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The Elephant Duel War at Nong Sarai, 1593
In late 1592 Crown Prince Mingyi Swa marched in with a great army once again, and was defeated at Nong Sarai in the Suphanburi area in January 1593. This was the famous war of the elephant duel. This article focuses on the movements of the armies and the location of the battlefield; a comparison of how each version of the chronicles describes the elephant duel itself can be found in the Chronicles section.
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.
Hanthawaddy's armies come by several routes
Burmese sources say the army left Hanthawaddy on 4 November 1592 with about 24,000 men, with the lords of Prome, Toungoo and Lan Na as deputy commanders. The Thai chronicles give much higher figures.
An encyclopedia summarising the Thai evidence says the Crown Prince led the main army in through the Three Pagodas Pass, two more armies came through the Mae Lamao pass, and Chiang Mai sent a river fleet down to join them. It took the army about seven weeks to reach the Suphanburi area, west of Ayutthaya.
Naresuan marches out to meet them
According to the chronicles, Naresuan assembled his army at Pa Mok, then marched towards Suphanburi, crossed the river at Tha Thao U Thong and set up his royal camp at Nong Sarai near the Tha Khoi stream. Ekathotsarot's army went with him.
The date and the clash
The Luang Prasoet Chronicle gives the date as Monday, the second day of the waning moon in the second lunar month of Chula Sakarat 954, which today is calculated as 18 January 1593. The Burmese chronicles give 8 January 1593. The difference of about ten days may come from converting between old-style and new-style calendars in different ways.
The encyclopedia summarising the Thai side says the Thai vanguard feigned a retreat, luring the enemy into a disorderly pursuit. The war elephants of Naresuan and Ekathotsarot charged into the middle of the enemy army, and fighting broke out on elephant-back. The Crown Prince was killed on the neck of his elephant, while Ekathotsarot won his own elephant duel against Mang Cha Charo. The Burmese chronicles, by contrast, say the Crown Prince was shot.
The outcome
All sides agree that the Crown Prince died in this battle and that the Hanthawaddy army had to retreat. It was the last invasion of Siam in King Nanda Bayin's reign, and Burma was forced onto the defensive for more than ten years afterwards.
After the battle, Naresuan was about to punish the commanders who had failed to keep up with him, but Somdet Phra Phonnarat of Wat Pa Kaeo asked him to pardon them. Those commanders were given the chance to redeem themselves by attacking Tavoy and Tenasserim.
Where was the battlefield?
In 1913 Prince Damrong Rajanubhab set out to find the battlefield from the name Nong Sarai in the chronicles, and the governor of Suphanburi found the ruins of a chedi. The prince surmised that it was a chedi built to commemorate the victory. The Fine Arts Department registered it in 1935, and the Don Chedi royal monument was opened on 25 January 1959.
Others argue that the battlefield lay in Phanom Thuan district, Kanchanaburi province, about 85 kilometres to the south-west, where another memorial was opened in 2003. Jeremias van Vliet's account (1640), on the other hand, says the battle took place near Ayutthaya.
Reading the route on the map
The line on the map shows the Thai army's movements from Ayutthaya to Pa Mok, across towards Suphanburi and on to Nong Sarai. The battlefield point uses the location of Don Chedi district, which is the main official theory, not a location that has been proven beyond doubt.
Waypoints along the route
| Waypoint | Coordinates | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ayutthaya | 14.348, 100.561 | |
| 2. Pa Mok (army assembles) | 14.490, 100.448 | |
| 3. Tha Thao U Thong crossing (Suphanburi) | 14.467, 100.117 | Approximate location. The exact location of the crossing is unknown; Suphanburi town is used instead. |
| 4. Nong Sarai (royal camp) | 14.635, 100.022 | Approximate location. Uses the coordinates of Don Chedi district, which contains Nong Sarai subdistrict and the royal monument. This is the main theory, not a proven location. |
Where historians still disagree
- Location of the battlefield: the main theory is Don Chedi in Suphanburi province, as identified by Prince Damrong Rajanubhab in 1913 and endorsed by the Fine Arts Department. Some propose Phanom Thuan district in Kanchanaburi province instead, while van Vliet says the battle took place near Ayutthaya, which some link to the area around Wat Phu Khao Thong.
- How the battle was fought: the Thai chronicles describe a one-on-one elephant duel in which the Crown Prince was cut down with a blade; the Burmese chronicles say he was shot. Terwiel (2013) thinks it unlikely that there was any formal challenge to a duel.
- Date of the battle: Thai calculations give 18 January 1593 (25 January was used previously), while the Burmese side says 8 January. The year BE 2135 follows the old way of counting; by today's reckoning it would be BE 2136.
- Troop numbers: the Thai chronicles say the Hanthawaddy army numbered several hundred thousand, while Burmese sources say about 24,000.
Frequently asked questions
Where was the elephant duel fought?
The chronicles say at Nong Sarai in the Suphanburi area. Officially it is held to be in Don Chedi district, Suphanburi province, but there are also proposals that it was in Phanom Thuan district, Kanchanaburi province, or near Ayutthaya.
Which way did the Burmese armies come in the elephant-duel war?
According to a summary of the Thai evidence, the Crown Prince's main army came through the Three Pagodas Pass, two more armies came through the Mae Lamao pass, and a river fleet came down from Chiang Mai to join them.
What happened after the elephant duel?
Hanthawaddy never again sent a major army against Siam in King Nanda Bayin's reign. Instead the Thais went on the offensive, beginning by sending armies to attack Tavoy and Tenasserim.
Last updated 10 November 2026