POM MAHA CHAI





Pom Maha Chai, or the Fort of Great Victory, was an important stronghold at the northeastern point of Ayutthaya in an area called Hua Ro. (1) The fort must have been situated where the Hua Ro Market is today.


The fort is, for the first time, mentioned in the Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya during the war with Hongsawadi (1563-1564 CE). At that time, the city's defences in the east were situated along today's Makham Riang Canal (Nai Kai Canal) and consisted only of a wooden rampart with a defensive moat. The fort was likely a wooden enclosure - not at Hua Ro unless it stood outside the city’s stockades - but somewhere on the site where Wat Nang once stood, south of present Wat Senasanaram. Before 1580 CE, the northeastern corner of Hua Ro was still dry land. The (old) Lopburi River did not yet intersect the northeastern track of land, and an elephant kraal near Wat Song existed outside the city walls.


After the fall of Ayutthaya in 1569 CE and a series of attacks by the Khmers, King Maha Thammaracha (reign 1569-1590 CE) realised the poor defences of the city and noticed the use of the dry land in front of the city walls by the Burmese to attack the city. Maha Thammaracha started to upgrade the defences. He assessed that the eastern part of the city needed a better defence. Hence, he ordered, in the period 1577-1580 CE, to build a series of defensive structures, such as the Chan Palace (Chantra Kasem), city wall extensions, fortresses and canal widening. Wat Song, thus, became situated within the city walls and behind the Maha Chai Fort. The former defensive west moat of the old city of Ayodhya, located to the east of Ayutthaya, was dug 20 metres wide and 6 metres deep and stretched out north towards the Mae Nang Pluem Monastery and south to the mouth of Khlong Khao San (the milled rice canal), and connected the Maha Chai Fort down to the Phet Fort.


"In 942, a year of the dragon, the walls of the Capital were dismantled and rebuilt up to the edge of the river." (2) [1]





(Pom Maha Chai on Engelbert Kaempfer's sketch - 1690 CE)



The Maha Chai Fort was also the theatre of a failed revolt in 1696 CE. Master Tham Thian, pretending to be Lord Aphaithot, the elder of King Narai's two half-brothers (3), descended from Lopburi to Ayutthaya, mounted on a bull elephant and set out to falsely claim the throne. He was joined by around 500 followers carrying spears and sharpened shoulder poles. Tham Thian drove his elephant to the edge of Wat Maha Lok and advanced to the foot of the dam embankment or Thamnop Ro (4). At this point, he was identified as an imposter. The fort was ordered to fire all its great guns upon the mob. Tham Thian and his followers were utterly routed in large numbers. The imposter was found in the garden of Wat Si Fan the following morning and executed. His followers were taken to become reapers of grass for the elephants. (5)


"In 1060 of the Royal Era, a year of the tiger, the end of the decade, His Highness, the Supreme Holy Lord Child, Prince of the Holy Royal Palace Enclosure of Excellence went to watch boxing with His holy eyes at the elephant corrals. Wretched Tham Thian pretended he was Celestial Lord Aphaithot, who had been taken to be pounded to death at the Monastery of the Carrion, and took the elephant Auspicious Jeweled Seat, which was at Lopburi, to ride on in. The retainers who came along with him numbered about five hundred. Of the farmers harvesting rice [who joined him], some carried spears and some sharpened shoulder poles. Khun and luang of the Prince of the Holy Royal Palace Enclosure of Excellence prostrated themselves to tell the Supreme Holy Lord Omnipotent. The Supreme Holy Lord Omnipotent stated, “If a person possessing merit has really come already, We will hand over [the royal wealth].” His Highness, the Prince of the Holy Royal Palace Enclosure was at the Fort of Grand Victory and Tham Thian halted his elephant at the foot of the embankment. A holy command was issued sending police to scrutinize his person so as to be sure [he was who he pretended to be]. The police came back, prostrated themselves and said, “He’s not Celestial Lord Aphaithot!” Thereupon a holy command was issued to have all eight of the great guns fired forth simultaneously. The followers of Tham Thian accordingly were routed during the evening. Early the next morning they were able to capture the person of Tham Thian in a flower garden of the Monastery of Tooth Brushing and he was taken away and put to death. His entire following was taken to become reapers [of grass for the elephants]." [2]





(View of the location where once Pom Maha Chai stood - March 2009 CE)



The Maha Chai Fort played a role during the Burmese invasion of 1760 CE. After the Siamese were defeated on the Ta Rang Plains in Suphanburi by King Alaungpaya (reign 1752-1760 CE), the Burmese descended south. They established a camp at Ban Kum, north of Ayutthaya. The advanced forces set up their camps in the Pho Sam Ton Fields. The Chinese of Luang Aphai Phiphat tried to dislodge them but failed, and the Burmese came down to the Phaniat (Elephant Kraal) and Wat Sam Wihan area. Here, they came under fire from the Maha Chai Fort.


