Lan Xang, sometimes spelled Lan Sang and meaning Million Elephants, was a Lao kingdom that controlled the territory of present-day Laos from 1353 to 1707, founded by Fa Ngum with military support from the Khmer Empire of Angkor. For roughly three and a half centuries Lan Xang ranked among the largest and most enduring kingdoms of mainland Southeast Asia, and it adopted Theravada Buddhism as a unifying state religion that shaped Lao art, architecture and culture for centuries afterward. The kingdom's capital shifted over its history among cities including Luang Prabang and later Vientiane, both of which remain major centers of Lao political and religious life today. Succession disputes fragmented Lan Xang in 1707 into three smaller and weaker successor kingdoms, Luang Prabang, Vientiane and Champasak, and the unified kingdom is remembered as the historical basis for the modern Lao national and cultural identity.
Facts
Classification
Status (Extant or Former) Government type (class) Connections
In Era
Source Wikipedia: Lan Xang
Source Wikipedia: Lan Xang
In the Other Atlases
- Also in Society and Culture Atlas: Monarchy, government type there.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Lan Xang
Infobox, Government field
Absolute monarchy
Succession disputes
In 1707 Lan Xang was divided and the kingdoms of Luang Prabang and Vientiane emerged.
In Era: The Post-Classical and Medieval Period, lead paragraph and infobox, existence dates
Lan Xang (, ), 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,
In Era: The Early Modern Period, lead paragraph and infobox, existence dates
Lan Xang (, ), 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,
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