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78-682: Southern Thailand is on the Malay Peninsula , with an area of around 70,714 km (27,303 sq mi), bounded to the north by Kra Isthmus , the narrowest part of the peninsula. The western part has highly steep coasts, while on the east side river plains dominate. The largest river in the south is the Tapi , in Surat Thani , which, together with the Phum Duang in Surat Thani , drains more than 8,000 km (3,100 sq mi), more than 10 percent of

156-486: A GPP per capita of 182,371 baht (US$ 5,883), more than double for Yala province, which is fifth and more than three times for Narathiwat province, lowest in the ranking. Southern Thailand is connected with Bangkok by railway and highway. Several regional airports are located at the larger towns. The transportation hub of all of southern Thailand is Hat Yai. Phetkasem Road , the longest road in Thailand, runs from Bangkok along

234-484: A secondary role to that of places like Java , Sumatra , the Malacca Strait region (Srivijaya in the seventh~eighth century, Melaka in the 15th century), Cambodia , Champa , Vietnam , and Burma . Tambralinga's sudden appearance on centre-stage in the 13th century was thus highly unusual. Information regards Tambralinga's king during this era is scattered and largely based on local legends. Except for Sujita who

312-626: A victory for the Chola and heavy losses for Tambralinga and Srivijaya with the capture of Sangrama Vijayatunggavarman in the Chola raid in 1025. After the fall of Srivijava, the Cholas continued a series of raids and conquests against parts of Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula for the next 20 years. The expedition of Rajendra Chola I had such a lasting impression on the Malay people of the period that his name

390-602: Is 134 per square kilometre (350/sq mi). Religion in Southern Thailand (2015 census) Thailand is a Buddhist-majority country. About 93.46% in Thailand follow Buddhism. Buddhism is the majority religion in southern Thailand as well but makes up 75.45% of the region's people. The Thai follow Theravada Buddhism. Minority ethnic groups such as Khmer also follow Buddhism, and 10 of the 14 provinces in southern Thailand have Buddhist majorities. Islam constitutes 24.33% of Southern Thailand even though it constitutes only 5.36% of

468-421: Is a southwestern Tai language spoken in the 14 changwat of southern Thailand as well as by small Thai communities in the northernmost Malaysian states. It is spoken natively by roughly five million people and as a second language by the 1.5 million native speakers of Patani Malay , along with other ethnic groups such as the local Negritos communities, and other tribal groups. Although Central Thai

546-608: Is constructing the 1.9 billion baht Betong Airport . It is scheduled for completion in 2020. 8°03′33″N 99°58′32″E  /  8.0592°N 99.9756°E  / 8.0592; 99.9756 Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula is located in Mainland Southeast Asia . The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area contains Peninsular Malaysia , Southern Thailand , and

624-597: Is even mentioned (as Raja Chulan ) in the Malay Annals . However, the Chola Empire did not establish its direct rule over South-East Asia though they might have levied a periodic tribute. According to the inscription No. 24 found at Hua-wieng temple in Chaiya near Nakhon Si Thammarat , the ruler of Tambralinga named Chandrabhanu Sridhamaraja was the king of Padmavamsa (Lotus dynasty). He began to reign in 1230, he had

702-401: Is followed by industry (12 percent), trade (10 percent), transportation (9 percent), tourism (8 percent), and construction and property (7 percent). For FY 2018, Southern Thailand Region had a combined economic output of 1,402 trillion baht (US$ 45.2 billion), or 8.6 percent of Thailand's GDP. Surat Thani province had an economic output of 206.869 billion baht (US$ 6.67 billion), which is equal to

780-526: Is the sole official language in Thailand and most people are able to communicate in Central Thai, the language is only the third largest native language in southern Thailand, with roughly four hundred thousand native speakers. In particular, it is native only among the Teochew, Hoklo, Hakka and Cantonese ethnic groups , particularly in their major ethnic enclaves like Hat Yai and Bandon districts; their dialect

858-595: Is very similar to the Krungthep dialect (the upper-class dialect of Bangkok) but is seasoned with some Southern Thai loanwords. The Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) identities Southern Thailand as 14 provinces. The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) includes for Southern Thailand (east coast) also the two provinces of Prachuap Khiri Khan and Phetchaburi. Southern Thailand has 9.454 million inhabitants and its population density

