ABSTRACT

The first direct role the Mongols played in Thai affairs was through the conquest of the Thai state of Nan Chao in 1253. The Mongol invasions and the development of the Thai state upset the Khmer supremacy in mainland Southeast Asia. The Mongols followed the Chinese policy of leaving the border states in a fragmented and weak condition in order to ensure the security of their middle regions. The founder of the new kingdom and capital of Ayuthaya reigned under the title of Ramadhipati. Large numbers of former Khmer bureaucrats brought to Ayuthaya helped the reorganization of the administrative system. The Majapahit was the last great Hindu kingdom of Southeast Asia. Majapahit's central position in international commerce then passed increasingly to Malacca. The conversion of Malaya and the diffusion of Islam in the archipelago as a whole came about with the establishment of a new empire based on a new city, Malacca.