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Declaring Independence at Mueang Khraeng and the Battle on the Sittaung River
In 1584 Naresuan, then still Ayutthaya's crown prince and governor of Phitsanulok, led an army into Mon country on Hanthawaddy's orders. Instead of fighting for Hanthawaddy, he renounced his allegiance at Mueang Khraeng and brought Thai families back home. This march was the start of a war to win back independence that would drag on for almost ten years.
The ≈ sign marks an approximate location. Borders on the map are modern and shown for orientation only. Campaign routes are approximate lines drawn from the chronicles and modern studies, not the exact path taken. Dashed lines are enemy armies.
Why the army marched
According to the royal chronicles, around 1583 the city of Ava rose up against Hanthawaddy, and King Nanda Bayin called on his vassal states to send armies to help put down the revolt. Ayutthaya, still a vassal at the time, had to send troops too, and Naresuan was given command.
The chronicles say he left Phitsanulok in the third lunar month, late in the Year of the Goat, and advanced slowly. Studies that recalculate the dates put the departure around early February 1584, while accounts based on the Burmese chronicles say the Siamese army of about 6,000 men never headed for Ava as ordered, but lingered around Hanthawaddy instead.
What happened at Mueang Khraeng
According to the chronicles, the Thai army reached Mueang Khraeng in Mon country early in the sixth lunar month of the Year of the Monkey. Hanthawaddy had planned to have Naresuan killed on the way, but two Mon nobles, Phraya Kiat and Phraya Ram, passed the secret to the senior monk Phra Maha Thera Khanchong, who warned the prince.
Once he was sure the plot was real, Naresuan poured water from a golden ewer onto the ground and proclaimed that from that day on Ayutthaya had broken off its allegiance to Hanthawaddy. An article in the journal of the National Defence Studies Institute calculates the date of the declaration as 26 April 1584, while work based on the Burmese chronicles gives 3 May 1584.
The battle on the Sittaung River
After the declaration, Naresuan marched from Mueang Khraeng towards Hanthawaddy and crossed the Sittaung River to gather up Thai families who had been carried off to live in Burmese territory. But when he learned that King Nanda Bayin was marching back from Ava, he pulled his army back and sent the families on ahead.
The Burmese Crown Prince sent Surakamma with a vanguard in pursuit. It caught up at the Sittaung River, but by then the Thai army had already crossed, and the two sides traded fire across the water. The chronicles say Naresuan used a long gun about nine khuep (hand-spans) long to shoot Surakamma dead on the neck of his elephant, and the Hanthawaddy army fell back. The gun became known as Phra Saeng Puen Ton Kham Maenam Sathong, "the royal long gun that fired across the Sittaung River".
Burmese records describe a similar event: a pursuing force of about 4,000 men caught up near the Sittaung River and had to retreat when its commander was shot dead.
The way home and what followed
According to the chronicles, the Thai army marched south through the Mon towns and re-entered Siam by the Three Pagodas Pass, avoiding the Mae Lamao pass. Back home, Naresuan rewarded the Mon who had helped him, and Phra Maha Thera Khanchong was honoured with the rank of Supreme Patriarch.
Naresuan then brought people from the northern towns down to Ayutthaya to prepare for the army that Hanthawaddy would send in revenge later that same year.
Reading the route on the map
The line on the map starts at Phitsanulok, runs to Mueang Khraeng and on to the Sittaung River, then doubles back south through the Mon towns before entering the Three Pagodas Pass. The chronicles do not say which way the army went on the outward march from Phitsanulok, so the first stretch only shows the general direction. Mueang Khraeng and the river crossing are approximate positions, because there is still no evidence that pins down where they were.
Waypoints along the route
| Waypoint | Coordinates | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Phitsanulok | 16.816, 100.264 | |
| 2. Mueang Khraeng | 17.100, 97.250 | Approximate location. Exact location unknown. This point is placed in Mon country between Martaban and the Sittaung River only to show the direction of the army's march. |
| 3. Sittaung River crossing | 17.300, 96.920 | Approximate location. The chronicles do not name the crossing point. This marks roughly the lower Sittaung on the side nearer Hanthawaddy (the river mouth is at about 16.965, 96.988 according to Wikipedia). |
| 4. Mon towns near Martaban | 16.530, 97.602 | Approximate location. The chronicles say only that the army went south through the Mon towns, so Martaban is used to stand in for them. |
| 5. Three Pagodas Pass | 15.302, 98.402 |
Where historians still disagree
- Where was Mueang Khraeng? The Thai chronicles say only that it was in Mon country, and there is no agreement on which present-day town it corresponds to. English-language works based on the Burmese chronicles say the Siamese army fell back to Martaban and declared independence there.
- The date of the declaration: calculations from the Thai chronicles give 26 April 1584, while work based on the Burmese chronicles gives 3 May 1584. Both agree that it happened between late April and early May.
- Why the army withdrew: the Thai chronicles say Naresuan heard that King Nanda Bayin was on his way back from Ava; the Burmese side says Ava fell sooner than expected, so the Siamese army retreated towards Martaban.
- How reliable the details are: an article in Silpa Wattanatham (Art & Culture) magazine questions whether some details of the declaration may have been added when the chronicles were revised in the Rattanakosin (early Bangkok) period.
Frequently asked questions
Where did King Naresuan declare independence?
At Mueang Khraeng in Mon country in 1584, according to the royal chronicles. Where Mueang Khraeng lies today, however, is still unresolved.
What is the Phra Saeng Puen Ton Kham Maenam Sathong?
It is the long gun that, according to the chronicles, Naresuan used to shoot Surakamma, Hanthawaddy's vanguard commander, across the Sittaung River. Surakamma was killed and the pursuing army had to turn back.
Why didn't the Thai army go on to attack Hanthawaddy after declaring independence?
Because Naresuan learned that King Nanda Bayin was bringing a large army back from Ava. The Thai force was small, so he chose to take the Thai families home first and prepare to meet the coming war on home ground.
- The Hero King Who Restored Independence: King Naresuan the Great's Declaration of Independence – Journal of the National Defence Studies Institute (2025) (in Thai)
- Biography of King Naresuan the Great – TruePlookpanya (in Thai)
- Naresuan - Wikipedia
- Burmese–Siamese War (1584–1593) - Wikipedia
- The Declaration of Independence at Mueang Khraeng: A Story Revised in the Rattanakosin Period? – Silpa Wattanatham (in Thai)
Last updated 10 November 2026