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936-513: The Hikayat Hang Tuah , a well-known classic tale associated with the legendary heroes of Malacca Sultanate . Tanah Melayu in the text is consistently employed to refer to the area under Malaccan dominance. In the early 16th century, Tomé Pires , a Portuguese apothecary who stayed in Malacca from 1512 to 1515, uses an almost identical term, Terra de Tana Malaio , with which he referred to

1014-553: The Khorat Plateau and Chao Phraya basin , which included Lavo Kingdom of Tambralinga's prince Kambojaraja. Suryavarman I's invading of Lavo is probably a cause of the 1025–1026 Tambralinga/Srivijiya–Ankorian/Chola Wars . After Suryavarman I overthrew Jayavirahvarman from the Angkor throne in 1010. He was enthroned as the Angkor's Suryavarman I . Three year later, he devastated

1092-705: The Lavo before it was taken by the Mon 's Haripuñjaya . However, Dupont's theory is rebutted by an expert in Srivijaya Studies, Pratum Chumphengphan, who defines that the wars happened before the Angkorians exercised political power to the Menam Valley . Therefore, the conflict between “ Lavo – Haripuñjaya ” at that time was not yet a fight between the “Angkorian and Mon,” but rather a struggle for power between “Mon of Dvaravati ” in

1170-574: The Lavo which was ruled by Tambralinga's prince Kambojaraja. He then requested aid from Emperor Rajendra Chola I of the Chola dynasty against Tambralinga. After learning of Suryavarman's alliance with Rajendra Chola, the Tambralinga kingdom requested aid from the Srivijaya king, Sangrama Vijayatunggavarman . This eventually led to the Chola Empire coming into conflict with Srivijaya. The conflict ended with

1248-664: The Majapahit kingdom also recognised Nakhon Si Thammarat as belonging to Siam . In the Palatinate Law of King Trailok dated 1468, Nakhon Si Thammarat was listed as one of eight great cities ( Phraya maha nakhon ) belonging to the Ayutthaya Kingdom . During the reign of King Naresuan (r. 1590–1605) it became a first class province ( Mueang Ek) . Restorations were recorded at the time of King Ramesuan (1388–1395), as well as King Narai (1656–1688) of Ayutthaya. The latter one

1326-784: The Malaysian border at the Ko Ta Ru Tao archipelago. The border with Malaysia is formed by the Sankalakhiri range , sometimes sub-divided into the Pattani, Taluban, and Songkhla chain. At the Malaysian border, the Titiwangsa chain rises. The limestone of the west coast has been eroded into many steep singular hills. The parts submerged by the rising sea after the Last Ice Age now form many islands, like

1404-525: The Mon 's Hanthawaddy , together with his younger brother named Dharanont ( ธรนนท์ ), brought their relatives and 30,000 soldiers, along with two Monks Phra Phutthakhamphien ( พระพุทธคัมเภียร ) and Phra Phutthasakon ( พระพุทธสาคร ), moved south to settle in Khao Chawa Prab ( เขาชวาปราบ ) in present-day Krabi Province and later relocated to establish Nakhon Si Thammarat . During the 10th–11th centuries, after gaining independence from Srivijaya by

1482-616: The Pagan Kyanzittha 's grandson and Ceylon 's Parakramabahu I to have concerned rights of passage over the Isthmus of Kra was recorded in 1164. This quarrel would continue and be the cause of the invasion of Sri Lanka in 1247 by Chandrabhanu , whose lineage was believed to have moved from the north. The relationships between Tambralinga and the Tai leaders in the north of the Kra Isthmus

1560-643: The Phra Borommathat ( chedi in Nakhon Si Thammarat, from Sanskrit dhatu - element, component, or relic + garbha - storehouse or repository) reparation and celebration in the same year. Chandrabhanu Sridhamaraja brought Tambralinga to the pinnacle of its power in the mid-13th century. From the Sri Lankan and Tamil materials, records, and sources, Chandrabhanu was a Savakan king from Tambralinga who had invaded Sri Lanka in 1247. His navy launched an assault on

