Qin Shi Huang (259 BC-210 BC): The Emperor Who Unified China.

As we move forward to our next discussion, it is important to remember the reason why we are brought to China again. For those who keep up with us, it is already well known by now our intention in taking back from the forgotten memory of humanity characters who were important, or not (depending from the point of view), to the societies they were in. Therefore, it is not difficult to comprehend why we are heading to China once more: such is the place whose history and empire date far from a millenium and yet, to most of us the royalty that once ruled such empire remain unknown.

That being said, we are taken to this royal man whose name was Qin Shi Huang and who, apparently, takes the credit for uniting China as a whole. As usual, we rise questions as: who was he as a man and as an emperor? What were his deeds? How did he mirror in power the values which shaped the society he was immersed and prepared to govern? In an attempt to respond such questions, we produce this post for this blog today.

Qin Shin Hugan was a very controversial figure, in particularly to Chinese historians who seemed to view him as a tyrannic ruler and a weak one to the emperor's successors laterwards. His empire, however, did not last long but his measures in general were successfully inherited by those who succeeded his dynasty. Far from judging his character, or judging anything at all, we thus write about him. For a starter, wikipedia informs us that:

"Modern Chinese sources often give the personal name of Qin Shi Huang as Ying Zheng, with Ying taken as the surname and Zheng the given name. In ancient China however the naming convention differed, and Zhao may be used as the surname. Unlike modern Chinese names, the nobles of ancient China had two distinct surnames: the ancestral name comprised a larger group descended from a prominent ancestor, usually said to have lived during the time of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors of Chinese legend, and the clan name comprised a smaller group that showed a branch's current fief or recent title."

Bearing this explanation in mind in order to understand how ancient chineses named their children (royalty here included), we can move forward to this powerful ruler's history. His birth was, as his life would come to be, object of controversy, after all, was Qin Shi Huang born a bastard? Apparently, a story tells us that:

"Prince Yiren had fallen in love at first sight with a concubine of Lü Buwei, a rich merchant from the State of Wey. Lü consented for her to be Yiren's wife, who then became known as Lady Zhao (Zhao Ji) after the state of Zhao. Lady Zhao gave birth to the child on 18 February; and he was given the name Zhao Zheng (...).

However, the Records of the Grand Historian also claimed that the first emperor was not the actual son of Prince Yiren but that of Lü Buwei. According to this account, when Lü Buwei introduced the dancing girl to the prince, she was Lü Buwei's concubine and had already become pregnant by him, and the baby was born after an unusually long period of pregnancy. According to translations of the Annals of Lü Buwei, Zhao Ji gave birth to the future emperor in the city of Handan in 259 BC, the first month of the 48th year of King Zhaoxiang of Qin."

Whatever the truth behind his birth, Qin Shi Huang was raised at Prince Yiren's court, who eventually became King of Qin. But at the time of his father's death, the new king was only thirteen and a regency was raised. It appears that his mother, Lazy Zhao was regent by Lü Buwein's side. This regency would not be carried out without dealing with important political issues as we will see a rebellion was raised from the emperor's half-brother.  

"Zhao Changjiao, the Lord Chang'an, was Zhao Zheng's legitimate half-brother, by the same father but from a different mother. After Zhao Zheng inherited the throne, Chengijao rebelled at Tunliu and surrended to the state of Zhao. Chengjiao's remaining retainers and families were executed by Zhao Zheng."

Another attemptive of coup came from a man named Lao Ai, misfortunately associated with Bowein. This latter was introduced to the queen dowager (and mother to Zhao Zheng, also known as Qin Shi Huang) and soon enough the pair was enamorated. Lao Ai was ennobled, but this was not enough for him as he wished to replace the emperor for one of his children. The result of this would prove to be catastrophic, to say the least:

"According to The Record of Grand Historian, Lao Ai (...) and queen hao Ji got along so well they secretly had two sons together. Lao Ai then became enobbled as Maquis Lào Ai and was showered with riches. Lao Ai's plot was supposed to replace King Zheng with one of the hidden sons. But during a dinner party drunken Lao Ai was heard bragging about being the young king's step father. In 283 BC the king was travelling to the ancient capital of Yong. Lao Ai seized the queen mother's seal and mobilized an army in an attempt to start a coup and rebel. When King Zheng found out this fact, he ordered Lü Buwei to let Lord Changping and Lord Changwen attack Lao Ai and their army killed hundreds of the rebels at the capital, although Lao Ai succeeded in fleeing from this battle. (...) Lao Ai's supporters were captured and beheaded; then [he] was tied up and torn to five pieces by horse carriages, while his entire family was executed to the third degree. The two hidden sons were also killed, while mother Zhao Ji was placed under house arrest until her death (...)."

