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13511351–1767 · Ayutthaya

Ayutthaya, capital of Siam

A 1660s Dutch painting of Ayutthaya, the walled island city of temples ringed by rivers
Archival image: Johannes Vingboons, Rijksmuseum. CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

King U Thong founded Ayutthaya in 1351 on an island where three rivers meet. For four centuries it was the capital of Siam and one of Asia's great trading cities, with quarters for Portuguese, Dutch, Japanese and Chinese merchants. A Burmese army sacked it in 1767, and the burned temples and headless Buddhas it left behind now form a World Heritage site.

Sites

  1. Site 1: Wat MahathatRuined brick prangs and a stone Buddha head held in fig-tree roots.Map ↗
  2. Site 2: Wat Phra Si SanphetThree restored chedis on the grounds of the old royal palace.Map ↗

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