1638-770: The Tembeling region of Pahang . In contrast, the Sung shih gives an account of Tambralinga under the name of Tan-mei-liu , and says Tambralinga seems to have been a dependency of the Khmer Empire during all the reigns of Jayavarman VII (r.1181–1218). An indigenous source of Tambralinga history is an inscription dating to 1183, written in Old Khmer , engraved on the base of a bronze Buddha statue found at Wat Hua Wiang in Chaiya District , Surat Thani Province . It gives an impression of

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1716-456: The central region and the northern region , who were relatives. After the Sujita dynasty's losses in the war against the Chola empire in 1026, Tambralinga was revived by Padmavamsa ( ปัทมวงศ์ ), a noble clan from the north (the exact location is still disputed, either from Lavo or Inthapat Nakhon (possibly Yaśodharapura ) or Hanthawaddy ). The influx of people and monks from Sri Lanka

1794-479: The 13th century, that is, by the following century Danmaling, or Tambralinga, the former member state of Sanfoshih – Javaka , had become a part of Siam ( Ayutthaya Kingdom ). In the early 10th century, battles between two Mon 's mandalas, Lavo Kingdom and Haripuñjaya , happened several times. According to the O Smach Inscription, after two years of the enthronement, King Rathasatkara or Trapaka ( Thai : อัตราสตกะราช/ตราพกะ ) of Haripuñjaya moved south to attack

1872-488: The Angkor. However, the most recent studies found that Suryavarman I was actually from the easternmost regions with the strongholds in Sambor and Kratié , but later span influence westward to Kampong Thom . Meanwhile, Jayavirahvarman controlled the western part but after losing the throne to Suryavarman I , he evacuated to Battambang and then to his homeland, Phimai . This led to Suryavarman I 's attacking campaign of

1950-536: The Kra Isthmus and then along the west coast of the peninsula. From Trang, it crosses over to the east coast to Hat Yai, and ends at the Malaysian border. Two Asian highways run through southern Thailand: Asian Highway 2 runs mostly parallel to the railroad all the way from Bangkok. It crosses to Malaysia at Sadao , and continues on the west side of the peninsula. Asian Highway 18 begins in Hat Yai and runs south along

2028-539: The Lavo Kingdom. Lavo king, King Uchitthaka Chakkawat or Ucchitta Emperor (อุฉิฎฐกะจักรวรรดิ/อุจฉิตตจักรพรรดิ), then moved northward to defend. However, the war between these two sister states spread to the southern kingdom of Siridhammana (Tambralinga), the king of Siridhammana, Jivaka or Suchitra (พระเจ้าชีวก/พระเจ้าสุชิตราช), took the advantage to occupy Lavo. Due to losing Lavo, both Mon's kings rallied up north to occupy Haripuñjaya , but King Rathasatkara eventually lost

2106-517: The Malay Peninsula from the Indonesian island of Sumatra , and the south coast is separated from the island of Singapore by the Straits of Johor . The Malay term Tanah Melayu is derived from the word Tanah (land) and Melayu ( Malays ), thus it means "the Malay land". The term can be found in various Malay texts, of which the oldest dating back to the early 17th century. It is frequently mentioned in

2184-584: The Padmavamsa clan ended due to the plague. After Chandrabhanu II (Sri Thammasokaraj III) died in the battle in Sri Lanka, his son became the successor and was crowned as Sri Thammasokaraj IV ( ศรีธรรมาโศกราชที่ 4 ). During his reign, the kingdom faced several circumstances, including the invasion of Singhasari 's king Kertanagara from 1268–69 and the plague in 1270, which led to the decline of Tambralinga. Sri Thammasokaraj IV died with no heirs in 1272, marking

2262-477: The area around the Bay of Bandon in present-day Thailand's Surat Thani province . The region was under the domination first of Funan and then of Chenla from the beginning of the 3rd century until it was conquered by Srivijaya in the latter part of the 8th. The Chinese Songhuiyaogao chronicle mentions a country named Danliumei (Tan-liu-mei) , stating many details during the period from 970 to 1070. It gives

