Nan Kingdom

Early establishment

The Nan polity was established around the 13th century under the reign of Phukha. Its political center was located at Mueang Yang (เมืองย่าง; present-day Ban Siao, Yom subdistrict, Tha Wang Pha district, Nan province)^[5]. Meanwhile, the Ratchawongsapakon: The Chronicle of Nan, compiled during the Rattanakosin period under King Suriyaphong Pharitdet, is the only source that states that the Kao Dynasty descended from Lao Ko, a son of Lavachangkarat, in 677.^[6] However, this account bears no connection to the later sections of the chronicle, from the second part onwards through the reign of Suriyaphong Pharitdet, where the lineage of Lavachangkarat is never mentioned again.^[7] According to the Phuen Mueang Nan (The Nan Chronicle), Phukha had two sons: Khun Nun and Khun Fong. Phukha then instructed his elder son to establish and rule Luang Prabang over the Lao people, while his younger son founded Mueang Pua (also known as Woranakhon) to govern the Kao people.^[7]

When Khun Fong died, Kaokluean, his son, succeeded him as the ruler of Mueang Pua^[5], while in Mueang Yang, Phukha was aging, so he abdicated in favour of his grandson Kaokluean. Kaokluean then went to rule Mueang Yang and assigned Nang Phaya Mae Thao Khamphin, his wife, to rule Pua.^[8]

Under Phayao rule

Realizing that Pua is “only ruled by a queen”, Ngammueang, king of Phayao Kingdom, sent an army to captures the city in 1263.^[3] He then appointed his wife Oua Chiangsaen and their son Aampom to rule Pua. Nang Phaya Mae Thao Khamphin, who was pregnant then, fled to Ban Huai Rang and gave birth to a son, Phanong. Phanong grew up and became Ngammueang's noble. Ngammueang gave him the title Khun Saiyot and assigned him to rule Mueang Prad.^[8]

Following a series of legendary events where Phra Ruang of Sukhotai slept with Ngammueang’s wife^[3] and Ngammueang criticized Oua Chiangsaen’s curry, cracks began forming between the two’s relationships.^[8] When Ngammueang later acquired a new consort from Chiang Mai, Oua Chiangsaen took the chance to leave Phayao^[3] for Pua, where she invited Khun Saiyot, an heir to the old Nan throne to the city. Khun Saiyot married Oua Chiangsaen at Pua.^[8]

Learning this, Ngammueang gathered an army to attack Pua, positioning them at Ban Nongriang. Khun Saiyot gathered his army to defend Pua with Aampom as the leading general. When Ngammueang learned that his own son led the army against him, he ordered the army to retreat.^[8] The royal court at Pua then crowned Chao Saiyot as Phaya Phanong, king of independent Pua in 1313, liberating the Nan kingdom from the Phayao kingdom. ^[9]

Expansion under Phaya Phanong

In 1338, Phanong and Khamfu of Lan Na coordinated an attack to sack the city of Phayao, forcing its king to fled. However, Khamfu insisted on not sharing the loot they got from Phayao, instead quickly retreating to Chiang Rai with all the loot.^[10] Thus, Phanong launched an attack on Lan Na.^[7] Phanong’s army sacked Fang before losing a battle to Khamfu, where his army is pushed back to Mueang Ngae, then fled through Sa Lao back to Pua.^[10] Lan Na would annex Phayao itself, while Nan would incorporate the former subject mueangs of Phayao along the upper Yom River.^[9]

Founding of a new capital

In 1359, Kranmueang moved capital to Mueang Phu Phiang Chae Haeng due to its abundant resources and better access to trade with cities further south. He built Wat Phra That Chae Heang after receiving Buddha relics and votive tablets from Sukhothai,^[5] its kinship state^[11]. This offended Ayutthaya which was expanding its own power North. Kranmueang was assassinated by poisoning at the order of the king of Ayutthaya.^[12] Phakong succeeded him in 1361 and moved the capital to Ban Huai Khai in 1368 due to a drought, naming it Wiang Nan (present-day Wiang Tai in Nan city).^[9]

