Dvaravati was an ancient Mon political principality from the 6th century to the 11th century, located in the region now known as central Thailand, and was speculated to be a succeeding state of Lang-chia or Lang-ya-hsiu (หลังยะสิ่ว). It was described by Chinese pilgrims in the middle of the 7th century as a Buddhist kingdom named To-lo-po-ti situated to the west of Isanapura (Cambodia), to the east of Sri Ksetra (Burma), and adjoined Pan Pan in the South. Its northern border met Chia-lo-she-fo, which was speculated to be either Kalasapura, situated along the coast of the Bay of Bengal somewhere between Tavoy and Rangoon, or Canasapura in modern northeast Thailand. Dvaravati sent the first embassy to the Chinese court in around 605–616.
Image: Mon Wheel
Image: Thai head of Buddha, Dvaravati kingdom, 8th 9th century, Dayton
Image: Khao Khlang Nai 002
Image: Khao Khlang Nak 004
The Mon are an ethnic group who inhabit Lower Myanmar's Mon State, Kayin State, Kayah State, Tanintharyi Region, Bago Region, the Irrawaddy Delta, and several areas in Thailand. The native language is Mon, which belongs to the Monic branch of the Austroasiatic language family and shares a common origin with the Nyah Kur language, which is spoken by the people of the same name that live in Northeastern Thailand. A number of languages in Mainland Southeast Asia are influenced by the Mon language, which is also in turn influenced by those languages.
Mon girls wearing traditional dress in Mawlamyine
The Ban Tha Lat Mon inscription, dated 9th century CE, was discovered in 1968 in an area where other archaeological evidence confirmed the presence of the ancient Mon people. It is now located at the Ho Phra Kaeo Museum in Vientiane, Laos
Queen regnant Camadevi Monument in Lamphun, Thailand
Myazedi Inscription (AD 1113) in Mon language in Bagan. One of the oldest surviving stone inscriptions in Myanmar.