2340-593: The beech family ( Fagaceae ), Myrtle family ( Myrtaceae ), laurel family ( Lauraceae ), tropical conifers , and other plant families. The peninsula's forests are home to thousands of species of animals and plants. Several large endangered mammals inhabit the peninsula – Asian elephant ( Elephas maximus ), gaur ( Bos gaurus ), tiger ( Panthera tigris ), sun bear ( Helarctos malayanus ), Malayan tapir ( Tapirus indicus ), clouded leopard ( Neofelis nebulosa ), and siamang ( Symphalangus syndactylus ). The Sumatran rhinoceros ( Dicerorhinus sumatrensis ) once inhabited

2418-540: The border with Malaysia. The Malay Peninsula has been settled since prehistoric times. Archeological remains were found in several caves, some used for dwellings, others as burial sites. The oldest remains were found in Lang Rongrien Cave, dating 38,000 to 27,000 years before present, and in the contemporary Moh Khiew cave. In the first millennium , Chinese chronicles mention several coastal cities or city-states. No exact geographical locations were recorded and so

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2496-477: The center of modern Nakhon Si Thammarat, engraved with Pallava scripts in Sanskrit language dated to the 5th century CE. However, based on Chinese chronicles and ignored local inscriptions, some academics are inclined to believe that the beginning of Tambralinga as an autonomous polity dates to the 10th or 11th century instead, and before that date, it was overshadowed by the northern neighbor Pan Pan centered at

2574-565: The city to Lavo's king. After failing to retake Haripuñjaya, King Rathasatkara moved south to settle in Phraek Si Racha (present-day in Sankhaburi district ). The battle was also mentioned in several chronicles such as the Jinakalamali and Cāmadevivaṃsa . After Jivaka took Lavo's capital, Lavapür (ลวปุระ), he appointed his son, Kampoch or Kambojaraja (กัมโพช), as a new ruler and enthroned

2652-518: The divine energy of Shiva . Tambralinga first sent an embassy to China under the Song dynasty in 1001. In the 12th century it may or may not have been under the suzerainty of the Burmese Pagan Kingdom and a kingdom of Sri Lanka. At its height in the mid-13th century, under King Chandrabhanu , Tambralinga was independent, regrouping and consolidating its power and even invading Sri Lanka. By

2730-487: The east coast, crossing to Malaysia at Sungai Kolok . The southern railway connects Bangkok to Hat Yai and continues from there to Sungai Kolok. There are branches from Ban Thung Phoe Junction to Kirirat Nikhom . Two smaller branches of the railway run from Thung Song to Trang and Nakhon Si Thammarat and from Hat Yai Junction to Malaysia and Singapore. Southern Thailand has five international airports and six domestic airports. As of 2018 Thailand's transport ministry

2808-491: The east. Prior to the foundation of Malacca, ancient and medieval references to a Malay peninsula exist in various foreign sources. According to several Indian scholars, the word Malayadvipa ("mountain-insular continent"), mentioned in the ancient Indian text, Vayu Purana , may possibly refer to the Malay Peninsula. Another Indian source, an inscription on the south wall of the Brihadeeswarar Temple , recorded

2886-458: The eastern shore. Two federal territories are embedded within Selangor , which are Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya . [REDACTED] Media related to Malay Peninsula at Wikimedia Commons Tambralinga Tambralinga was an Indianised Malay kingdom located on the Malay Peninsula (in modern-day Southern Thailand ), existing at least from the 2nd to 13th centuries CE. It possibly

2964-566: The end of the 13th century, Tambralinga was recorded in Siamese history as Nakhon Si Thammarat , under the suzerainty of the Tai Sukhothai Kingdom . In his 13th-century work Zhu Fan Zhi , Chinese historian Zhao Rugua mentions the state Danmaling ( Tan-ma-ling , 單馬令 ), describing it as a vassal of Srivijaya. Whether Danmaling can be identified with Tambralinga is dubious; sinologist Roderich Ptak proposes instead to locate it in

3042-533: The end of the Padmavamsa clan. After that, Phanomwang ( พระพนมวัง ), a prince in Phetchaburi –Ayodhya clan, with his wife Sadieng Thong ( สะเดียงทอง ) and son Sri Racha ( เจ้าศรีราชา ), were assigned by the Phetchaburi  [ th ] 's king to revived Nakhon Si Thammarat . This led to the formation of the Sri Thammasokaraj clan  [ th ] and the expansion of the Tai 's influence to

