Pha Mueang

Pha Mueang or Pho Khun Pha Mueang (Thai: พ่อขุนผาเมือง; late 12th century – mid 13th century) was the ruler of Mueang Rat and a son of Sri Naw Nam Thum. He was one of the two commanders of the campaign that took Sukhothai, usually dated to about 1238 though the year is disputed, and so had a part in the founding of the Sukhothai Kingdom. He is known almost entirely from the Wat Si Chum Inscription, a stele of 1357 composed by a kinsman. From the ruler at Angkor he had received a Khmer title, a sword of victory and a princess in marriage. After the campaign he took neither the city nor his own title, installing his ally Bang Klang Hao at Sukhothai and passing the title of Sri Indraditya to him.

Two questions dominate the writing about him. Where Mueang Rat lay is disputed, with proposals in the Pasak valley near Lom Sak, in the Nan valley near Uttaradit, and at the old Khorat site in Sung Noen. How the campaign should be read is also disputed. In one reading the defeated Khom Sabat Khlon Lamphong commanded a Khmer garrison and the episode was the liberation of Sukhothai from Khmer rule; others treat it as a contest between two local lords who both held Khmer honours.