Surin (, ; , ) is a town in

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, capital of

Surin province Surin (, ; , ; ) is one of Thailand's seventy-seven Provinces of Thailand, provinces (''changwat''). It lies in Isan#Administrative divisions, lower northeastern Thailand, also called Isan. Neighboring provinces are (from west clockwise) Burira ...

, east-northeast of

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

. It is the site of the annual Surin Elephant Round-up. , Surin has an estimated population of 39,179.

Etymology

The first part of the name ''Sur-'' originates from the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

word ''Sura'' (

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; in script: , , ) is an Indic script used in the Indian subcontinent. It is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental systems: alphabets, writing system), based on the ancient ''Brāhmī script, Brā ...

: सुर) meaning "God" (cf.

Asura Asuras () are a class of beings in Indian religions, and later Persian and Turkic mythology. They are described as power-seeking beings related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the wor ...

), and the second part ''-in(thara)'' from Sanskrit is "

Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes Indra is the m ...

" (

: इन्द्र). Hence the name of the province literally means ''Lord Indra''.

Geography

In the north of the province is the valley of the

Mun river The Mun River (, , ; , ), sometimes spelled ''Moon River'', is a tributary of the Mekong River. It carries approximately of water per year. Geography The river begins in the Khao Yai National Park area of the Sankamphaeng Range, near Nakhon R ...

, a tributary of the

Mekong The Mekong or Mekong River ( , ) is a transboundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth-longest river and the third-longest in Asia with an estimated length of and a drainage area of , discharging of wat ...

. To the south of the province is the Dongrek mountain chain, which also forms the boundary to Cambodia. The central and northern parts of the province are undulating flood plains.

Climate

Surin has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

Aw). Winters are dry and warm. Temperatures rise until April, with the average daily maximum at . The

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

season runs from late April through early October, with heavy rain and somewhat cooler temperatures during the day, although nights remain warm.

History

Prehistory

The earliest settlers in this region were hunter-gatherers. The Neolithic, with the introduction of agriculture, dates from 2,500 to 1,500 years BCE. The

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

dates from 1,500–500 BCE and the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

from 500 BCE to 500 CE. It is in the Iron Age that the first evidence of human settlement emerges in the province, with approximately sixty known Iron Age sites.

Historical period

The earliest known historical period is the Dvaravati. This was an Indian-based culture that diffused through the north-east region of what is now

. Evidence of this culture is found in the Surin region, dating from the 7th to the 11th centuries CE. It was in this period that Buddhism became the dominant religion of the region. Following the Dvaravati period, the powerful

Khmer Empire The Khmer Empire was an empire in Southeast Asia, centered on Hydraulic empire, hydraulic cities in what is now northern Cambodia. Known as Kambuja (; ) by its inhabitants, it grew out of the former civilization of Chenla and lasted from 802 t ...

expanded its influence throughout what is now the southern Isan region of Thailand. This period covers the 7th to 13th centuries CE. Surin was an important part of the ancient Khmer empire. Temple ruins and a substantial ethnic Khmer minority remain part of Surin. Khmer stone inscriptions date from c. 600 CE. Over the next several centuries, a growing number of Khmer sites were constructed in the province, most notably Prasat Sikhoraphum. These sites would have formed part of the network of Khmer infrastructure centred on Prasat Phanom Rung. With the collapse of the

in the 13th century, Surin province faded from history. It was in the 18th century that it re-emerges. At this time, a Kuay local leader named Chiangpum became the royally appointed ruler of the region. According to legend, he presented a rare

white elephant A white elephant is a possession that its owner cannot dispose of without extreme difficulty, and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness. In modern usage, it is a metaphor used to describe an object, ...

to Chao Phaya Chakri, future King

Rama I Phutthayotfa Chulalok (born Thongduang; 20 March 1737 – 7 September 1809), also known by his regnal name Rama I, was the founder of the Rattanakosin Kingdom (now Thailand) and the first King of Siam from the reigning Chakri dynasty. He asc ...

. In gratitude, Chiangpum was awarded the royal title ''Luang Surin Phakdi'' and appointed the village headman. When Rama I became the Thai monarch, he appointed Luang Surin Phakdi as the province's governor. In 1763, the village was moved to the location of the modern city of Surin, and was upgraded to a city with the name ''Muang Prathai Saman''. There is a local legend that this move was due to better water supplies at the new site. The original location of the town was at Muang Thi, approximately 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) to the east of the modern city. In 1786, the city's name was changed to Surin in honor of its governor. The province slowly grew in population; there was a continual influx of people from surrounding areas, principally Cambodia (part of what is now western Cambodia was ruled by Bangkok at this time). Surin was largely self-sufficient, and somewhat isolated. This changed with the advent of the railroad in 1922. Chinese and Indian merchants settled, and its manufacturing increased.

Transportation

The town is served by Surin Airport, which as of 2021, lacked any commercial-passenger or

cargo airline Cargo airlines (or air freight carriers, and derivatives of these names) are airlines mainly dedicated to the transport of air cargo, cargo by air. Some cargo airlines are divisions or subsidiaries of larger passenger airlines. In 2018, airli ...

services. Buriram Airport is nearby and with two passenger airlines serving it, it is the closest airport with airline services.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Populated places in Surin province Cities and towns in Thailand Isan