3120-503: The ex-Lavo queen as his consort. No evidence mentions that he either resided in Lavo or went back to rule Siridhammana. Three years later, King Kampoch attacked Haripuñjaya but lost. He then attempted to seize another northern city, Nakaburi (นาคบุรี), but also failed. Several battles between Haripuñjaya and Lavo happened since then. Kampoch was married to a Khmer princess who had fled an Angkorian dynastic bloodbath. Later in 960, Lavapür

3198-590: The forests, but Malaysia's last rhinoceroses died in 2019, and the species' few remaining members survive only in Sumatra . The peninsula is home to several distinct ecoregions . The Tenasserim–South Thailand semi-evergreen rain forests cover the northern peninsula, including the Tenasserim Hills and the Isthmus of Kra, and extend to the coast on both sides of the isthmus. The Kangar-Pattani floristic boundary crosses

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3276-584: The gateway between the South China Sea and the India Ocean since the protohistoric period (c. 500 BCE–500 CE). Hermann Kulke (1990) suggests that complex pre-Indianized political entities in present-day peninsular Thailand existed before the first millennium CE and developed to the centralized polities around the mid-first millennium CE through the Indianization , by adopting Indic ideologies to extent

3354-972: The identification of these cities with later settlements is difficult. The most important of those states were Langkasuka , usually considered a precursor of the Patani Kingdom ; Tambralinga , probably the precursor of the Nakhon Si Thammarat Kingdom , or P'an-p'an in Phunphin district, Surat Thani, probably located at the Bandon Bay Tapi River . The cities were highly influenced by Indian culture, and have adopted Brahman or Buddhist religion. When Srivijaya in Chaiya extended its sphere of influence, those cities became tributary states of Srivijaya. The city Chaiya in Surat Thani Province contains several ruins from Srivijaya times, and

3432-611: The impression that the kingdom was an independent state at that time, sending embassies to the court of China under the Song dynasty in 1001, 1016 and 1070. Danliumei is assumed to be a Chinese rendering of Tambralinga , the location of that state however is not precisely described. The chronicle of Ma Duanlin and the Songshi , mention similarly named states, Zhoumeiliu (Chou-mei-liu) and Danmeiliu (Tan-liu-mei) respectively, that are also reported to have sent their first mission to China in 1001, which makes it likely that they refer to

3510-469: The king’s lineage as a native Javanese-Malay descended from the Srivijaya dynasty centered on Java . Meanwhile, Pierre Dupont argues that Jivakas was likely of Angkorian descent, or at least his wife must have been an Angkor princess. Dupont additionally comments that to avoid the loss of Angkorian influences over Lavo in the 925–927 Tambralinga–Lavo–Haripuñjaya wars , Sujita moved the troops north to occupy

3588-527: The liberation of King Sujita, Tambralinga was very strong politically and economically since it sent several missions to the Chinese court and even supported the troops to conquer the Lavo Kingdom as well as seizing the throne of the Angkor , two of the great mandalas in that period. The origin of Sujita (Jivakas) remains unclear. Cœdès interprets the term “Jivakas” to mean Javanese (Javaka), indicating

3666-879: The middle of the peninsula are several mountain chains, with the highest elevation at Khao Luang , 1,835 m (6,020 ft), in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province . Ranging from the Kra Isthmus to Phuket Island is the Phuket chain , which connects to the Tanao Si Mountain Range further north. Almost parallel to the Phuket chain but 100 km (60 mi) to the east is the Nakhon Si Thammarat, or Banthat, chain , which begins with Samui Island , Ko Pha Ngan , and Ko Tao in Surat Thani Province and ends at

3744-407: The mountains above 1,000 meters elevation. The lowlands and hills are in the Peninsular Malaysian rain forests ecoregion. The Peninsular Malaysian peat swamp forests include distinctive waterlogged forests in the lowlands on both sides of the peninsula. Extensive mangroves line both coasts. The Myanmar Coast mangroves are on the western shore of the peninsula, and the Indochina mangroves on

