A STUDY OF POLITICS AND GOVERNANCE IN THE AYUTTHAYA PERIOD: CONCEPTS POWER AND FACTORS LEADING TO THE DOWNFALL OF THE KINGDOM

Abstract

This article aimed to study the political concepts and forms of governance of Ayutthaya, which were based on an absolute monarchy, with the monarchy as the central authority of political, social, and economic power. With the monarchy as the center of political, social, and economic power, the king was revered as a divine being according to the concept of divine kingship, which blended ideas from Hinduism and Buddhism, making royal power sacred and legitimate in governance. The administrative structure consisted of a central government system with four pillars: the Department of the City, the Royal Household, the Treasury, and the Department of Agriculture, and regional administration divided into inner cities. The cities of Phraya Mahanakhon and tributary states had varying levels of independence. Furthermore, the feudal and corvée systems were important mechanisms for organizing society and controlling manpower to strengthen state power. However, these political concepts and structures also contributed to internal instability, such as power struggles among the ruling class. Conflicts within the monarchy and the failure of the corvée labor system were key factors leading to the weakness of the kingdom and the fall of Ayutthaya. Political ideas during the Ayutthaya period thus reflected both the power structure of the Thai state in the past and the factors that contributed to the rise and fall of the kingdom in Thai history. Benefits gained from the article provided a systematic understanding of political concepts and the administrative structure of the Ayutthaya period, particularly the role of absolute monarchy and the king as the center of power