24 Facts About Lan Xang

Traditional court histories of Lan Xang begin in the Year of the Naga 1316 with the birth of Fa Ngum.

From 1428 to 1440 seven kings ruled Lan Xang; all were killed by assassination or intrigue guided by a Queen known only by her title as Maha Devi or as Nang Keo Phimpha "The Cruel".

Lan Xang chose the Phra Bang a standing image of the Buddha in the mudra or position of "dispelling fear" to be the palladium of Lan Xang.

King Photisarath was one of the great kings of Lan Xang, he took Nang Yot Kham Tip from Lanna as his queen as well as lesser queens from Ayutthaya, and Longvek.

In 1533 he moved his court to Vientiane, the commercial capital of Lan Xang which was located on the floodplains of the Mekong below the capital at Luang Prabang.

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Vientiane was the principal city of Lan Xang, and lay at the confluence of trade routes, but that access made it the focal point for invasion from which it was difficult to defend.

Lan Xang dispatched reinforcements to support their allies in Lanna.

Lan Xang was at the height of their political power, with Photisarath as King of Lan Xang and Setthathirath his son as King of Lanna.

The Khmer Chronicles record that armies from Lan Xang invaded in 1571 and 1572, during the second invasion King Barom Reacha I was slain in an elephant duel.

Lan Xang fell under immediate suspicion, and a civil war raged in Vientiane as a succession dispute took place.

The sangha in Lan Xang sent a mission to King Nandabayin asking for Nokeo Koumane to be returned to Lan Xang as a vassal king.

Under the reign of King Sourigna Vongsa Lan Xang experienced a fifty seven-year period of peace and restoration.

Lan Xang concluded a series of treaties which established both trade agreements and boundaries between the surrounding kingdoms.

Lan Xang left an eyewitness description of the royal palace in Vientiane during the height of power in Lan Xang.

In 1707 Lan Xang was divided and the kingdoms of Luang Prabang and Vientiane emerged.

The river provided the means for the people, commerce and armies of Lan Xang to move between regional power centers, but formed important geographic and defensive barriers.

Major cities of Lan Xang were located in Luang Prabang, Vientiane including the towns in Nong Khai, Muang Phuan, Muang Sa or Muang Champa Nakhon, Nong Khai, Sikhottabong, and Xiang Hun in Sip Song Panna.

Lan Xang had ethnic diversity from trade and overland ethnic migrations.

Theravada Buddhism was the state religion of Lan Xang beginning with King Photisarath in 1527, but had been a growing part of cultural legacy since Fa Ngum.

Lan Xang had several powerful Buddha images which served as palladiums and spiritual symbols of the kingdom which included the Phra Bang, Phra Keo, Phra Saekham, and Phra Luk .

Lan Xang was at the center of the overland trade routes in Southeast Asia.

The monarchy in Laos, which was a direct continuation from the traditions of Lan Xang would continue for seven hundred and fifty years through the Khun Lo Dynasty until 1975.

The political institutions in Lan Xang created disputes and instability especially during royal successions.

Trade and the economy of Lan Xang were based on high value commodities which could be easily transported using overland trade routes.