เราชาวนครฯ อยู่เมืองพระ มั่นอยู่ในสัจจะศีลธรรม กอปรกรรมดี มีมานะพากเพียร ไม่เบียดเบียนทำอันตรายผู้ใด ("We the Nakhon people's, the city of Buddhism. Strong in moral truth, good karma and perseverance. Never encroach nor harm anyone")
Map of Thailand highlighting Nakhon Si Thammarat province
Nakhon Si Thammarat is the Thai form ofSanskritNagara Sri Dharmaraja, meaning 'City of the SacredDharma King'. The name is sometimes abbreviated toNakhon Si (Thai:นครศรีฯ) or simply,Nakhon (Thai:นครฯ). The province is also colloquially calledMuangkhon (Thai:เมืองคอน) and its peopleKhonkhon (Thai:คนคอน).
The province is on theGulf of Thailand on the east side of theMalay Peninsula. The terrain is mostly rugged hilly forest. The province is home to south Thailand's highest peak,Khao Luang, at 1,835 metres (6,000 ft).The total forest area is 1,820 km2 (700 sq mi) or 18.4 percent of provincial area.[6]
There area a total of six national parks, five of which, along with fifteen other national parks, make upregion 5 (Nakhon Si Thammarat) and Khao Pu–Khao Ya inregion 6 (Songkhla) of Thailand's protected areas.
Nakhon Si Thammarat is one of the oldest cities in Thailand with a rich history. The earliest settlement in the vicinity of the city was Tha Rua, about ten kilometers south of the modern city, where ceramics from theSong dynasty were found dated to the twelfth century.In ancient times, Nakhon Si Thammarat was under the rule of theSrivijaya, the king ofSrivijaya had established a foothold on theMalay Peninsula at Ligor" by 775, where he "built various edifices, including a sanctuary dedicated to theBuddha and to the Bodhisattvas Padmapani andVajrapani.
TheChronicles of Nakhon Si Thammarat, composed in the seventeenth century, attributed the foundation of current city of Nakhon Si Thammarat to King Sri Thammasok in the thirteenth century. An inscription found at Chaiya stated that King Sri Thammasok ruled Tambralinga in 1231. King Sri Thammasok constructedWat Phra Mahathat and introduced SinghaleseTheravada Buddhism. TheNakhon Si Thammarat Kingdom held authorities over "twelve cities" that extended fromChumphon to the north andPahang to the south. TheRamkamhaeng Stele ofSukhothai first mentioned "Nakhon Si Thammarat" in 1292, which means "The City of King Sri Thammasok" or "The City of the Virtuous king". The Nakhon Si Thammarat kingdom ended and the city perished in the fourteenth century. The ruler ofPhetchaburi known as Phra Phanom Thale sent his son Phra Phanom Wang to re-establish the city and rule. Nakhon Si Thammarat then came under the influence of Central SiameseKingdom of Ayutthaya under themandala system.
Nakhon Si Thammarat was further incorporated intoAyutthaya, who appointed governors to the city, through centralization under KingTrailokanat in the fifteenth century. Nakhon Si Thammarat served as the main seat of Siamese authority over Southern Thailand and the Malay Peninsula, becoming Muang Ek or first-level city.Yamada Nagamasa, the Japanese adventurer, was appointed as the governor of Nakhon Si Thammarat in 1629.
After theSiamese revolution of 1688, the governor of Nakhon Si Thammarat rebelled against the newKing Phetracha. King Phetracha sent troops to put down rebels in Nakhon Si Thammarat in 1692.
After theFall of Ayutthaya in 1767, Phra Palat Nu the vice-governor of Nakhon Si Thammarat established himself as the local warlord and ruler over Southern Thailand.King Taksin ofThonburi marched south to subjugate Phra Palat Nu orChao Phraya Nakhon Nu in 1769.Chao Phraya Nakhon Nu was taken to Thonburi but King Taksin re-installed Nakhon Nu as atributary ruler of Nakhon Si Thammarat in 1776.
AfterChaophraya Nakhon (Noi), his son and grandson became respective governors of Nakhon Si Thammarat. During the reforms ofKing Chulalongkorn, the traditional governorship of Nakhon Si Thammarat was abolished and the city was incorporated into theMonthon Nakhon Si Thammarat in 1896.
When themonthon system was abolished in 1932, Nakhon Si Thammarat then became a province until the present.
