Jayasena
King of Siam from 1253 to 1289
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Jayasena (Thai: ชัยเสน), the sixth king of Xiān at Ayodhya, succeeded to the throne upon the death of his father-in-law, Uthong II. His claim was legitimized through marriage to Uthong II’s only daughter, who had previously been betrothed to his elder brother, Jayadatta (ชัยทัต). Jayadatta’s premature death, however, prevented the marriage from being formalized, thereby enabling Jayasena to assume both the royal marriage alliance and the succession to Ayodhya.[2]
| Jayasena ชัยเสน | |
|---|---|
| 25th King of Siam 15th King of Ayodhya | |
| King of Xiān's Ayodhya | |
| Reign | 1253–1289 |
| Predecessor | Uthong II |
| Successor | Suvarnaraja |
| King of Tai's Phichai Chiang Mai | |
| Reign | 1289–early 14th-c. |
| Predecessor | Sukhandhakhiri |
| Successor | Ruled from Sukhothai |
| Died | early 14th-c. Phichai Chiang Mai |
| Consort | Rajadevi |
| House | Phetchaburi–Viang Chaiprakarn |
| Dynasty | Guruwamsa[a] |
| Father | Sukhandhakhiri of Phichai Chiang Mai |
During his reign, China dispatched a naval embassy to Xiān in 1282 under the leadership of He Zizhi; the mission failed when the envoys were captured and executed by Cham forces.[3]: 140 [4]: 38–9 In response, Xiān undertook its first formal diplomatic mission to China in the following decade.[5][6]
Jayasena, in 1289, abdicated in favor of his adopted son, Suvarnaraja, the child of Jayadatta and Uthong II’s daughter. Afterward, he moved north back to Phichai Chiang Mai or Kampoṭanagara (กัมโพชนคร), where he succeeded his father Sukhandhakhiri (สุคนธคีรี).[7]: 69
Enthronement
According to the Northern Chronicle, Jayasena and his elder brother Jayadatta were sons of Sukhandhakhiri, king of Sukandhakiree (สุคันธคีรี).[7]: 66–7 [8] Jayadatta reportedly engaged in a secret affair with his cousin, Uthong II’s only daughter, an act that led to his death at the hands of the king. When it became known that the princess was pregnant, the younger brother Jayasena was compelled to marry her, thereby legitimizing his claim and enabling him to succeed to the throne of Ayodhya following Uthong II’s death in 1253.[9]: 167 [8]
Relations with China
In 1282, during Jayasena's reign at Ayodhya, there is a record of a Chinese naval embassy sent to Xiān that was intercepted by the Chams, and the ambassadors were killed; the Emperor Kublai Khan was then at war with the Chams.[3]: 140 [4]: 38–39
During the reign of Jayasena at Ayodhya, Xian again appearing in Chinese dynastic history is found in the biography of Chen-yi-zhong in the Sung-shi. It reads, "In the 19th year of the Zhi-yuan 至元 era (1282–83) the Great Army attacked Champa and [Chen] Yi-zhong fled to Xian, where he died eventually." Chen-yi-zhong was a defeated minister of the Southern Sung Dynasty who tried unsuccessfully to find a haven in Champa, which was eventually invaded by the Yuan army. Chen's subsequent flight to Xian might suggest that Xian was a commercially flourishing port in the post-Srivijayan Southeast Asian trade order, where the Southern Sung Dynasty minister could find a settlement of compatriots.[4]: 38 [10]: 70