After this sad event, Lü Bowei committed suicide and Qin Shi Huang finally came to power by himself. This emperor had plans for his empire to build, which meant to subdue all north and south China. It would be a bloody path to cross and it leaves many questions to us unanswered. We know nothing, for example, of his upbringing, we have no collections of his thoughts, of his perspectives of the political events we saw this far. How was his relationship with his mother? Was he aware of the possibility of his illegitimacy? What about his character? At least this latter we may begin to assume, if it is safe to assume at all, that it was a ruthless one. 

We must remember, before going forward, that before Huang's ascension, the background of China's several independent states was known for it's unstability due to constant war affairs between them. Despite this, Confuncionism and literature as Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" came to be. That being said, the sort of philosophy Huang would adopt as he began to subdue Qi, Yan, Zhao, Han, Wei, Chu, Qin and other states was the legalism. In other words: his subjects should obey the law, otherwise they would be punished accordingly. This was also the reflection of three attempts of murder he survived, all of which being instigated for fear of the emperor's constantly growing power. As such:

"The assassination attempts arose in part because of desperation in neighboring kingdoms. The Qin king had the most powerful army and neighboring rulers feared a Qin invasion. The Han kingdom fell to Qin Shi Huang in 230 BCE. In 229, a devasting earthquake rocked another powerful state, Zhao, leaving it weakened. Qin Shi Huang took advantage of the disaster and invaded the region. Wei fell in 225, followed by the powerful Chu in 223. The Qin army conquered Yan and Zhao in 222 (despite another assassination attempt on Qin Shi Huang by a Yan agent). The final independent kingdom, Qi, fell ot the Qin in 221 BCE."

As a result of this pursuit policy over the unification of several territories spread across China (as the quote above explains), there had been reforms upon the areas of economics, politics and culture as well, a somewhat paradox when looking into the tough laws with which he ruled his empire (which can also be explained by how deadly threats such as the Huns from the north needed an iron hand in return). 

"As Emperor, Qin Shi Huang reorganized the bureaucracy, abolishing the existing nobility and replacing them with his appointed officials. He also built a network of roads, with the capital of Xianyang at the hub. In addition, the Emperor simplified the written Chinese script, standardized weights and measures, and minted new copper coins."

Under one ruler, there would naturally concurr to it one legal system of economics, one language spoken and written, creating paths that leaded one region to another, favouring, thus, trades and cultural exchanges. But there were also:

"(...) extremely strict legal code, penalty, harsh taxation and arbitrary exaction of conscript labour. Though with a high efficiency (for example huge projects like the construction of the Great Wall and a nationwide highway network were both accomplished), his governance drained the people of energy and resources. Public discontent simmered and exploded into uprisings soon after his death."

A ruler who did not tolerate oppositions, Huang imposed respect, a centralized authority and earned victories that shaped the empire he created. Despite banning other schools of thought, he put an end to the wars that once dragged one kingdom against the other and swept away the Huns from the north of his empire. But the more his reign came to an end, the more dangerous he appeared to be. After all, this powerful emperor feared death and was constantly pursuing after an elixir of life in order to be an immortal ruler. To some, this could be an indict of madness, but such assumption cannot be affirmed. As seen here:

"Later in his life, Qin Shi Huang feared death and desperately sought the fabled elixir of life, which would supposedly allow him to live forever. He was obsessed with acquiring immortality and fell prey to many who offered him supposed elixirs. He visited Zhifu Island three times in order to achieve immortality."

But "during his fourth tour of Eastern China, the Emperor became seriously ill after he arrived in Pingyuanjin (...) and died on 10 September BC (Julian Calendar) at the palace in Shaqiu prefecture (...) about two months away by road from the capital Xianyang." The news of his death were held back for almost two months and, as a result, a plot to prevent the oldest son, Fusu, to become Emperor was conspired between the second son of Qin Shi Huang and his allies. Fusu was forced to commit suicide in order to let free the path to his brother become emperor. 

However, the empire Qin Shi Huang would collapse under his hands and the dynasty would end there. Eventually, though, with the rise of another dynasty, this emperor's deeds would be properly shaped accordingly the successors' demands, but already cemented the dawn of a new society. 