Nan's relationship with Sukhotai grew closer from the late 14th century onward.^[7] In a war against Borommarachathirat I⁣⁣ of Ayutthaya in 1376, Phakong sent troops to assist ⁣⁣Maha Thammaracha II of Sukhothai,^[7] but was defeated, and many of his troops were captured.^[13] The next king, ⁣⁣Khamtan⁣⁣ continued this relationship via an oath of allegiance in the form of a pair of stone inscriptions, Pu Khun Chit Khun Chot Inscription and Kham Pu Sabot Inscription ("The Grandfather's Curse"), where Khamtan (referred to as "The Grandfather") and Li Thai (referred to as "The Grandson") vow to be allies and condemn any oathbreakers to hell.^[14] This again angered Ayutthaya who assassinated Khamtan during his consecration ritual through poisoning his ceremonial holy water.^[12]

Under Phrae Rule

Srichanta succeeded Khamtan in 1398. In 1399, the two ruling brothers of Phrae , Then and Ounmueang, conquered Nan and killed Srichanta, while his brother Hung fled to Srisatchanalai.^[9] After ruling only for 6 months, Then died of illness, leaving Ounmueang to ascend the throne. One year later, Sukhothai rallied an army from Sritsatchanalai to aid Hung in retaking the Nan throne. Hung won the battle in 1400, captured Ounmueang and sending him as a captive to Sukhotai while he ascended the Nan throne.^[8]

Succession crisis

After king Ngua Lan Pha Sum's death, Intakaenthao^[12] ascended the throne in 1433. he only ruled Nan for 3 months before his two younger brothers, Phaeng and Ho Phrom, seized the throne in1434^[9] and imprisoned him in a cage. Intakaenthao faked that he had a deadly diarrhea, convincing his two brothers to let him out. He then escaped and made his way to Chaliang. Phaeng only ruled for 1 year before Sukhotai again rallied an army from Chaliang to help Intakaentao recapture the throne. The two engaged in an elephant duel where Intakaenthao won and killed Phaeng in battle.^[12] Intakaenthao ascended the throne a second time in 1435.^[9]Sarasawadee OOngsakul have observed that in Nan royal conflicts, the faction that sided with Sukhotai would win.^[7]

Conquest by Lan Na

In the late 15th century, many small states started to be integrated into larger kingdoms; this started with the collapse of the Sukhothai Kingdom and its annexation into the Ayutthaya Kingdom in 1438. Nan remained independent but lost its major historic allies.^[7] In 1443, Chiang Mai chronicle recorded that king Intakaenthao of Nan tricked king Tilokkaraj of Lan Na into sending an army after a false Vietnamese invasion, before massaccring the army.^[10] Nan Chronicle, meanwhile, recorded that Nan diplomats gave Tilokkaraj some salt from Bo Mang, which enticed him to conquer Nan. In 1449, Tilokaraj marched from Mueang Lo through Mueang Pong and Mueang Khuan before bombarding Nan with artillery fire then storming the city.^[12] Inthakaenthao fled to Mueang Chaliang. Tilokaraj then appointed Chao Phaeng's son, Phasaeng as the vassal ruler of Nan until 1459. After Phasaeng died, Nan was annexed into Lan Na in 1461 and its governor appointed from Chiang Mai.^[7]

Salt wells

Nan Kingdom possessed multiple salt wells which were known to be active since at least the 14th century. Most of these are located along the upper Nan and Mang river, around a mueang known as Bo Mang in what is now Bo Kleau district. Some of these wells are still active today, where salt is still produced during the dry season by extracting the underground saline and boiling it while stirring for 4 hours until the salt crystalized, then leaving it to dry for 4 hours before being stored in a specialized bamboo basket.^[15]

This salt enticed Lan Na to conquer Nan, where following the conquest, Nan's salt became one of Lan Na's most valueble exports.^[15]