Phra narai (vishnu)

King Prasat Thong would die in 1656, sparking a succession crisis – much as his own reign had begun. Emerging victorious was his son, Prince Narai, granted the epithet “the great” in English. Phra Narai was, however, a very unconventional king. Interested in the foreign and exotic, and eschewing tradition to an unprecedented degree, his reign was controversial in its day.

His reign sparked a period of intense cultural exchange between Siam and foreign powers, especially the French and Persians. The King would move out of Ayutthaya to a newly built palace in Lopburi, inspired by Persian designs, and would court Jesuit priests to help him design new fortifications, and import the latest engineering knowledge to better defend his country. 

But Narai’s reign would prove a little too novel for many traditionalists. That, however, is for later – the path to Revolution will be laid, even in this early period, but for now we will focus on Narai as a man, and his coming to power.

27th monarch of the Ayutthaya Kingdom (1656–88)

This article is about the Thai king. For King Narai of Lavo, see Lavo Kingdom. For the Japanese village of Narai, see Narai-juku.

King Narai the Great (Thai: สมเด็จพระนารายณ์มหาราช, RTGS: Somdet Phra Narai Maharat, pronounced[sǒm.dètpʰráʔnāː.rāːjmā.hǎː.râːt]listen^ⓘ) or Ramathibodi III (Thai: รามาธิบดีที่ ๓listen^ⓘ) was the 27th monarch of Ayutthaya Kingdom, the 4th and last monarch of the Prasat Thong dynasty. He was the king of Ayutthaya Kingdom from 1656 to 1688 and arguably the most famous king of the Prasat Thong dynasty.

His reign was the most prosperous during the Ayutthaya period and saw the great commercial and diplomatic activities with foreign nations including the Middle East and the West. During the later years of his reign, Narai gave his favorite – the Greek adventurer Constantine Phaulkon – so much power that Phaulkon technically became the chancellor of the state. Through the arrangements of Phaulkon, the Siamese kingdom came into close diplomatic relations with the court of Loui

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