Bibliography:

-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qin_Shi_Huang

-https://www.thoughtco.com/qin-shi-huang-first-emperor-china-195679

-https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-famous-people/ruthless-chinese-emperor-qin-shi-huang-how-he-unified-and-tyrannized-his-020762

-https://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/greatwall/Emperor.html

-http://www.absolutechinatours.com/china-travel/qin-emperors.html

-https://owlcation.com/humanities/The-achievements-of-the-First-Emperor-of-China-and-his-faults

-https://www.historytoday.com/archive/china%E2%80%99s-first-empire

Atossa, Achaemenid Ruler: The Controversial Story Of The Persian Queen, Mother Of Persian Kings(550-475)

On today's post we are returning our eyes towards the Persian empire and one of the main figures that History overlooked is this woman named Atossa. She was an achaemenid ruler, daughter of the powerful Cyrus the Great, whom we have already discussed on this blog. Atossa was also mostly remembered for being the mother of the powerful persian king Xerxes I, but was that all she should be entitled for? Despite the lack of profound informations concerning this interesting character, we are interested in trying to bring what we could find about her to the public eye.

Atossa was likely born around the year 550 BC in Pasargadae. She was one the children of Cyrus the Great, allegedly the oldest daughter, and his favourite wife, Cassandane. There is not much about her early life, but it appears that Atossa was taught reading and writing due to the later accounts that suggest her active role in politics, as seen here:

"One might imagine that considering Cyrus's open-mindedness on the one hand and the advanced trend practiced by the Persians in educating their children and youth on the other, as recorded in Xenophon's- the 4th century (BC) historian- book titled Cyropedy, Atossa must have had a distinct character of merit. Given that Atossa had learned how to write and read, she played a decisive role in educating and training her own as well as those of other aristocrats and courtiers."

She was also married to her brother, or half-brother, Cambyses II upon the death of their father. It appears that he was actually very fond of her and the match (one uniting close relatives) was the first to occurr within the royal family. Whether was the case, the marriage was not meant to last long as Cambyses died mysteriously in Egypt, leaving behind a scenario that would propice the rise of Darius the Great as "when Darius I defeated the followers of a man claiming to be Bardiya (Smerdis), the younger brother of Cambyses II in 522 BC, he married Atossa."

There are no records concerning Atossa's thoughts of the marriage, which implies it was a political union for both parties, as Atossa had a noble blood as the daughter of Cyrus the Great. This would later be important to Xerxes' inheritance as king of the persians. As we can see below:

"Atossa played an important role in the Achaemenid royal family, as she bore Darius the Great the next Achaemenid king, Xerxes I. Atossa had a 'great authority' in the Achaemenid royal house and her marriage with Darius I is likely due to her power, influence and the fact that she was a direct descendant of Cyrus."

Furthermore,

"Four sons were born to Darius and Atossa, among whom the oldest was named Xerxes. As told earlier, Darius who had another wife before getting married to Atossa had some other sons from his first wife. Given that Xerxes was not the oldest son and according to  customs, a monarch had to be replaced by his first son, a lot of arguments took place between them. Xerxes claimed that his mother is the 'Savior of Persian Tribe' in view of her being the daughter of Cyrus. Besides when she was born her father was the monarch, while his older brothers were born earlier. On the other hand, Atossa's influence and authority was quite effective in the decisions made by her husband and other officials in this respect, disregarding the absence of any legal and inheritance right to this effect. Eventually, the 35 year old Xerxes was appointed as the crown prince, while the unprecedented measure reflected the high authority of 'The Ladies Lady'. That's how Xerxes, the grandson of Cyrus the Great took reign after his father (486-865 BC), while Darius' older son from his other wife was the best candidate deserving to replace his father and had already been trained for it."

Her power here is evident, though it's not possible to comprehend how she exercized it: through subtle manners or more actively, or a mix of both. What we do know, as far as we may see it, is that she earned her husband's respect so that he trusted her to deal with matters as these. As for the others son Atosse bore him, they were also:

"given important army and administrative positions. That was actually the period when Atossa enjoyed the greatest authority of her long lifetime. As a woman in her middle ages and with high expertise and having been through a lot of ups and downs, she made use of her influence in the state affairs as the queen mother."

 And also, "according to Herodotus, 'Atossa was of great authority, and during the Greek war initially recommended by her, Darius made use of her advice. She was even interested in accompanying her husband in the process of war." Her persona was also very recommendable during her son's reign, which she lived enough to see. However, accounts record that she disagreed with Xerxes in matters of war, specially where the invasion in Greece was concerned. Nonetheless, she remained his great supporter until the end of her life.

