Setthathirath
The King of Lan Xang who moved the capital to Vientiane and built That Luang.
Life
King of Lan Na
Setthathirath was the son of Photisarath, King of Lan Xang; his mother came from the Lan Na royal family. As a youth he inherited the throne of Lan Na (centered on Chiang Mai in present-day northern Thailand), and he brought the Emerald Buddha back to Laos.
Moved the capital to Vientiane
In 1548 he succeeded to the throne of Lan Xang. To fend off attacks by the Toungoo dynasty of Burma, in 1560 he moved the capital from Luang Prabang to Vientiane, where he built That Luang and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.
That Luang
He repeatedly drove back Burmese armies, and in 1571 he disappeared while campaigning in the south.
Legacy
That Luang, built by Setthathirath, is the national symbol of Laos and appears on the Lao national emblem.
Did you know? The Emerald Buddha he brought back was later seized by Siam and is enshrined today in Bangkok's Temple of the Emerald Buddha.
Key dates
- 1546Succeeded to the throne of Lan Na (approx.)
- 1548Succeeded to the throne of Lan Xang
- 1560Moved the capital to Vientiane
- 1566Built That Luang (approx.)
- 1571Disappeared