| A History of Ayutthaya: Siam in the Early Modern World Contributor(s): Baker, Chris (Author), Phongpaichit, Pasuk (Author) |
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ISBN: 1316641139 ISBN-13: 9781316641132 Publisher: Cambridge University Press OUR PRICE: $31.49 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: May 2017 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | Asia - Southeast Asia |
| Dewey: 959.3 |
| LCCN: 2017003093 |
| Physical Information: 0.74" H x 6.29" W x 9.13" (1.21 lbs) 342 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Southeast Asian |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Early European visitors placed Ayutthaya alongside China and India as the great powers of Asia. Yet in 1767 the city was destroyed and its history has been neglected. This book is the first study of Ayutthaya from its emergence in the thirteenth century until its fall. It offers a wide-ranging view of social, political, and cultural history with focus on commerce, kingship, Buddhism, and war. By drawing on a wide range of sources including chronicles, accounts by Europeans, Chinese, Persians, and Japanese, law, literature, art, landscape, and language, the book presents early Siam as a 'commercial' society, not the peasant society usually assumed. Baker and Phongpaichit attribute the fall of the city not to internal conflict or dynastic decline but failure to manage the social and political consequences of prosperity. This book is essential reading for all those interested in the history of Southeast Asia and the early modern world. |
Contributor Bio(s): Baker, Chris: - Chris Baker is an independent scholar. Together, with Pasuk Phongpaichit, he has written eight books and over thirty articles on Thailand's history, literature, and political economy; has translated key historical sources, pioneering works by Thai historians, and literary classics, including the epic poem The Tale of Khun Chang Khun Phaen (2010) which won the 2013 Becker Translation Prize from the Association for Asian Studies; and has held visiting posts at universities in the USA, Japan, and Australia.Phongpaichit, Pasuk: - Pasuk Phongpaichit is Professor of Economics at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok. Together, with Chris Baker, she has written eight books and over thirty articles on Thailand's history, literature, and political economy; has translated key historical sources, pioneering works by Thai historians, and literary classics, including the epic poem The Tale of Khun Chang Khun Phaen (2010) which won the 2013 Becker Translation Prize from the Association for Asian Studies; and has held visiting posts at universities in the USA, Japan, and Australia. |