3822-411: The northern kingdom. His regime too had disappeared following Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I 's ascension to the Pandyan empire's throne and another invasion of the island by the army of the Pandyan dynasty in the late 1270s. Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I installed his minister in charge of the invasion, Kulasekara Cinkaiariyan , an Aryachakravarti as the new king of Jaffna. In at least two senses,

3900-497: The peninsula in southern Thailand and northernmost Malaysia, marking the boundary between the large biogeographic regions of Indochina to the north and Sundaland and Malesia to the south. The forests north of the boundary are characterized by seasonally-deciduous trees, while the Sundaland forests have more year-round rainfall and the trees are mostly evergreen. Peninsular Malaysia is home to three terrestrial ecoregions. The Peninsular Malaysian montane rain forests ecoregion covers

3978-450: The political situation of Tambralinga in the late-twelfth century. Another important source is a Sanskrit inscription ascribed to King Chandrabhanu of Tambralinga, dated 1230. It gives the king the epithet "Śrī Dharmarāja", which is an evidence for the identification of Tambralinga with Nakhon Si Thammarat ( Nagara Śrī Dharmarāja in Sanskrit). Present-peninsular Thailand has long been considered an important area in social interaction as

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4056-402: The power as well as institutionalizing god-king statuses and dynamic traditions. Tambralinga was one of the significant centralized polities in the area that was mentioned in the India literature in the 2nd century CE. Previous scholars assume that Tambralingawas situated near modern Nakhon Si Thammarat or Ligor, based on text given in the inscription No. 28 found in Phra Maha That temple at

4134-420: The rapid expansion of Tambralinga is exceptional in the history of Southeast Asia . In the first place, Candrabhanu's invasion of Sri Lanka and occupation of the Jaffna kingdom marks the only time that a Southeast Asian power has launched an overseas military expedition beyond the immediate Southeast Asian region. In the second place, in the historiography of Southeast Asia, southern Thailand has generally played

4212-492: The same state. In this era, Tambralinga consisted of five main mandalas located on the bank of Khlong Tha Khwai, Khlong Tha Chieo – Tha Thon, Khlong Tha Lat, Maying River, and the largest one on the Haad Sai Keao dune, which was speculated to be the center of Tambralinga. Each of these mandalas formed by several communities in the surrounding area with the shrine of the most sacred site be the center and were connected with other mandalas by waterways and land paths. Vaishnavism

4290-460: The south of the Kra Isthmus . Even the enthronement was patrilineal succession but an appointment from the Ayodhya was needed. According to the Ramkhamhaeng stele of 1283 (or 1292), Tambralinga which was recognized as Nakhon Si Thammarat became the southernmost tributary of Sukhothai . In 1365 Majapahit Kingdom of Java recognized Nakorn Sri Dharmaraja as Dharmanagari written in Nagarakretagama . Despite its rapid rise to prominence in

4368-449: The south of the island, his army strengthened this time by the addition of Tamil and Sinhalese forces, only to be defeated when Pandya sided with the Sri Lankan side; this time Jatarvarman Sundara Pandyan's brother Jatavarman Veera Pandyan intervened and Chandrabhanu himself was killed in the fighting. Chandrabhanu's son Savakanmaindan inherited the throne and submitted to Veera Pandyan's rule, received rewards and retained control over

4446-410: The southeastern part of Sumatra, where the deposed sultan of Malacca, Mahmud Shah , established his exiled government. The 17th century's account of Portuguese historian, Emanuel Godinho de Erédia , noted on the region of Malaios surrounded by the Andaman Sea in the north, the entire Strait of Malacca in the centre, a part of Sunda Strait in the south, and the western part of South China Sea in

4524-431: The southern part of the island but was defeated by the Sri Lankan king. However Chandrabhanu was able to establish an independent regime in the north of the island over the Jaffna kingdom, but in 1258 he was attacked and subjugated by the Tamil Emperor Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan . He was compelled to pay a tribute to the Pandyan dynasty of precious jewels and elephants. In 1262 Chandrabhanu launched another attack on