Lastly, we do not know anything about her death, except the year it occurred being 475 BC. However, there are some facts which are interested to share. We know, for example, that:

"Herodotus records in The Histories that Atossa was troubled by a bleeding lump in her breast. She wrapped herself in sheets and sought a self-imposed quarantine. Ultimately, a Greek slave, Democedes, persuaded her to allow him to excise the tumor. This is the first recorded case of mastitis."

Also, Atossa was:

"the second female personality who was titled a 'Lady', which was a religious title, after Anahita. Since then such a title was gradually granted to some queens. Aeschylus, the 5th century (BC) Greek dramatist, in his famous play titled 'The Iranians', which is the story of Xerxes' war with the Greek and the significant victory of the Greeks, has called Atossa 'The Ladies Lady'." 

Whilst some sources claim Atossa was a woman who sought to achieve power for herself, seeing in her figure someone who was very ambitious and selfish to the very least, we must regard such views carefully. After all, was every powerful woman in a world dominated by male perspectives and powers necessarily ambitious and power hungry? Some might, as some might not. It is not up to us to (re)produce such judgement, especially when we know that Atossa and others like her were trapped in a male's world where they were expected to be silent and submissive. Not necessarily fitting in such stereotypes does not make any female character desperated for power, selfish or other pejorative adjective. That is what we must bear in mind whenever we look at historical individuals located in different space and time from ours this day.

Bibliography:

BROWN, Julie. "Atossa." In: Atlas Mountains. Pp 170, 171. 2012.

-https://amozhdeh.aminus3.com/image/2010-03-14.html

-http://www.iranchamber.com/history/atossa/atossa.php

-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atossa

Cyaxares (625-585 B.C): The Story Of The King Of Medes

It has been a while ever since our last post  was shared on this blog, for which we apologize. But now, we hope to make it up by returning our discussions concerning figures of the past who were overlooked by history, often unknown to people in general, or attempting to shed a light to those controversial characters of it. 

That way, to start (quite late, indeed) this year of 2019, we've decided to bring this figure who is part of the history of the Persian Empire. Though few were the resources found, we have at least decided to try to propose a discussion about this interesting individual. His name was Cyaxares and he was a tribal king who reigned over to what nowadays is located as the northwest of Iran. 

There are no records that could tells us about Cyaxares birth, raising, but the one used to tell about him comes from a Greek historian named Herodotus. Even that, however, can be seen with questioning eyes as he wrote about this character almost a century later. It is always wise to read him carefully. 

Apparently, what we know of this king is that he was born in Ecbatana, a Median capital. His father, a king before him, was named Phraortes and he was apparently in conflict with a tribe known by name of Scythians. We know nothing of Cyaxares' childhood and family other than that, and we might especulate that if he was not an adult, he was old enough to avenge his father by the time Phraortes was killed in battle. As we can see below:

"His father Phraortes was killed in a battle against the Assyrians, led by Ashurbanipal, the king of Assyria. After Phraortes' demise, the Scythians overran Media and controlled the area for a period off twenty-eight years. Cyaraxes, seeking revenge, killed the Scythian leaders and proclaimed himself King of Medes. After throwing off the Scythians, he prepared for war against Assyria."¹

This corroborates the point of view of Herodotus as well:

"According to the 5th century BC Greek historian Herodotus, Cyaxares renewed the war with the Assyrians after his father, Phraortes, had been slain in battle. While besieging Nineveh, he was attacked and defeated by a great army of Scythians, who then ruled Media (653-625) until their chiefs were slain by Cyaxares at a banquet. It was probably Cyaxares, not his father, as is maintained by Herodotus, who united the tribes of ancient Iran. He also reorganized the Median army, dividing it into spearmen, bowmen, and cavalry and instituting changes in clothing and weapons."²

We can tell from the excerpts above that Cyaxares was raised in a society that was constructed by warrior values. Tribes as the one he was king and others he eventually subdued all knew the importance of a weapon. Such importance can be told by how he reorganized his army once he united the  tribes that thus shaped the kingdom over which he ruled. Unfortunately, however, we can go no further in speculating such social aspects as there are very few informations concerning the Median society.

