--Currency--

    Getting to know Thailand

    Thailand,[i] officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939),[ii] is a country in Southeast Asia on the Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million,[8] it spans 513,115 square kilometres (198,115 sq mi).[9] Thailand is bordered to the northwest by Myanmar, to the northeast and east by Laos, to the southeast by Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the southwest by the Andaman Sea; it also shares maritime borders with Vietnam to the southeast and Indonesia and India to the southwest. Bangkok is the state capital and largest city.[10]

    Etymology

    Thailand[i] was known by outsiders prior to 1939 as Siam.[ii] According to George Cœdès, the word Thai (ไทย) means 'free man' in the Thai language, "differentiating the Thai from the natives encompassed in Thai society as serfs".[15]: 197  According to Chit Phumisak, Thai (ไท) simply means 'people' or 'human being'; his investigation shows that some rural areas used the word "Thai" instead of the usual Thai word khon (คน) for people.[16] According to Michel Ferlus, the ethnonyms Thai-Tai (or Thay-Tay) would have evolved from the etymon *k(ə)ri: 'human being'.[iii][18]

    Thais often refer to their country using the polite form prathet Thai (Thai: ประเทศไทย). They also use the more colloquial term mueang Thai (Thai: เมืองไทย) or simply Thai; the word mueang, archaically referring to a city-state, is commonly used to refer to a city or town as the centre of a region. Ratcha Anachak Thai (Thai: ราชอาณาจักรไทย) means 'kingdom of Thailand' or 'kingdom of Thai'. Etymologically, its components are: ratcha (Sanskrit: राजन्, rājan, 'king, royal, realm'), ana- (Pali āṇā 'authority, command, power', itself from the Sanskrit आज्ञा, ājñā, of the same meaning), and -chak (from Sanskrit चक्र cakra- 'wheel', a symbol of power and rule). The Thai National Anthem (Thai: เพลงชาติ), written by Luang Saranupraphan during the patriotic 1930s, refers to the Thai nation as prathet Thai (Thai: ประเทศไทย). The first line of the national anthem is: prathet thai ruam lueat nuea chat chuea thai (Thai: ประเทศไทยรวมเลือดเนื้อชาติเชื้อไทย), 'Thailand is founded on blood and flesh'.[19]

    The former name Siam may have originated from Sanskrit श्याम (śyāma, 'dark')[16] or Mon ရာမည (rhmañña, 'stranger'), probably the same root as Shan and Assam.[20] The word Śyâma is possibly not the true origin, but a pre-designed deviation from its proper, original meaning.[21][22] Another theory is the name derives from the Chinese calling this region 'Xian'.[iv][23]: 8  The ancient Khmers used the word Siam to refer to people settled in the west Chao Phraya River valley surrounding the ancient city of Nakhon Pathom in the present-day central Thailand; it may probably originate from the name of Lord Krishna, which also called Shyam, as in the Wat Sri Chum Inscription, dated 13th century CE, mentions Phra Maha Thera Sri Sattha [th] came to restore Phra Pathommachedi at the city of Lord Krishna (Nakhon Pathom) in the early era of the Sukhothai Kingdom.[24]

    SPPM Mongkut Rex Siamensium, King Mongkut's signature

    The signature of King Mongkut (r. 1851–1868) reads SPPM (Somdet Phra Poramenthra Maha) Mongkut Rex Siamensium (Mongkut, King of the Siamese). This usage of the name in the country's first international treaty gave the name Siam official status, until 24 June 1939 when it was changed to Thailand.[25]

    History

    There is evidence of continuous human habitation in present-day Thailand from 20,000 years ago to the present day.[26]: 4  The earliest evidence of rice growing is dated at 2,000 BCE.[27]: 4  Areas comprising what is now Thailand participated in the Maritime Jade Road, as ascertained by archeological research. The trading network existed for 3,000 years, between 2000 BCE to 1000 CE.[28][29][30][31] Bronze appeared c. 1,250–1,000 BCE.[27]: 4  The site of Ban Chiang in northeast Thailand currently ranks as the earliest known centre of copper and bronze production in Southeast Asia.[32] Iron appeared around 500 BCE.[27]: 5  The Kingdom of Funan was the first and most powerful Southeast Asian kingdom at the time (2nd century BCE).[26]: 5  The Mon people established the principalities of Dvaravati and Kingdom of Hariphunchai in the 6th century. The Khmer people established the Khmer empire, centred in Angkor, in the 9th century.[26]: 7  Tambralinga, a Malay state controlling trade through the Malacca Strait, rose in the 10th century.[26]: 5  The Indochina peninsula was heavily influenced by the culture and religions of India from the time of the Kingdom of Funan to that of the Khmer Empire.[33]