4602-454: The southernmost tip of Myanmar ( Kawthaung ). The island country of Singapore also has historical and cultural ties with the region. The Titiwangsa Mountains are part of the Tenasserim Hills system and form the backbone of the peninsula and the southernmost section of the central cordillera , which runs from Tibet through the Kra Isthmus , the peninsula's narrowest point, into the Malay Peninsula. The Strait of Malacca separates

4680-510: The term Tanah Melayu was generally used by the Malays of the peninsula during the rise of Malay nationalism to describe uniting all Malay states on the peninsula under one Malay nation, and this ambition was largely realised with the formation of Persekutuan Tanah Melayu ( Malay for " Federation of Malaya ") in 1948. The Malay Peninsula is covered with tropical moist broadleaf forests . Lowland forests are dominated by dipterocarp trees, while montane forests are home to evergreen trees in

4758-482: The total area of southern Thailand. Smaller rivers include the Pattani , Saiburi , Krabi , and the Trang . The largest lake in the south is Songkhla Lake (1,040 km (400 sq mi) altogether). The largest artificial lake is the Chiao Lan (Ratchaprapha Dam), occupying 165 km (64 sq mi) of Khao Sok National Park in Surat Thani . The total forest area is 17,964 km (6,936 sq mi) or 24.3 percent of provincial area. Running through

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4836-466: The well-known Phi Phi Islands . Also well known is the so-called James Bond Island in Phang Nga Bay , featured in the movie The Man with the Golden Gun . The population of the growing region is projected to be 9,156,000 in 2015, up from 8,871,003 in 2010 (census count and adjusted). Although those figures are adjusted for citizens who have left for Bangkok or who moved to the region from elsewhere, as well as registered permanent residents (residency

4914-457: The whole country. Islam is mostly followed by the Malay people in Southernmost Thailand: Yala, Pattani, Naratiwat and Satun provinces, near Malaysia. There is also a small Thai Muslim population. Christianity makes up 0.21% of Southern Thailand's population. Sikhism makes up 0.05% in the region and is practiced by Indian immigrants. The bulk of the region's population relies on agriculture for 27 percent of its gross regional product in 2014. It

4992-421: The word Malaiur , referring to a kingdom in the Malay Peninsula that had "a strong mountain for its rampart". Ptolemy 's Geographia named a geographical region of the Golden Chersonese as Maleu-kolon , a term thought to derive from Sanskrit malayakolam or malaikurram . While the Chinese chronicle of the Yuan dynasty mentioned the word Ma-li-yu-er , referring to a nation of the Malay Peninsula that

5070-417: Was a tributary state of Sukhothai. During most of later periods, Nakhon became a tributary of Ayutthaya . The deep south belonged to the Malay sultanates of Pattani and Kedah , while the northernmost part of the peninsula was under the control of Bangkok. During the Thesaphiban reforms at the end of the 19th century, both Nakhon Si Thammarat and Pattani were incorporated into the central state. The area

5148-479: Was annexed by Siamese from Ayodhya , who also shared a political relation with Tambralinga kingdom. Cœdès suggests that Sujita, who was the king of Tambralinga, won over Udayadityavarman I of the Angkor in 1003 and enthroned as Jayavirahvarman . This led to a nine-year Angkorian civil war in which Suryavarman I of Lavo won the battle and became the successor of Jayavirahvarman in 1010. However, Achille Dauphin-Meunier proposes that Jayavirahvarman

5226-430: Was enthroned as the new ruler. Gordon Luce speculates that the region was possibly controlled by the Pagan Kingdom from 1060 to 1200, as recorded in the Dhammarajaka inscription (Pl. I 19, 1198 C.E.), which gives the southern limits of the kingdom to Takwā ( Takua Pa ), Salankre (Junk Ceylon?, Phuket ) and two other places hardly legible, ending with a city with the suffix nakuiw' (nagara). The conflict between

5304-403: Was mentioned in some chronicles. This era ended with heavy losses for Tambralinga in the 1025–1026 Tambralinga/Srivijiya–Ankorian/Chola Wars . The city chronicle mentions a fortification when the town was refounded in 1278. The Ram Khamhaeng inscription of 1283 lists Nakhon Si Thammarat as one of the tributary kingdoms of Sukhothai . In the Old Javanese Desawarnana document of 1365,

