ADMINISTRATIVE STYE DURING THE SI THAMMASOKARAT DYNASTY

Abstract

This academic article aims to analyze the administrative and governance model of the Srithammaracha Dynasty by employing documentary research, drawing upon religious scriptures, chronicles, academic theses, journals, websites, and scholarly articles in various forms. The collected data were systematically analyzed. The findings reveal that, following the decline of the Srivijaya Empire, the Srithammaracha Dynasty emerged as a significant ruling power that shaped governance, political structures, and cultural development in the southern Thai Peninsula between the 13th and 18th Buddhist centuries. Nakhon Si Thammarat served as the political and cultural center of the kingdom. The governance system was highly centralized under a monarch who functioned simultaneously as both political and religious leader. Social organization was structured according to the principles of Buddhist governance (dhammic polity), combined with local traditions and influences from South India. A notable example of this system included the Chatusadom (four ministries), the administrative division into royal cities and tributary states, and the clear designation of officials according to their positions and responsibilities. This administrative framework not only fostered political stability but also represented a distinctive hybrid governance model that blended elements of imperial monarchy (cakravartin) with the concept of a righteous king (dhammaraja). The researcher designates this integrated system as “Cakravartin-Dhammaraja,” a form of monarchy in which the ruler adhered to the Dasa-rajadharma (Ten Royal Virtues) in governing the twelve principal cities, with Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan in Nakhon Si Thammarat as the spiritual and administrative center. This governance system not only reinforced state unity but also established a profound foundation for the propagation of Theravada Buddhism, a legacy that continues to shape the region to the present day.