    The Thai people are of the Tai ethnic group, characterized by common linguistic roots.[34]: 2  Chinese chronicles first mention the Tai peoples in the 6th century BCE. While there are many assumptions regarding the origin of Tai peoples, David K. Wyatt, a historian of Thailand, argued that their ancestors who at present inhabit Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, India, and China came from the Điện Biên Phủ area between the 5th and the 8th century.[34]: 6  Thai people began migrating into present-day Thailand gradually from the 6th to 11th century, which Mon and Khmer people occupied at the time.[35] Thus Thai culture was influenced by Indian, Mon, and Khmer cultures.[36]: 203  Tai people intermixed with various ethnic and cultural groups in the region, resulting in many groups of present-day Thai people.[v] Genetic evidences suggested that ethnolinguistics could not accurately predict the origins of the Thais.[37][38][39] Sujit Wongthes argued that Thai is not a race or ethnicity but a culture group.[40]

    According to French historian George Cœdès, "The Thai first enter history of Farther India in the eleventh century with the mention of Syam slaves or prisoners of war in Champa epigraphy", and "in the twelfth century, the bas-reliefs of Angkor Wat" where "a group of warriors" are described as Syam,[15]: 190–191, 194–195  though Cham accounts do not indicate the origins of Syam or what ethnic group they belonged to.[41] The origins and ethnicity of the Syam remain unclear, with some literature suggesting that Syam refers to the Shan people, the Bru people, or the Brau people.[41][42] However, mainland Southeast Asian sources from before the fourteenth century primarily used the word Syam as an ethnonym, referring to those who belonged to a separate cultural category different from the Khmer, Cham, Bagan, or Mon. This contrasts with the Chinese sources, where Xian was used as a toponym.[41]

    Geography

    Totalling 513,120 square kilometres (198,120 sq mi), Thailand is the 50th-largest country by total area.[1] Thailand comprises several distinct geographic regions, partly corresponding to the provincial groups. The north of the country is the mountainous area of the Thai highlands, with the highest point being Doi Inthanon in the Thanon Thong Chai Range at 2,565 metres (8,415 ft) above sea level. The northeast, Isan, consists of the Khorat Plateau, bordered to the east by the Mekong River. The centre of the country is dominated by the predominantly flat Chao Phraya river valley, which runs into the Gulf of Thailand. Southern Thailand consists of the narrow Kra Isthmus that widens into the Malay Peninsula.

    The Chao Phraya and the Mekong River are the indispensable water courses of rural Thailand. Industrial scale production of crops use both rivers and their tributaries. The Gulf of Thailand covers 320,000 square kilometres (124,000 sq mi) and is fed by the Chao Phraya, Mae Klong, Bang Pakong, and Tapi Rivers. It contributes to the tourism sector owing to its clear shallow waters along the coasts in the southern region and the Kra Isthmus. The eastern shore of the Gulf of Thailand has the kingdom's premier deepwater port in Sattahip and its busiest commercial port, Laem Chabang. Phuket, Krabi, Ranong, Phang Nga and Trang, and their islands, all lay along the coasts of the Andaman Sea.[citation needed]

    Climate

    Thailand's climate is influenced by monsoon winds that have a seasonal character (the southwest and northeast monsoon).[122]: 2  Most of the country is classified as Köppen's tropical savanna climate.[123] The majority of the south as well as the eastern tip of the east have a tropical monsoon climate. Parts of the south also have a tropical rainforest climate.

    A year in Thailand is divided into three seasons.[122]: 2  The first is the rainy or southwest monsoon season (mid–May to mid–October), which is caused by southwestern wind from the Indian Ocean.[122]: 2  Rainfall is also contributed by Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and tropical cyclones,[122]: 2  with August and September being the wettest period of the year.[122]: 2  The country receives a mean annual rainfall of 1,200 to 1,600 mm (47 to 63 in).[122]: 4  Winter or the northeast monsoon occurs from mid–October until mid–February.[122]: 2  Most of Thailand experiences dry weather with mild temperatures.[122]: 2, 4  Summer or the pre–monsoon season runs from mid–February until mid–May.[122]: 3 

    Due to their inland position and latitude, the north, northeast, central and eastern parts of Thailand experience a long period of warm weather, where temperatures can reach up to 40 °C (104 °F) during March to May,[122]: 3  in contrast to close to or below 0 °C (32 °F) in some areas in winter.[122]: 3  Southern Thailand is characterised by mild weather year-round with less diurnal and seasonal variations in temperatures due to maritime influences.[122]: 3  It receives abundant rainfall, particularly during October to November.[122]: 2  Thailand is among the world's ten countries that are most exposed to climate change. In particular, it is highly vulnerable to rising sea levels and extreme weather events.[124][125]

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