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The Battle of Ban Sa Ket: Routing the King of Chiang Mai's Army, 1586
The following year the King of Chiang Mai marched south to take revenge and set up a large camp at Ban Sa Ket, in the district of Mueang Wiset Chai Chan. Naresuan and Ekathotsarot used a ruse to draw the enemy into a pursuit, then turned on them until the Chiang Mai army scattered. It was an important victory ahead of King Nanda Bayin's great invasion the next year.
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.
The Chiang Mai army returns
According to the royal chronicles, after the defeat of late 1584 the King of Chiang Mai marched south again in BE 2128 (on the date, see below). He set up camp at Ban Sa Ket in the district of Mueang Wiset Chai Chan, today in Ang Thong province north of Ayutthaya, and sent detachments out to plunder and harass the people of the area.
The feigned retreat at Bang Kaeo
Naresuan marched north as far as Pa Mok, routed the enemy raiding parties there and pressed on to Ban Hae. He then sent Phra Ratchamanu ahead with the vanguard to scout. When the vanguard clashed with the enemy at Bang Kaeo, it was ordered to feign a retreat to lure the Chiang Mai army into pursuit.
Once the enemy had chased so far that their columns broke up into separate groups, Naresuan and Ekathotsarot led the main royal army in to attack both the Chiang Mai vanguard and its main body, driving them all the way back to the camp at Ban Sa Ket. The Chiang Mai army scattered.
The outcome
An English-language encyclopedia summarising the Thai sources says the Thai side captured the Ban Sa Ket camp along with about 10,000 soldiers, 120 elephants, 100 horses and some 400 boats.
Naresuan pursued as far as Nakhon Sawan, but the King of Chiang Mai had already fled towards Kamphaeng Phet. The Thai chronicles say he fled to join the Burmese Crown Prince at Kamphaeng Phet, so Naresuan returned to Ayutthaya.
Thai and Western years in this campaign
The Thai chronicles give the year as BE 2128. Some older textbooks convert this to May 1585, but new calculations place it around early April 1586, and Burmese records also say the army from Lan Na came in between late March and early April 1586.
These figures do not necessarily contradict each other, because in the Ayutthaya period the new year began around April. March 1586 therefore still counted as late BE 2128 under the old system; by today's reckoning it would be BE 2129.
What the Burmese sources say
The Burmese chronicles do not mention Ban Sa Ket, but they record that the Crown Prince Mingyi Swa led an army of about 12,000 men down from Lan Na and, unable to break through, withdrew around June as the rainy season set in. This fits the Thai chronicles, which place the Crown Prince at Kamphaeng Phet at the same time, although work based on the Burmese chronicles names Lampang as the place where his army was held up.
Reading the route on the map
The line on the map shows the Thai army's movements from Ayutthaya north to Pa Mok and Ban Sa Ket, and the pursuit as far as Nakhon Sawan. The Ban Sa Ket point uses the present-day Wiset Chai Chan district instead, because no evidence has yet been found that pins down the original village.
Waypoints along the route
| Waypoint | Coordinates | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ayutthaya | 14.348, 100.561 | |
| 2. Pa Mok | 14.490, 100.448 | |
| 3. Ban Sa Ket (Wiset Chai Chan) | 14.594, 100.339 | Approximate location. Uses the coordinates of Wiset Chai Chan district, Ang Thong province, in place of the original village, whose location has not been identified. |
| 4. Nakhon Sawan (end of pursuit) | 15.713, 100.135 |
Where historians still disagree
- The year of the battle: the Thai chronicles say BE 2128, and some older textbooks convert this to May 1585, but new calculations and the Burmese records point to March–April 1586, which was still late BE 2128 under the old way of starting the year.
- Who led the northern army: the Thai chronicles focus on the King of Chiang Mai, while the Burmese chronicles record that the Crown Prince led the army from Lan Na, and name Lampang as the place where it was held up.
- The location of Ban Sa Ket: the chronicles say only that it was in the district of Mueang Wiset Chai Chan, and no present-day site has been confirmed.
Frequently asked questions
Where did the Battle of Ban Sa Ket take place?
At Ban Sa Ket in the district of Mueang Wiset Chai Chan, now part of Ang Thong province north of Ayutthaya. The exact site of the original village still cannot be identified.
How did Naresuan defeat the Chiang Mai army?
He had his vanguard feign a retreat so that the enemy gave chase until their columns broke apart, then he and Ekathotsarot led the main army in an attack that pushed all the way to the Ban Sa Ket camp, and the Chiang Mai army was routed.
Last updated 10 November 2026