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Wisutthithewi
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|---|---|
| Queen regnant of Lan Na under Burmese rule | |
| Reign | 1564 - 1578 |
| Predecessor | Mekuti |
| Successor | Nawrahta Minsaw |
| Died | October 1578 |
| Burial | |
| House | Mangrai dynasty |
Wisutthithewi (Northern Thai:ᩈᩫ᩠ᨾᨯᩮ᩠ᨫᨧᩮᩢ᩶ᩣᩁᩣᨩᩅᩥᩆᩩᨴ᩠ᨵ;Thai:พระนางวิสุทธิเทวี) wasqueen regnant ofLan Na from 1564 to 1578.[1]
Wisutthithewi's name is variously romanizedVisuddhidevi,Wisutthi Thewi, andWisuthithewi. While the Chiang Mai Chronicle consistently records her name asWisutthathewi, the Yonok Chronicle prefers Wisutthithewi. She also has a number of names across extant historical sources: in the Burmese andChiang Saen chronicles, she is referred to asLady Wisutthathewi, and is also calledMaha Dewi (မဟာဒေဝီ,Mahādevī) inU Kala's chronicle,Maha Yazawin, and asRatcha Thewi (Rājadevī) andNang Thewi in other sources.[2]
Wisutthithewi's origins are unclear; she may have been a daughter of Ket Chettharat, a ruler of Chiang Mai, or Princess Ton Kham, the youngest daughter of Chettharat.[3] She may have been thequeen consort of her predecessorMekuti.
The reign of her predecessor,Mekuti, sawLan Na transition into avassal state of theToungoo empire.[4] In 1564, she was installed asqueen regnant byBayinnaung, in response to Mekuti's refusal to join Bayinnaung's military campaign againstAyutthaya, which was seen by Bayinnaung as an act of rebellion.[5][6]
Throughout her fourteen-year reign, Lan Na enjoyed political stability, and Wisutthithewi offered tribute to the Toungoo empire, in exchange for political stability in her dominion,[3] which had seen recurrent instability from raids and conflicts with neighboring territories.
Wisutthithewi is portrayed in a contemporaneous Thai epic poemKhlong mangthra rop Chiang Mai (โคลงมังทรารบเชียงใหม่,lit. 'the "Epic of Mintaya's war against Chiang Mai'), written by an anonymous Lan Na author.[3] The poem mentions a queen, Mae Mintaya Sri, which implies that she may have been wed to Bayinnaung.[7] However, no other Burmese or Lan Na sources corroborate any marriage between Bayinnaung and Wisutthithewi; moreover, no Chiang Mai princess is listed among Bayinnaung's queens and concubines in these sources.[7]
Wisutthithewi died in October 1578, and news of her death reachedPegu in January 1579.[2] Following her death,Bayinnaung appointed his sonNawrahta Minsaw as her successor.[5] The ashes of Wisutthithewi are interred in achedi atWat Lok Moli inChiang Mai.[8]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)| Preceded by | Queen of Lanna 1564–1578 | Succeeded by |