The Founding of Bangkok and the Chakri Dynasty

On April 6, 1782, General Chao Phraya Chakri — who had overthrown King Taksin — crowned himself King Rama I and established Bangkok as the new capital of the Thai kingdom. The city's full ceremonial name, the longest place name in the world (168 letters in Thai), translates roughly to "City of Angels, Great City of Immortals." Rama I built the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew), which remain the spiritual heart of the Thai nation. He also commissioned the restoration of Thai literary and legal texts destroyed in the fall of Ayutthaya. The Chakri dynasty Rama I founded has ruled Thailand continuously for over 240 years through ten kings, making it one of the world's most enduring monarchies. Under the Chakri kings, Thailand (then called Siam) would navigate the colonial era as the only Southeast Asian nation never colonized by a European power.