The Lan Na or Lanna Kingdom is an Indianized state centered in present-day Northern Thailand from the thirteenth to eighteenth centuries.
The Pali chronicles refer to the kingdom as Yonarattha or Yonkarattha (Kingdom of the Yuon) or of Bingarattha (Kingdom of the Mae Ping).
In the Chinese History of the Yuan it is called Pa-pai-si-fu, mentioned first in 1292.The cultural development of the Northern Thai people had begun long before as successive kingdoms preceded Lan Na.
Mangrai, the 25th king of Ngoenyang (modern Chiang Saen) of the Lavachakkaraj dynasty, whose mother was a princess of a kingdom in Sipsongpanna ("the twelve nations"), centralized the mueangs of Ngoenyang into a unified kingdom or mandala and allied with the neighboring Phayao Kingdom.
In 1262, Mangrai moved the capital from Ngoenyang to the newly founded Chiang Rai – naming the city after himself.
Mangrai then expanded to the south and subjugated the Mon kingdom of Hariphunchai (centered on modern Lamphun) in 1281.
Mangrai moved the capital several times.
Leaving Lamphun due to heavy flooding, he drifted until settling at and building Wiang Kum Kam in 1286/7, staying there until 1292 at which time he relocated to what would become Chiang Mai.As a continuation of the kingdom of Ngoenyang, Lan Na emerges with strength sufficient in the fifteenth century to rival the Ayutthaya Kingdom, with whom wars are fought.
However, the Lanna Kingdom is weakened and becomes a tributary state of the Taungoo Dynasty in 1558.
Lan Na is ruled by successive vassal kings, though some enjoy autonomy.
The Burmese rule gradually withdrew, then resumes as the new Konbaung Dynasty expands its influence.
Taksin of the Thonburi Kingdom finally conquers Lan Na in 1775.
