Wisutthithewi
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Wisutthithewi ( th, พระนางวิสุทธิเทวี) was
queen regnant A queen regnant (plural: queens regnant) is a female monarch, equivalent in rank and title to a king, who reigns ''suo jure'' (in her own right) over a realm known as a "kingdom"; as opposed to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reignin ...
of
Lan Na The Lan Na Kingdom ( nod, , , "Kingdom of a Million Rice Fields"; th, อาณาจักรล้านนา, , ), also known as Lannathai, and most commonly called Lanna or Lanna Kingdom, was an Indianized state centered in present-day ...
from 1564 to 1578.


Names

Wisutthithewi's name is variously romanized Visuddhidevi, Wisutthi Thewi, and Wisuthithewi. While the Chiang Mai Chronicle consistently records her name as Wisutthathewi, the Yonok Chronicle prefers Wisutthithewi. She also has a number of names across extant historical sources: in the Burmese and
Chiang Saen Chiang Saen may refer to: * Chiang Saen District, in Chiang Rai Province, northern Thailand * Chiang Saen, a capital of the ancient Lanna The Lan Na Kingdom ( nod, , , "Kingdom of a Million Rice Fields"; th, อาณาจักรล้ ...
chronicles, she is referred to as Lady Wisutthathewi, and is also called Maha Dewi (မဟာဒေဝီ, ) in U Kala's chronicle, ''
Maha Yazawin The ''Maha Yazawin'', fully the ''Maha Yazawindawgyi'' ( my, မဟာ ရာဇဝင်တော်ကြီး, ) and formerly romanized as the ,. is the first national chronicle of Burma/Myanmar. Completed in 1724 by U Kala, a historian at ...
'', and as Ratcha Thewi () and Nang Thewi in other sources.


Early life

Wisutthithewi's origins are unclear; she may have been a daughter of Ket Chettharat, a ruler of Chiang Mai, or Princess Ton Kham, the youngest daughter of Chettharat. She may have been the queen consort of her predecessor
Mekuti Mekuti Sutthiwong ( th, เมกุฏิสุทธิวงศ์; died 1581) or Mae Ku ( th, แมกุ) was king of Lan Na from 1551 to 1564.Rajanubhab, D., 2001, Our Wars With the Burmese, Bangkok: White Lotus Co. Ltd., His reign saw t ...
.


Reign

The reign of her predecessor,
Mekuti Mekuti Sutthiwong ( th, เมกุฏิสุทธิวงศ์; died 1581) or Mae Ku ( th, แมกุ) was king of Lan Na from 1551 to 1564.Rajanubhab, D., 2001, Our Wars With the Burmese, Bangkok: White Lotus Co. Ltd., His reign saw t ...
, saw
Lan Na The Lan Na Kingdom ( nod, , , "Kingdom of a Million Rice Fields"; th, อาณาจักรล้านนา, , ), also known as Lannathai, and most commonly called Lanna or Lanna Kingdom, was an Indianized state centered in present-day ...
transition into a
vassal state A vassal state is any state that has a mutual obligation to a superior state or empire, in a status similar to that of a vassal in the feudal system in medieval Europe. Vassal states were common among the empires of the Near East, dating back to ...
of the
Toungoo empire The First Toungoo Empire ( my, တောင်ငူ ခေတ်, ; also known as the First Toungoo Dynasty, the Second Burmese Empire or simply the Toungoo Empire) was the dominant power in mainland Southeast Asia in the second half of the ...
. In 1564, she was installed as
queen regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, ...
by
Bayinnaung , image = File:Bayinnaung.JPG , caption = Statue of Bayinnaung in front of the National Museum of Myanmar , reign = 30 April 1550 – 10 October 1581 , coronation = 11 January 1551 at Toung ...
, in response to Mekuti's refusal to join Bayinnaung's military campaign against
Ayutthaya Ayutthaya, Ayudhya, or Ayuthia may refer to: * Ayutthaya Kingdom, a Thai kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767 ** Ayutthaya Historical Park, the ruins of the old capital city of the Ayutthaya Kingdom * Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province (locally ...
, which was seen by Bayinnaung as an act of rebellion. Throughout her fourteen-year reign, Lan Na enjoyed political stability, and Wisutthithewi offered tribute to the Toungoo empire, in exchange for political stability in her dominion, which had seen recurrent instability from raids and conflicts with neighboring territories. Wisutthithewi is portrayed in a contemporaneous Thai epic poem ''Khlong mangthra rop Chiang Mai'' (โคลงมังทรารบเชียงใหม่, ), written by an anonymous Lan Na author. The poem mentions a queen, Mae Mintaya Sri, which implies that she may have been wed to Bayinnaung. However, no other Burmese or Lan Na sources corroborate any marriage between Bayinnaung and Wisutthithewi; moreover, no Chiang Mai princess is listed among Bayinnaung's queens and concubines in these sources.


Death

Wisutthithewi died in October 1578, and news of her death reached
Pegu Bago (formerly spelt Pegu; , ), formerly known as Hanthawaddy, is a city and the capital of the Bago Region in Myanmar. It is located north-east of Yangon. Etymology The Burmese name Bago (ပဲခူး) is likely derived from the Mon lang ...
in January 1579. Following her death,
Bayinnaung , image = File:Bayinnaung.JPG , caption = Statue of Bayinnaung in front of the National Museum of Myanmar , reign = 30 April 1550 – 10 October 1581 , coronation = 11 January 1551 at Toung ...
appointed his son
Nawrahta Minsaw Nawrahta Minsaw ( my, နော်ရထာ မင်းစော, ; formally, Anawrahta Minsaw; also known as Nawrahta Saw and Tharrawaddy Min; 1551/52–1607/08) was king of Lan Na from 1579 to 1607/08, and the first Burmese-born vassal king ...
as her successor. The ashes of Wisutthithewi are interred in a chedi at Wat Lok Moli in
Chiang Mai Chiang Mai (, from th, เชียงใหม่ , nod, , เจียงใหม่ ), sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the second largest city in ...
.


See also

*
Toungoo dynasty , conventional_long_name = Toungoo dynasty , common_name = Taungoo dynasty , era = , status = Empire , event_start = Independence from Ava , year_start ...
*
Lan Na The Lan Na Kingdom ( nod, , , "Kingdom of a Million Rice Fields"; th, อาณาจักรล้านนา, , ), also known as Lannathai, and most commonly called Lanna or Lanna Kingdom, was an Indianized state centered in present-day ...
*
List of rulers of Lan Na This article lists the lord ruler of Lan Na from the foundation of the Ngoenyang in 638 until the end of Kingdom of Chiang Mai under Siamese administration in 1939. Kings of Ngoen Yang # Lawachangkarat ''or'' Lavachankaraja ''or'' Lao Chong ...


References

{{Rulers of Lan Na under Burmese rule Rulers of Chiang Mai Toungoo dynasty Queens regnant 16th-century women rulers