5382-439: Was probably a regional capital of the kingdom. Some Thai historians even claim that it was the capital of the kingdom itself for some time, but this is disputed. After Srivijaya lost its influence, Nakhon Si Thammarat became the dominant kingdom of the area. During the rule of King Ramkhamhaeng the Great of Sukhothai , Thai influence first reached Nakhon Si Thammarat. According to the Ramkhamhaeng inscription, Nakhon Si Thammarat

5460-481: Was problematic in the prior 2000 census), the figure is still misleading. There are still a huge number of migrant or informal workers, temporary workers and even stateless people and a large expatriate population, which are not included. Most of southern Thailand is in Tenasserim-South Thailand semi-evergreen rain forests ecoregion . The Peninsular Malaysian rain forests and Peninsular Malaysian montane rain forests ecoregions extend into southernmost Thailand along

5538-434: Was recorded, which made Buddhism the dominant belief in the kingdom. Thai academic Chanchirayuwat Ratchanee  [ th ] proposes that after losing the war to the Chola Empire in 1026, the center of power in the eastern Siam peninsular was shifted from Chaiya to Nakhon Si Thammarat (Ligor) in 1077, according to the information given to the Chinese court by the diplomat sent in 1168. The previous king's son

5616-419: Was speculated to have begun during the reign of Chandrabhanu I, which was expected to be one of the reasons that Srivijaya lost influence over Tambralinga. In 1244, King Chandrabhanu invaded Sri Lanka , adopting the regnal name 'Srīdḥarmarāja' and installing himself as the king of Jaffna. This era ended with the losses of Tambralinga in the 1247–1270 Tambralinga–Sri Lanka Wars . Several local legends said

5694-589: Was subdivided into 5 monthon , which were installed to control the city states ( mueang ). Minor mueang were merged into larger ones, thus forming the present 14 provinces. With the Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909 the boundary to Malaysia was fixed. Kedah came under British control, while Pattani stayed with Siam. The largest native language is Southern Thai ( Thai : ภาษาไทยใต้ [pʰaːsǎː tʰajtâːj] ), also known as Pak Thai or Dambro ( Thai : ภาษาตามโพร [pʰaːsǎː taːmpʰroː] ), which

5772-457: Was supported by the French engineer M. de la Mare. The walls of the town spread 456 meters from east to west, and 2,238 meters north to south, thus enclosing an area of about one square kilometre. The northern wall had only one gate, called Pratu Chai Nuea or Pratu Chai Sak , while the southern wall also had only one gate. To the east there were three gates, which connected the town with the sea. To

5850-509: Was the prominent belief system unlike Dvaravati in central Thailand and Korat plateau where Hinayana Buddhism was dominant. The kings of Tambralinga were institutionalized as Siva-king but the king's power was probably shared by administrative subordinates and his kinship groups. The region began receiving the immigrants of the Mon people around the 7th century. According to the legend of Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phraya Sri Thammasokaraj or Norabadi ( พญาธรรมาโศกราช ; พญานรบดี ) from

5928-399: Was the rightful successor and brother of Udayadityavarman I. Suryavarman I was believed to be Kambojaraja, a son of Sujita and an Angkorian princess. He was appointed the new ruler of Lavo Kingdom after it was taken over by his father in the 925–927 Tambralinga–Lavo–Haripuñjaya wars . Some academics cite Suryavarman I was instead a Khmer opponent who evicted Jayavirahvarman out of

6006-521: Was threatened by the southward expansion of the Sukhothai Kingdom under King Ram Khamhaeng . During the same era, Marco Polo made a reference to Malauir in his travelogue , as a kingdom located in the Malay Peninsula, possibly similar to the one mentioned in the Yuan chronicle. The Malay Peninsula was conflated with Persia in old Japan, and was known by the same name. In the early 20th century,

6084-421: Was under the influence of Srivijaya for some time, but later became independent from it or were generally allies rather than conqueror and vassal. The name had been forgotten until scholars recognized Tambralinga as Nakhon Si Thammarat (Nagara Sri Dharmaraja). In Sanskrit and Prakrit , tām(b)ra means " copper ", "copper-coloured" or "red" and linga means "symbol" or "creation", typically representing

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