What we know next regards Cyaxares' warfares and how skillful he seemed to have been both as a strategist and as a warrior. Not only concerning the reorganization of his army as it has already been said, but the victories he collected. As we can see following the paragraphs:

"Cyaxares reorganized the Median army, then allied himself with King Nabopolassar of Babylonia, a mutual enemy of Assyria. This alliance was formalized through the marriage of Cyaxares' daughter, Amytis, to Nabopolassar's son, Nebuchadnezzar II. Cyaxares also allied with the Scythians even though they warred against each other a decade earlier. In the year 612 B.C.E, Cyaxares and his army was able to conquer Assur and he also claimed the Assyrian capital of Nineveh. The Medians, Babylonians, and Scythians overthrew the Assyrian Empire and destroyed Nineveh in 612 BC. Fighting between the Medes and Assyrians would finally come to an end in the year of 609 B.C.E."

Once Cyaxares defeated the Scythians, allying himself with them in order to defeat the Assyrian Empire, he continues his conquest. It appears he also conquered "Northern Mesopotamia, Armenia and the parts of Asia Minoreast of the Halys River". The growth of his power certainly must have scared other tribes, lesser powerful than him. Nonetheless, this did not exclude other potential threats. For Cyaxares soon found himself confronting the Lydian army (led by the ruler of a kingdom located close to what today is known as Ukraine) and, as the result of this, it came the first defeat of Cyaxares. It is not clear, however, if he was killed in this battle or not, but it appears that he died after this defeat. 

"All in all, we can be certain about three events during Cyaxares' reign: the destruction of Assur in the summer 614, the capture of Nineveh in July 612 and the battle against the Medes on 28 May 585." Furthermore, "under Cyaxares, the Median empire reached its greatest extent, but under his son Astyages, it was destroyed. When in 522 BCE a Mede with the name Phraortes and a Sagartian named Tritantaechmes revolted against the Persian king Darius I the Great, they both claimed to be a descendant of Cyaxares, even though the great king was dead for more than sixty years."

 Bibliography:

-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyaxares¹

-https://www.livius.org/articles/person/cyaxares/²

-https://www.britannica.com/biography/Cyaxares

Tiridates III: The Life And Facts Of The King Of Arsacid Armenia (250-330 AD)

Today, on this blog, we continue to discuss about eastern monarchies. This time, we move to Armenia, located in the region today acknowledged as Eurasia, although more in proximity to eastern culture. It was very difficult to find a figure of monarchy in its history due to the lack of sources, but here we managed to bring one, nonetheless. His name is Tiridates III, sometimes nicknamed as 'The Great', however arguable this might be.

A warrior king, Tiridates was born likely around the year of 250 AD as the only son of Khosrov II, King of Armenia, and a woman whose name is lost to history. It is claimed that she was killed by a Parthian agent named Anak who served a Persian king named Ardashir, founder of the Sasanian Empire. We know almost nothing of  his early domestic life, except that he had a sister named Khosrovidukht and that he received his name on behalf of his paternal grandfather, Tiridates II of Armenia.

At a young age, however, we are brought to decisive events that would mark Tiridates' reign. As he was the presumptive heir to Armenian throne, he was taken safely to Rome when his father was assassinated. There, the new king:

"[...] was educated [...] and was skilled in languages and military tactics; in addition he firmly understood and appreciated Roman law. The Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi described him as a brave and strong warrior who participated in the battles against enemies. He personally led his army to victories in many battles."

This period, in which above we are introduced to Tiridates' victories, is regarded as having been the reconquest of Armenia. Once his throne was secured, "[...] he made the citoy of Vagharshapat his capital, as it had been the capital of his late father". But, in spite of the victories he accomplished throughout the battles that led to him become officially the king of Armenia, especially when sending away from his territory his enemies and fighting into Assyria, not all of his deeds would be accompanied by good fortune. As seen below:

"At the time the Persian Empire was in a distracted state. The throne was disputed by the ambition of two contending brothers, Hormuz and Narses. The civil war was, however, soon terminated and Narses was universally acknowledged as King of Persia. Narses then directed his whole force against the foreign enemy. The contest then became too unequal. Tiridates once more took refuge with the Romans. The Roman-Armenian alliance grew stronger, specially while Diocletian ruled the empire. This can be attributed to the upbringing of Tiridates, the consistent Persian agressions and the murder of his father by Anak. With Diocletian's help, Tiridates pushed the Persians out of Armenia. In 299, Diocletian left the Armenian state in a quasi-independent and proctetorate state possibly to use it as a buffer in case of a Persian attack."

