Bangkok is thecaipital, lairgesturban aurie an primary ceety oThailand. Kent inThai asKrung Thep Maha Nakhon (Thai:กรุงเทพมหานคร, pronoonced[krūŋ tʰêːp máhǎː nákʰɔ̄ːn](listen)), or กรุงเทพฯKrung Thep ([listen])(help·info), meanin "ceety o angels" for short, it wis a sma tradin post at the mooth o theChao Phraya River durin theAyutthaya Kinrick. It came tae the forefront oSiam whan it wis gien the status as the caipital ceety in 1768 efter the burnin oAyutthaya. Housomeivver, the currentRattanakosin Kinrick didna stairt till 1782 whan the caipital wis muived athort the river biRama I efter the daith oKeengTaksin. The Rattanakosin caipital is nou mair formally cried "Phra Nakhon" (Thai: พระนคร), pertainin tae the auncient mairches in the metropolis' core an the name Bangkok nou incorporates the urban biggin-up syne the 18t century which haes its awn public admeenistration an govrenor.
Syne its inception as the caipital oSiam, it wis a target o European colonial plans, but due tae its strategic location in Indocheenae, it actit as a buffer-zone an brokered pouer atween the European forces. Throu this, it gained notoriety in the warld as an independent, dynamic an influential ceety. An in the span o ower twa hunder years, Bangkok haes grown tae become thepoleetical,social aneconomic centre o Thailand,Indocheenae an ane oSootheast Asie.
The ceety's walth o cultural landmarks an attractions in addition tae its notorious entertainment venues haes made it synonymous wiexoticism. Its historic walth coincides wi its rapid modrenisation, reflectit in the ceetyscape an the urban society. TheGrand Palace,Vimanmek Palace Complex, its thoosans o temples, an the ceety's notoriousreid-licht destricts combine draw in 11 million internaitional veesitors ilka year, trailin juistParis anLunnon.[7]
Siege o Bangkok in 1688. Fortress haud bi the French (A), wi Siamese sodgers an batteries (C). The enclosure o the veelage o Bangkok representit in the lawer left corner (M) is the day'sThonburi.[8]
The toun o Bangkok (Thai:บางกอก) began as a sma tredin centre an port community[9] on the wast bank o the Chao Phraya River afore the establishment o theAyutthaya Kinrick, the precursor o modren Thailand, whit existit frae 1350 tae 1767. The etymology o the toun's name is unclear.Bang is the Central Thai name for a toun situatit on the bank o a river. It is believed that "Bangkok" derived frae eitherBangkok,kok (กอก) bein the Thai name for theJava plum (ma-kok,มะกอก), ane o several trees bearin olive-like fruits); orBang Koh,koh meanin "island," a reference tae the aurie's landscape that wis carved bi rivers ancanals.
Efter the faw o Ayutthaya tae theBurmese Kinrick in 1767, the newly declaredKing Taksin established a new caipital in the aurie o the than Bangkok, whit became kent asThonburi. Whan Taksin's reign endit in 1782, KingBuddha Yodfa Chulaloke reconstructit the caipital on the eastren bank o the river an gied the ceety a ceremonial name (see belaw) that became shortened tae its current offeecial name,Krung Thep Maha Nakhon. The new ceety, housomeivver, an aa inheritit the name Bangkok, whit continued tae be uised bi foreigners tae refer tae the entire ceety an became its offeecial Inglis name, while in Thai the name still refers anerlie tae the auld destrict on the wast bank o the river. The ceety haes syne vastly modrenised an unnergane numerous chynges, includin the introduction o transportation an utility infrastructur in the reigns oKeeng Mongkut anKeeng Chulalongkorn, an quickly developed intae the economic centre o Thailand.
This ceremonial name uises twa auncient Indie leids,Pāli anSanskrit, initiatit wi the ae oreeginal Thai wirdKrung that means "caipital". Accordin tae the romanisation o thir leids, it can actually be written asKrung-dēvamahānagara amararatanakosindra mahindrāyudhyā mahātilakabhava navaratanarājadhānī purīramya uttamarājanivēsana mahāsthāna amaravimāna avatārasthitya shakrasdattiya vishnukarmaprasiddhi(listen)(help·info). It translates tae "The ceety o angels, the great ceety, the eternal jewel ceety, the impregnable ceety o GodIndra, the grand caipital o the warld endoued wi nine precious gems, the happy ceety, aboondin in an enormous Ryal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode whaur reigns the reincarnatit god, a ceety gien bi Indra an biggit biVishnukarma".
Local schuil childer are tocht the full name, although few can explain its meanin acause mony o the wirds are archaic, an unkent tae aw but a few. Maist Thais wha dae recaw the full name dae so as a result o its uiss in apopular sang,Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (1989) biAsanee-Wasan Chotikul an will aften recoont it bi recawin the sang at the same time, muckle as Inglis speakers micht sing thealphabet sang while recitin the Inglis alphabet.
↑Tangchonlatip, Kanchana (2007). "กรุงเทพมหานคร: เมืองโตเดี่ยวตลอดกาลของประเทศไทย". In Thongthai, Varachai; Punpuing, Sureeporn (eds.).ประชากรและสังคม 2550. Nakhon Pathom, Thailand: Institute for Population and Social Research. Archived fraethe original on 4 Mairch 2012. Retrieved26 September 2012.
