Kamalanka

Kamalanka/Lang-ya-hsiu (狼牙脩) (คามลังกา/หลังยะสิ่ว)
Late 1st century CE – 1058
Political entities in the Chao Phraya River Basin and the Kra Isthmus in the 6th–7th century
Capital	Mevilimbangam
Religion	Buddhism
Historical era	Post-classical era
• Established	Late 1st century
• First embassy to China	515
• Formation of Dvaravati	6th–7th century
• Decline of Mueang Uthong	8th century
• Tambralinga conquered Menam Valley	927
• Raided by Chola	1030
• Destroyed by Pagan	1058
• Establishment of Chen Li Fu	12th century
Preceded by Succeeded by Chin Lin Tun Sun Dvaravati Chen Li Fu Pan Pan
Today part of	Thailand Myanmar

Pathom stupa in Nakhon Pathom, the oldest stupa in Thailand, built around the year 193 BCE.

Inscriptions found at Pathom stupa in the ancient Nakhon Pathom, stating the Ye Dhammā formula, written with the Grantha script.

Ancient coins found at Mueang Uthong.

Head of a yakṣa, dated 8th–10th centuries CE, discovered during excavation at Phra Men Temple, Nakhon Pathom province, displayed at the Bangkok National Museum.

Dharmachakra, dated 7th century CE, Dvaravati art, found at the Mueang Uthong

The 1900s image of the Dvaravati-style Chedi in the present Wat Phra Rub temple. It later collapsed, and the area was then transformed into a parking area.

Kamalanka or Chia-mo-lang-chia, Lang-chia, Lang-ya-hsiu in the Chinese texts, or Balangka/Kalonga in the Geographike Hyphegesis of Ptolemy, or Mevilimbangam in the Tanjore Inscription, was an ancient political entity located in the west Chao Phraya River basin in central Thailand. It existed from the late 1st or early 2nd century CE to 1058. Its chief city, located at the ancient Nakhon Pathom, was possibly destroyed by the troops of Pagan's Anawrahta in 1058 during his Menam invasion to attack the Lavo Kingdom. This marks the ending of Kamalanka. Previously, it was raided by the Chola Empire during the South-East Asia campaign of Rajendra I in 1030. Its successor, Chen Li Fu centered at Suvarnapura, appeared around the 12th century, 90 kilometers northward in the present-day Don Chedi, Suphan Buri province. Chen Li Fu later evolved to Suphannabhum, which was then merged into the Ayutthaya Kingdom in the 14th century.

The Kingdom of Kamalanka or Lang-ya-hsiu was probably the succeeding state of Tun Sun since its first embassy, sent to China in 515 CE, claimed that the country was founded around 400 years earlier but gained independence at the end of the 5th century. Several scholars speculated that Kamalanka is situated in lower central Thailand, probably the same area as Tun Sun. Kamalanka additionally sent embassies to China in 523 and 531. In the 20th century, Chinese people who settled in the west Chao Phraya River basin still called the area Lang-jia-jiu.

In the 7th century, southern Kamalanka later joined Pan Pan in the south, while its northern territory became part Dvaravati civilization after merging with the neighboring Chin Lin and others following the decline of Funan. Previously, Kamalanka or Lang-ya-hsiu was equated with Langkasuka but according to the location provided in the Chinese texts dating to the 7th century, it would be situated at the modern lower central Thailand.

Records

Based on the location given in the book of I Ching and by the Chinese monks Xuanzang in the 7th century, Kamalanka is equated with Lang-ya-xiu or Lang-chia-shu. According to the Liáng Shū, Lang-ya-xiu was 30-day journeys from east to west, 20 days from north to south, 24,000 li in the distance from Guangzhou. The inland town of Balangka or Kalonga appeared in the Geographike Hyphegesis of Ptolemy in the 2nd century was potentially Kamalanka. It was described as the "metropolis" city.

Lanka records

The Tanjore Inscription, dating from 1030, contains a list of the ports on the Kra Isthmus to the Malacca Strait that were raided by a fleet sent by King Rajendra Chola I. The following are the ports located on the Kra Isthmus; some cannot yet be precisely identified.

• Mevilimbangam – Kamalanka, has fine walls as defense.
• Mayirudingan – the Je-lo-ting of the Chinese, surrounded by the deep sea as by a moat, the exact location remains unknown.
• Talaittakkolam – Takkola (Trang or Takua Pa) of Ptolemy and the Milindapandha, praised by great men versed in the sciences.
• Madamalingam –Tambralinga, capable of strong action in dangerous battles.

Journey of Chang Chun

In the journey of Chang Chun as a Chinese envoy to Chi Tu in 607, Kamalanka was referred to as Lang-ya-xiu. It was said to be on the south of Chi Tu, which was in the Singora Inland Sea (present Songkhla province).