"When it was ____ day, the fourteenth day of the waning moon in the fifth month, the Burmese brought up great guns, positioned them at the Monastery of the Royal Tree (Wat Ratcha Phli) and at the Monastery of the Hermitage of the Ruler (Wat Kasatra), and fired them on into the Holy Metropolis, hitting buildings and wounding and killing people. His Majesty the Supreme Holy Younger Brother of the King thereupon rode the premier bull elephant Defeater of a Hundred Thousand Troops around [the perimeters] of the Holy Metropolis to look with His [own] holy eyes and inspect each and every position, and to give specific instructions to all the lords of the positions to make them vigorously careful and watchful and to prevent carelessness. Then the King commanded the lords of the positions in the Monastery of the Crown Garden of the Corpses of Heaven (Wat Suan Luang Sop Sawan) and in the Fort to the Rear of the Frog and the Fort of Grand Victory to fire their great guns in volleys at the Burmese on the banks on the far side [of the river]." [3]





(The mouth of the old Lopburi River, today Khlong Hua Ro, seen from the former location of Pom Maha Chai)



In a later and more finite invasion, in 1767 CE, the Burmese set up a bamboo slat bridge at Hua Ro beside the Maha Chai Fort. The Burmese soldiers screened the bridge with fences for protection, crossed the bridge to the opposite river banks and constructed a fortification near Sala Din (Pavilion of Earth, likely a pavilion built on the bank's slope). Then they dug a tunnel until they reached the base of the city wall, brought in firewood, and piled it at the foundations of the walls, whereafter the combustibles were set on fire. As a result, the walls beside the Maha Chai Fort were significantly weakened and eventually collapsed. On 7 April 1767 CE, the Burmese could breach the walls beside the Maha Chai Fort and ransacked the city, marking the end of the Siamese capital.


"Reaching 1129 of the Royal Era, a year of the boar, ninth of the decade, and arriving at a Tuesday, the ninth day of the waxing moon in the fifth month, the ninth day and middle day of the New Years Festival, the Burmese lighted fires to burn the combustible firewood under the foundations of the walls opposite the Head of the Sluice beside the Fort of Grand Victory, and the Burmese in the stockades of the Monastery of the Crying Crow and of the Monastery of the Jubilant Lady, as well as in each and every other stockade, lit [the fuses of] their great guns—the guns in the forts and in the bastions—and simultaneously fired them on into the Capital in volleys from a little past three mong in the afternoon until dusk. As soon as the walls where they had lit the combustible firewood to consume the foundations had collapsed somewhat, around the second thum, they there-upon had [the fuse of] the signal gun lit. The Burmese troops of each brigade on each side who had been prepared, having accordingly taken their ladders and simultaneously leaned them against the places where the walls had collapsed and against other places all around the Holy Metropolis, climbed them and were able to enter the Capital at that time. Now they lit fires in every vicinity and burned down buildings, houses, hermitages and the Holy Royal Palace Enclosure, including the palaces and royal domicile. The light of the conflagration was as bright as the middle of the day. Then they toured around to chase and capture people, and to search out and confiscate all their various sorts of valuables, [whether] silver, gold, or [other] belongings." [4]


Based on the old maps, the Maha Chai Fort was a single bastion, a structure projecting outward from the city defence wall, angular in shape. The bulwark contained eight guns at the apertures.


After the fall of Ayutthaya, most parts of the wall and the forts were dismantled in the reign of King Rama I (1782-1809) CE, who had the bricks taken to be used in the construction of the city walls for the new capital in Bangkok. [5]


In 2008 CE, during the first phase of the construction of a Tesco-Lotus Express retail outlet at Hua Ro, the remains of an ancient fortified wall were excavated. The wall was part of the city wall and not of the Maha Chai Fort, but the construction of the Tesco-Lotus Express branch was suspended and later definitely cancelled. The area was excavated and, in situ, are now the restored remnants of a part of the city wall, unfortunately, tucked away in the area. [6]





(The restored part of the city wall, southwest of Pom Maha Chai - December 2009 CE)



Footnotes:


(1) 'Hua Ro' means 'the beginning of a weir or breakwater', referring to a barrier built into a body of water.

(2) Text from the Phra Ratcha Phongsawadan Krung Si Ayudhya chabap Luang Prasoet (The Luang Prasoet Chronicle of Ayutthaya), the oldest chronicle in the Thai language written in 1680 CE by a royal astrologer on order of King Narai. The chronicle is, at present, the most authoritative work on the history of Ayutthaya. Many versions of the RCA are inaccurate. Some versions have 932 CS, a year of the horse, the second of the decade (1570 CE), another 924 CS, a year of the dog, and the fourth of the decade (1562 CE).

(3) Lord Aphaithot, heir to the throne, was executed by Luang Sorasak shortly after his father's death, King Narai, in a temple near Thale Chupson in Lopburi.

(4) Thamnop' is the Thai language for a weir or water barrage. 'Ro' means a breakwater or weir. 'Thamnop Ro' is a pleonasm. The north-eastern point of Ayutthaya's city island 'Hua Ro', was called after the weir, but also alternatively after the location where people had to wait (Wait Head) to be ferried between the "Noblemen Landing" and the opposite landing near Wat Mae Nang Pluem in the Ayutthaya era. Thamnop Ro was constructed in the shunt that connected the old Lopburi River to the Khu Khue Na or Front Moat (the former defensive west moat of Ayotthya), a shunt dug after 1580 CE to have the eastern side of the city fully protected by water. The reason for the weir was to slow down the waters of the Lopburi River, now running straight south, to prevent the city's north side (and the Grand Palace) from becoming devoid of water.

(5) There are different citations of the rebellion of Tham Thian depending on the version of the Phongsawadan. Version Phra Cakkraphatdiphong, Khurusapha 1961 has 1698 CE as the date of the incident. Tham Thian did not die on his elephant as in some other versions but was caught the following morning, arrested and executed.


References:


[1] Cushman, Richard D. & Wyatt, David K. (2006). The Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya. Bangkok: The Siam Society. p. 35.

[2] Ibid. p. 333.

[3] Ibid. pp. 482-3.

[4] Ibid pp. 520-2.

[5] Rajanubhap, Damrong (Prince) (1917). Our Wars with the Burmese. White Lotus, Bangkok (2000). p. 10. [6] Bangkok Post, 10 August 2008. Ancient-wall find delays construction of Tesco outlet.