Forestedpeat swamp forests cover more than 9,900hectares on the borders of Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung, and Songkhla provinces. About 800 hectares of the peat swamp were destroyed by 88 fires in the first half of 2019. The Royal Forest Department says that most of the fires in the Khuan Khreng peat swamp forest were man-made. Criminals clear the forest for the illegal expansion of rubber and oil palm plantations. Honey collectors and fishermen were also complicit as they burn grass to catch fish or to collect wild honey. Khuan Khreng peat swamp was hit by drought in what is normally the rainy season making it susceptible to arson. The forest is surrounded by oil palm plantations and surface water in the forest has been drained out to feed the plantations.[9]
Nakhon Si Thammarat people Most believe in Buddhism , approximately 92.08%, followed by Islam which is approximately 7.03%, Christianity in addition to other religions, approximately 0.89%, (population data: 1,516,499 people in 2009)
Tourism has become a first-tier tourist province, as defined by the central government, joining 22 other first-tier provinces. In 2019, it is projected to receive four million tourists—80% of them domestic—largely attracted by religious sites. They contributed more than 11 billionbaht to the provincial economy. TheAirports Department plans to expand Nakhon Si Thammarat airport runways and terminal by 2022 to deal with an anticipated increase in international flights to support foreign visitor arrivals. The province has 320 hotels with 8,800 rooms, up from 310 hotels and 7,000 rooms in 2018.[10]
Theprovincial seal shows the Phra Baromathatchedi of Wat Phra Mahathat Voramahavihan, one of the most important historical sites in southern Thailand. According to the city chronicle it was already built in 311, but archaeology dates it to the 13th century. The chedi was built by the ruler of Malay Buddha Kingdom of Tambralinga, named Chandrabhanu Sridhamaraja of The Patama Vamsa (Lotus Dynasty). The chedi is surrounded by the animals of theChinese zodiac in the seal. The twelve animals represent the twelveNaksat cities or city-states which were tributary to the Nakhon Si Thammarat kingdom: theRat ofSaiburi; theOx ofPattani; theTiger ofKelantan; theRabbit ofPahang (actually a city in Pahang which is said to be submerged by a lake now); theDragon ofKedah; theSnake ofPhatthalung; theHorse ofTrang; theGoat ofChumphon; theMonkey of Bantaysamer (might beChaiya, or a town inKrabi province); theRooster of Sa-ulau (unidentified city, might beSongkhla,Kanchanadit orPla Tha); theDog ofTakua Pa and aPig ofKraburi.[11]
The provincial slogan is เมืองประวัติศาสตร์ พระธาตุทองคำ ชื่นฉ่ำธรรมชาติ แร่ธาตุอุดม เครื่องถมสามกษัตริย์ มากวัดมากศิลป์ ครบสิ้นกุ้งปู, which translates to "A historical town, the golden Phra That, plentiful minerals, three-metalnielloware, numerous temples, abundant shellfish."[12]
Nakhon Si Thammarat is divided into 23 districts (amphoes). The districts are further divided into 165 subdistricts (tambons) and 1428 villages (mubans).
As of 26 November 2019, there are:[13] one Nakhon Si Thammarat Provincial Administration Organisation (ongkan borihan suan changwat) and 54 municipal (thesaban) areas in the province. Nakhon Si Thammarat has (thesaban nakhon) status. Pak Phun, Thung Son and Pak Panang have town (thesaban mueang) status. Further 50 subdistrict municipalities (thesaban tambon). The non-municipal areas are administered by 130 Subdistrict Administrative Organisations - SAO (ongkan borihan suan tambon).
^"ข้อมูลสถิติดัชนีความก้าวหน้าของคน ปี 2565 (PDF)" [Human Achievement Index Databook year 2022 (PDF)]. Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) (in Thai). Retrieved12 March 2024, page 35{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
^"ตารางที่ 2 พี้นที่ป่าไม้ แยกรายจังหวัด พ.ศ.2562" [Table 2 Forest area Separate province year 2019]. Royal Forest Department (in Thai). 2019. Retrieved6 April 2021, information, Forest statistics Year 2019{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
^"ข้อมูลพื้นที่อุทยานแห่งชาติ (เตรียมการ) 22 แห่ง" [Information of 22 National Parks Areas (Preparation)]. Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (in Thai). December 2020. Retrieved1 November 2022.
^ab"จังหวัดนครศรีธรรมราช".Nakhon Si Thammarat Provincial Administration (in Thai). Archived fromthe original on 2004-08-24. Retrieved2015-07-31.
^"Number of local government organizations by province".dla.go.th. Department of Local Administration (DLA). 26 November 2019. Retrieved10 December 2019.21 Nakhon Si Thammarat: 1 PAO, 1 City mun., 3 Town mun., 50 Subdistrict mun., 130 SAO.