Phimai ( th, พิมาย) is a township (''

thesaban tambon Thesaban ( th, เทศบาล, , ) are the municipalities of Thailand. There are three levels of municipalities: city, town, and sub-district. Bangkok and Pattaya are special municipal entities not included in the ''thesaban'' system. The mu ...

'') in Nakhon Ratchasima Province in northeast

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

. As of 2005 the town had a population of 9,768. The town is the administrative center of the Phimai District. In the aftermath of the fall of the

Ayutthaya Kingdom The Ayutthaya Kingdom (; th, อยุธยา, , IAST: or , ) was a Siamese kingdom that existed in Southeast Asia from 1351 to 1767, centered around the city of Ayutthaya, in Siam, or present-day Thailand. The Ayutthaya Kingdom is consi ...

in 1767, attempts were made to set up five separate states, with Prince Teppipit, a son of king

Boromakot Borommakot ( th, บรมโกศ, ) or Maha Thammarachathirat II ( th, สมเด็จพระมหาธรรมราชาธิราชที่ ๒) was the king of Ayutthaya from 1733 to 1758. His reign was the last blooming perio ...

, attempting to establish Phimai as one, holding sway over eastern provinces including

Nakhon Ratchasima Nakhon Ratchasima ( th, นครราชสีมา, ) is one of the four major cities of Isan, Thailand, known as the "big four of Isan". The city is commonly known as Korat (, ), a shortened form of its name. It is the governmental seat o ...

. The weakest of the five, Prince Teppipit was the first defeated and was executed in 1768. Phimai had also been an important town at the time of the Khmer empire. The region was integrated into the Khmer state around 1000 CE.Higham, C, ''The Civilization of Angkor'', London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2001. For the following 300 years, Phimai was a major regional administrative center.Welch, D. J. (1998). "Archaeology of north-east Thailand in relation to the pre-Khmer and Khmer historical records". ''International Journal of Historical Archaeology'', 2(3), 205-233. The temple Prasat Hin Phimai, in the center of the town, was one of the major Khmer temples in what is now Thailand, connected with

Angkor Angkor ( km, អង្គរ , 'Capital city'), also known as Yasodharapura ( km, យសោធរបុរៈ; sa, यशोधरपुर),Headly, Robert K.; Chhor, Kylin; Lim, Lam Kheng; Kheang, Lim Hak; Chun, Chen. 1977. ''Cambodian-Engl ...

by the Khmer highway, and oriented so as to face Angkor as its

cardinal direction The four cardinal directions, or cardinal points, are the four main compass directions: north, east, south, and west, commonly denoted by their initials N, E, S, and W respectively. Relative to north, the directions east, south, and west are ...

. The site is now protected as the

Phimai Historical Park The Phimai Historical Park ( km, ប្រាសាទពិមាយ, , th, ปราสาทหินพิมาย, ) is one of the largest Hindu Khmer temples in Thailand. It is located in the town of Phimai, Nakhon Ratchasima province. I ...

. Phimai has recently been the base of operations for the excavation of Ban Non Wat.

Korat cat

Phimai is thought to be the place where the famed

Korat The Korat cat ( th, โคราช, มาเลศ, สีสวาด, ) is a silver-tipped blue-grey, short-haired breed of domestic cat with a small to medium build and a low percentage of body fat. Its body is semi-cobby, and unusually hea ...

cat breed originated.

References

External links

* Populated places in Nakhon Ratchasima province {{NakhonRatchasima-geo-stub de:Phimai