Following these events, we are told briefly that Tiridates married "an Alani Princess called Ashkhen in 297 by whom he had three children: a son called Khosrov III, a daughter called Salome and an unnamed daughter who married St Husik I". Other than that we cannot tell how these familiar relations worked or how they were cultivated. As formerly mentioned, there were not many informations, sources in general that we could have been fortunate to find.

But Armenia's conversion to Christianity is one debatable matter that should be discussed. Although we are not very familiar with Armenian's polytheism, we are aware that such form of praise was very strong in that region. So here lies the question: how did Christianity manage to sweep it away? As we will find out, it was far from being a pacific form that Christian religion replaced the polytheistic one. This is much to be credited to Gregory the Illuminator, saint of the Orthodox Church who is also celebrated in Catholic one. Here's how his role in propagating Christian values and morality ended to converting the king, who established this religion the one of State:

"The conversion of Armenia was the work of Gregory the Illuminator, the apostle of the Armenians. Converso to the Christianity of Caesarea, he began to preach the new religion towards the year 280, when Tiridates re-conquered Armenia. He had great ascendancy over Khosrovidukht, a sister of the king, thanks to which he ended up enjoying the favouritism of the sovereign: a very characteristic process, since we know that the clergy have always used women, sisters, wives or beloved of the princes to dominate them. By this procedure the 'Christianization' of entire nation was achieved."

Therefore,

"Persuaded by his sister, King Tiridates finally sent a delegation headed by Gregory to Caesarea. Once there, the ordinary Leontius made him bishop and spiritual head of the Armenian Church. Shortly after Tiridates and his wife Ashken were converted, they promulgated an edict by which all the subjects (as Sozomen, historian of the Church, recounts) were forced to embrace the religion of the monarch. It is the first proclamation of Christianity as the official religion." 

As a result,

"Backed and protected by the king, Gregory devoted himself to throughly destroying the temples to replace them with Christian churches, which were also endowed with generosity. In Artaxata, which had been a prominent centre of polytheism, 'the wonderful Gregory' (as Faustus of Byzantium called him) razed the temple of Vahagn (Hercules), that of Astiik (Venus) and that of Anahit; then he built a splendid Christian church destined to be the new 'national sanctuary' of Armenia". 

This conversion, although allegedly partially done to provoke the Persians, was imposed -as has already been pointed out- with the use of violence. Not only the temples were destroyed, but common people suffered under the command of the king, who would not tolerate any remains of the old religion. He was not, as we see, popular at all as accounts points to several conspiracies against his authority in order to have him murdered. Therefore, we question the nickname of 'The Great' to attribute his deeds. Was he really a great monarch?

Looking back at the context in which the king is inserted, perhaps he was seen as such: he was surrounded by two powerful empires: the Persian's and the Roman's. In between those two, he had to do what was necessary, especially taking in consideration the struggle for his throne, the reconquest of Armenia and the considerable enemies he was forced to deal with. He built a strong 'state', if we can deliberatedly use such concept, but unfortunately there is not much to tell about his reign as a whole. That he was a formidable military chief, we can perceive it clearly. But violence was part of his kingship and that might explain why so many intern conflicts exploded, leading eventually to his death. Then we might consider that, as a whole, he was not that great at all, as his nickname might have suggested. However, this is what makes even more interesting to cast a look upon Armenia's history in Antiquity period.

Bibliography:

-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiridates_III_of_Armenia

-https://chechar.wordpress.com/category/tiridates-iii-of-armenia/

MARTIROSYAN, Hayk A."The character of Tiridates III the Great: Reality and transformation".

-http://fmwww.bc.edu/SL-R/Bossey/%5BBosseyFrodo%5D/Martirosyan.pdf

-http://eurasianroyalancestry.com/timeline/king-tiridates-iii-of-armenia-2/

Sejong The Great: The Story Of The Illustrous King Of Korea (1397-1450)

The intention of this post is to discuss the implications of Sejong's government to Korea in order to comprehend the extent of what is regarded to have been an illustrous reign. We bear in mind the differences in culture, political and religious aspects that differ from Western Europe in what studious today nominate as being a medieval period. We thus ask ourselves who was King Sejong as a monarch and an individual? Did he leave a legacy to the point where he's earned the nickname 'the Great'? Motivated by his relationship as the head of a society that to us is unknown in majority, whether in cultural differences that in our days is quite in evidence, whether in differences that too reflect in the past, we bring this character to the common public eye.

