was the youngest of Trailokanat's three sons. His eldest brother, Prince Borommaracha, was appointed the regent of Ayutthaya during his father's campaigns against Lanna kingdom. His another brother, Prince Indraracha, died during the wars with Lanna. In 1485, Prince Chettathirat was appointed the Uparaja, or Crown Prince, and was crowned as the King of Sukhothai (The title King of Sukhothai was the title of Ayutthayan Crown Prince.)
In 1488, Trailokanat died. Though Chettathirat was the Crown Prince, the Ayutthayan throne was inherited by his brother Prince Borommaracha, as Borommaracha III. In 1491, Borommaracha III died, leaving the throne to Chettathirat, thus reuniting the two kingdoms.
Chettathiraj took the reigning name in Ayutthaya as Ramathibodi II.
In 1500, Ramathibodi II sent the Siamese armies to subjugate the Sultanate of Malacca. Though unable to conquer Malacca, Siam managed to exact tributes from the Malacca sultanate and other sultanates like Pattani, Pahang, and Kelantan.
In 1511, however, Malacca fell to the Portuguese under Afonso de Albuquerque. Albuquerque's embassy, under the leadership of Duarte Fernandes, arrived in Siam in 1518. These were the first Europeans in Siam. Rama Tibodi II signed a treaty with them giving the Portuguese "complete commercial freedom", the right to establish Christian missions and build churches.