...Then going southward (from Champa) they reached Shih-tzu-shih (Lion Rock in Chanthaburi province), whence there extend a chain of large and small islands. After two or three days' voyage, they saw in the west the mountains of Lang-ya-hsu (Khao Sam Roi Yot). Then, continuing southwards to Chi-lung (Fowl Cage Island in Chumphon province), they reached the borders of Chi Tu....

According to the location mentioned above, Thai scholar, Chand Chirayu Rajani, purposed Lang-ya-xiu was potentially located in the west Chao Phraya River basin, and strongly denied Paul Wheatley's assumption that equated Lang-ya-xiu with Langkasuka (Chinese: 凌牙斯加/龍牙犀角; Ling-ya-si-jia/Long-ya-xi-jiao), which was located in modern-day deep south Thailand, and Wheatley's assumption has been continued by many scholars to the present day. Rajani additionally asserts that even Chinese people who settled in the west Chao Phraya River basin still called the area Lang-jia-jiu. There are also the islands named Lang-ya-jiew islands (birds' nest islands) in Chumphon province, which expected to be the southern border of Lang-ya-xiu.

Tang records

The Old Book of Tang, dating 618 onwards, also indicates the location of Lang-ya-xiu, situated north of Pan Pan, aligning with Rajani's hypothesis. The text was translated by Paul Wheatley as follows.

...The kingdom of P'an-P'an is situated to the southwest of Lin-i (Champa) on a bay of the sea. To the north, it is separated from Lin-i by the Small Sea. One can reach it by boat from Chiao-chou (Tonkin) in forty days, and it adjoins the kingdom of Lang-ya-hsiu...

As per the text provided, since Pan Pan was placed at the area along the Bandon Bay in Surat Thani province, Lang-ya-xiu should be on the plain in lower Central Thailand; however, Paul Wheatley positioned Lang-ya-xiu to the south of Pan Pan. The location of both Pan Pan and Lang-ya-xiu given in the New Book of Tang, also sustaintiated Rajani's hypothesis. The text was translated by Peter Bee of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, as follows.

...P'an-P'an is on the bend of the Southern Sea (Gulf of Siam). To the north, it goes as far as the surrounding king's border (and) a small amount of sea connects it with Lang-Su-Shih. From the crossing of the mainland, it takes forty days of sea travel to arrive (at P'an-P'an). The king is called Yang-su-Shih....

I Ching and the Journey of Xuanzang

The book of I Ching or Yijing, dating to the late 7th century, also mentions to Kamalanka as Lang-ya-xiu, which conforms to the information provided in the 629–645 journey of a Chinese monk, Xuanzang, who referred to Kamalanka as Chia-mo-lang-chia. The location provided by both indicates that Lang-ya-xiu is equated with Chia-mo-lang-chia or Kamalanka.

Book of I Ching giving the location of the kingdoms in mainland Southeast Asia from the west to east direction, as follows.

...Southwards from this, and bordering the sea-coast, is the kingdom Shi-li-ch'a-ta-lo (Srikshetra). Further to the southeast is the kingdom of Lang-chia-shu. Further east is the kingdom of She-ho-po-ti (Dvaravati). In the extreme east is the kingdom of Lin-i (Champa)...

Journey of Xuanzang also provided the location of the polities in the same area with I Ching. as follows.

...Thence north-eastwards is the kingdom of Shi-li-ch'a-ta-lo (Srikshetra), Next, to the south-east, in a recess of the ocean, is the kingdom of Chia-mo-lang-chia (Kamalanka). Next, to the east is the kingdom of To-lo-po-ti (Dvaravati). Next, to the east is the kingdom of I-shang-na-pu-lo (Isanapura). Next to the east is the kingdom of Mo-ho-chan-po (Mahacampa), which is the same as Lin-i...

From both texts, if Lang-ya-hsiu/Lang-chia-shu or Chia-mo-lang-chia (Kamalanka) is identified with Langkasuka as Paul Wheatley's presumption, Dvaravati, Isanapura, and Champa would be placed somewhere in the middle of the South China Sea, which is impracticable. Thus, the west Menam Valley is more feasible.

Suchandra Ghosh, an Indian archeologist, placed Kamalanka in the Irrawaddy delta, to be specific, Pegu, while George Cœdès identified Pegu with Mäppappälam (Papphäla), the city raided by Rajendra Chola I in 1030.

History

Early city-state: 1st – 5th century

The earliest and most detailed description of Kamalanka comes from the Chinese Liang dynasty (502–557) record Liáng Shū, which refers to the kingdom of "Lang-ya-xiu" (Chinese: 狼牙脩, Middle Chinese: lɑŋ ŋˠa sɨu) or "Lang-chia-shu", which has been identified with Kamalanka. The record mentions that the kingdom was founded over 400 years earlier, which made its founding likely sometime in the late 1st or early 2nd century. Moreover, Thai scholars believe that the city of "Balangka, an inland town" (บลังกา), mentioned in the Geographike Hyphegesis of Ptolemy in the 2nd century, was potentially Kamalanka.