Sejong was born on 7 May 1397, under the name of Yi Do. His parents were King Taejong and Queen Wongyeong. His grandfather had been the first of a new dynasty, but he'd abdicated on behalf of his oldest son in an attempt to prevent his other male children claimed his throne. The dispute, however, would only end with Sejong's uncle being exiled and killed. Eventually, his father became king, but he too would abdicate in favour of his third son after removing his eldest, Prince Yangnyeong, from succession, apparently from spending too much time in leisure and hunting activities than performing duties expected to the crown prince. Taejong's second son became monk, thus the path to the throne was clear for Sejong, who was, apparently, his father's favourite due to his excellence in his studies. But it's very likely that, due to the dispute between brothers that resulted in Taejong's ascension as king of Korea, Serjon's brothers were more than willing in not repeating the history.

Upon Serjon's ascension, we are told that:

"In August 1418, Taejong abdicated in favour of Sejong. However, even in retirement Taejong continued to influence government policy. Sejong's surprising political savvy and creativity did not become apparent until after Taejong's death in 1422."

Also,

"Sejong was a quick study, and also loved science and technology, so he introduced a number of organizational and technological improvements to his kingdom's military forces. Although gunpowder had been used for centuries in Korea, its employment in advanced weaponry expanded markedly under Sejong. He supported the development of new types of cannons and mortars, as well as rocket-like 'fire arrows' [...]."

Within the military field, Sejong was responsible for what is known the Gihae Eastern Expedition to the Korean seas of the east cost. Its purpose consisted in defeating japanese pirates (also named wako) who "operated out of Tsushima Island, harrying shipping, stealing trade goods, and kidnapping Korean and Chinese subjects." These pirates were defeated, and it's said that Sejong's troops killed circa 150 of them, rescuing Chinese and Koreans victims. As a result,

"This expedition would bear important fruit later in Sejong's reign, as well. In 1443, the daimyo of Tsushima pledged obedience to the King of Joseon Korea in the Treaty of Gyehae, in exchange for which he received preferential trading rights with the Korean mainland."

Where domestic affairs are concern, we know that Sejong had one queen, named Soheon who came from a clan entitled as Shim. They would have ten children, eight of whom were of the male sex and two of the female sex.

"He also had three Royal Noble Consorts, Consort Hye, Consort Yeong, and Consort Shin, who bore him three sons, one son and six sons, respectively. In addition, Sejong ad seven lesser consorts who had the misfortune of never producing sons. 

Nevertheless, the presence of eighteen princes representing different clans on their mother's sides ensured that in the future, the succession would be contentious. As a Confucian scholar, though, King Sejong followed protocol and named his sickly eldest son Munjong as Crown Prince."

Our interest is, however, in the field of knowledge and social care where we can find the doings of our king. It has been said that Sejong had an interest in science, technology and culture. How interesting it is to observe that:

"[...] he encouraged the improvement of a moveable metal type for printing first-used in Korea by 1234, at least 215 years before Gutenberg, as well as the development of the sturdier mulberry-fibert paper. These measures made better-quality books much more widely available among educated Koreans. Among the books Sejong sponsored were a history of the Goryeo Kingdom, a compilation of filial deeds (model actions for followers of Confucius to emulate), and farming guides meant to help farmers improve production."

He was also responsible for bringing:

"[...] a group of scholar-officials to study and do research in the Hall of Worthies. They published works in history, language, law, music, astronomy, and medicine. Because Sejong also encouraged the development of typecasting and printing from copper plates, Korean presses could publish the scholars' work. The king sometimes rewarded craftsmen working on new technology by sending them gifts of extra wine and food."

Sejon was reportedly said that "the people are the root of the state, and food is an indispensable necessity of the people". His concern to his subjects are seen in many areas, as we began to point out in paragraphs above, but curiously on the next one we see it in agriculture.

"Throughout his reign, he took a hand in improving agriculture through science and technology. In 1429, he issued a practical farm manual called 'Straight Talk on Farming', which gave advice about planting and plowing techniques. He personally carred out experiments with growing better grain harvests. To help farmers avoid droughts, Sejong had his scholars devise a rain gauge to measure rainfall accurately; it was so advanced that modern rain gauges are much like it."

