Lan Xang

Uncommon card · No. 174195

Lan Xang (Lao: ລ້ານຊ້າງ, pronounced [lâːn sâːŋ]), also spelled Lan Sang, was a Lao kingdom that held the area of present-day Laos from 1353 to 1707. For three and a half centuries, Lan Xang was one of the largest kingdoms in Southeast Asia. The kingdom is the basis for Laos's national historic and cultural identity. The kingdom is conventionally dated from its foundation by Fa Ngum in 1353. Its capital was Luang Prabang until 1560 and Vientiane thereafter. Theravada Buddhism was the state religion, and the Phra Bang was adopted as the kingdom's palladium. The Mekong River carried the kingdom's trade and defined its political geography, and authority was exercised through mueang bound to the king rather than through a centrally administered territory. Lan Xang was invaded by Burma in the sixteenth century and partitioned in 1707 into the kingdoms of Luang Prabang, Vientiane and Champasak.

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