In this period, several polities emerged in the Chao Phraya River Valley, such as the five kingdoms of Tun Sun on the upper Malay Peninsular, the city state of Chin Lin centered at Mueang Uthong, as well as Si Thep (potentially the legendary Ayojjhapura) to the northeast. Records about these polities are extremely limited. Tun Sun fell under Funan around 245 CE.

Dvaravati period: 6th – 10th century

Stucco relief found at Khu Bua archaeological site, dating to 650-700 C.E., Dvaravati culture. Three female musicians on the right are playing (from center) a 5-stringed lute, cymbals, a tube zither or bar zither with a gourd resonator.

In the 6th century, Funan began to decline. Several polities broke away, such as Tou Yuan and Tanling, which later became the vassals of Dvaravati. Kamalanka or Chia-mo-lang-chia probably absorbed Tun Sun and Chin Lin and expanded its territory to the south at the present-day Chumphon province, and to the east met Chenla at present-day Chanthaburi province. It later became part of the Dvaravati civilization.

The journey record of a Chinese Buddhist Xuanzang in the 7th century provided the information regarding the location of Kamalanka, which was said to be located to the southeast of Sri Ksetra kingdom, to the west of Dvaravati, and adjoined Pan Pan to the south, with the southernmost territory near the Lang-ya-jiew islands (birds' nest islands) in the present-day Chumphon province. Dvaravati that was thought to have been located at an ancient Nakhon Pathom, but from the evidence of I Ching, it must be moved to the eastern side of the valley. Cœdès proposed that Kamalanka expanded its territory eastward to modern Chanthaburi province in eastern Thailand where it bordered with Chenla.

However, due to the overlap in territory claimed in the aforementioned Chiese text I Ching and the area that was expected to be a Funan's dependency, Tun Sun, together with the story given by Lang-ya-hsiu's embassy to the Chinese court regarding the state establishment and gaining independence as well as the disappearance of Tun Sun from the historical record at the beginning of the 6th century, Lang-ya-hsiu was speculated to be the successor state of Tun Sun and later evolved to or merged with Dvaravati. Some scholar locates Kamalanka at the present Mueang Uthong.

Downfall: 10th – 11th century

Aerial view of an ancient city in Nong Chaeng village, Sra Krachom subdistrict, Don Chedi, Suphan Buri province in 1953, which was speculated to be Suvarnapura of Chen Li Fu, a successor of Kamalanka. The area is now transformed into an agricultural area.

In the 10th century, Kamalanka began to decline since the western coast was conquered by the Pagan Kingdom, who expanded its territory southward to the Kra Isthmus as far as to the south of present-day Phuket province and controlled the maritime trade between the India Ocean and the South China Sea, as recorded in the Dhammarajaka inscription. This led to the conflict between the Pagan Kingdom and the Sinhalese from the Chola Empire, who was the overload of several polities in the Malay Peninsula at the moment. The western coat was then constantly raided by the Sinhalese navy. Kamlanka was also attackted by the Chola Empire during the South-East Asia campaign of Rajendra I against Tambralinga and Srivijaya in 1030.

Kamalanka's chief city, the ancient Nakhon Pathom, was potentially destroyed in 1058 by King Anawrahta of Pagan during his campaign to conquer the Lavo Kingdom. If not, it might have been weakened due to the 925–927 conflicts between two Mon's sister states, Haripuñjaya and Lavo, which led to the conquering of the lower Chao Phraya River Valley by Tambralinga from the south in 927.

After the fall of Kamalanka, its successor kingdom, Chen Li Fu was established around the 12th century, possibly centered near the Nong Chaeng village in Sra Krachom subdistrict (ตำบลสระกระโจม), Don Chedi, Suphan Buri province, as there are traces of a large ancient city surrounded by a rectangular moat, and was speculated to be Suvarnapura, a city mentioned in the Prasat Phra Khan inscription (จารึกปราสาทพระขรรค์). Some propose that Suvarnapura was at the Nern Thang Phra Archaeological Site (แหล่งโบราณคดีเนินทางพระ), about 20 kilometers northeast of the Nong Chaeng village. Initially, Chen Li Fu was potentially a vassal of the Angkor or had relatives with the Angkor kings; however, due to the decline in power of Angkor, Chen Li Fu broke away and sent an embassy itself to the Chinese court in 1200.

External links

• Michel Jacq-Hergoualc'h (1 January 2022). "The Mergui-Tenasserim Region in the Context of the Maritime Silk Road: From the Beginning of the Christian Era to the End of the Thirteenth Century AD". doi:10.1163/9789004502079_007.