Other interests financed by him included 'unusually accurate water clocks, and maps of the stars and celestial globes'. He was also patron of music, encouraging musicians to "improve the designs of various musical instruments". However, amongst all of those cultural achievements, no other held a major importance than inventing Korean alphabet. After all, in those days, Koreans spoke their language, but upon writing, they wrote Chinese instead. He is reportedly having said that:

"The sounds of our language differ from those of Chinese and are not easily communicated by using Chinese graphs. Many among the ignorant, therefore, though they wish to express their sentiments in writing, have been unable to communicate. I wish only that the people will learn them easily and use them conveniently in their daily life."

His main concern with the illiterate mass found opposition from nobility, as his court was not willing to break influences from the empire of China. But let's recollect how Sejong did so by supporting scholars from the beginning. He stablished the Hall of Worthies, where a select group of intellectuals studied not only "ancient laws and rites of China and previous Korean dynasties", but "compiled historical texts, and lectured the king and crown prince on Confucian classics."

Such scholars were also sent by Sejong:

"to a mountain temple where they were allowed to read books on a vast array of subjects including astronomy, medicine, geography, history, the art of war, and religion. Many of the Worthies objected to this expansive menu of options, believing that a study of Confuncian thought was sufficient, but Sejong preferred to have a scholar class with a wide range of knowledge."

Upon selecting about eight advisers,

"Sejon [...] developed an alphabetic system to represent Korean language sounds and sentence structure accurately. They came up with a simple system of 14 consonants and 10 vowels, which can be arranged in clusters to create all of the sounds in spoken Korean."

As a result, despite the already mentioned opposition he faced, "hangul quickly spread among segments of the population who previously had not had access to enough education to learn the complicated Chinese writing system." Education was, thus, held with a very important regard by Sejong, who valued knolwedge in all its forms, whether being in astronomy, music, poetry, agronomy, astrology or even in scholars. There is a reputedly saying which states "that a wise man can master hangul by lunchtime, and a less wise man can master it in ten days."

We can thus say that:

"His motivation to grant his people the power to express themselves and communicate, reflects his heart of a king to his people, which at times reflected that of a father more than a governor. In many ways, King Sejong reflects the extended family culture embedded in the Korean heritage."

And:

"He implemented major legal reforms, including a new tax system that was implemented based on a public opinion poll. He supported scientific and cultural advancement, expanding access to education and developing techniques to improve the productivity of farmers. He also stabilized his nation and region."

If it was possible to characterize him as an "enlighted" monarch, we would, but such concept --western in essence--only came within a particular context in 18th century. Even so, if we compare him to other monarchs of his days, would we find similar aspects? Nonetheless, we must not forget that wars were not excluded from his politics as we have seen in the beginning. It is a shame that, however, he's only remembered by inventing Korean alphabet --a great accomplishment, nevertheless, but one that does not limit all that knowledge that Sejong spread to other segments of the society he was part of.

It appears that the king, towards the end of his life, suffered from diabetes, amongst other health issues. He was blinded at the age of 50 and died three years later, on 18 May 1450, 53 years of age. His sickly son inherited the crown, but did not survive too long. However, Munjong left a son, who became king Danjong. But Danjong was, in turn, a minor with two scholar-officials left to act as his regents. To short the story, Danjong was eventually usurped by his uncle, King Sejong's second son,  Sejo, and was eventually killed by him. And so another violent circle thus began...

Bibliography:

-https://www.thoughtco.com/king-sejong-the-great-of-korea-195723

-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sejong_the_Great

-https://www.hyunjinmoon.com/king-sejongs-legacy-and-the-dream-of-one-korea-remembered-on-hangul-day/#.W802HWhKjIU

-https://www.bxscience.edu/ourpages/auto/2010/3/7/50951204/Ch%2013-3%20King%20Sejong%20and%20Korea.pdf

Xuanye, Kangxi Emperor Of China: The Story Of The Remarkable Ruler Of The Qing Dynasty (1654-1722)

To keep track of the legacies left by Eastern monarchies in different times and spaces, we bring you today this formidable character that was reigned over the empire of China during the late 17th century until the first decades of the 18th century. Who was Kangxi, Emperor of China and what can we learn of his reign?

Kangxi was actually named Xuanye. He was born on 4 May 1654 in Jigren Palace, located at the Forbidden City. His parents was Shunzhi Emperor and Xiaokangzhang Empress, the first monarchs of a new dynasty to be established at China, the Qing dynasty. When Xuanye became emperor upon the death of his father, aged 23, probably of smallpox, he was a minor between 6 and 7 years of age. Therefore, his father left four men of his trust to govern the regency until Xuanye was of age. When Xuanye became emperor de facto later on, he would choose his reign name, Kangxi, whose meaning was 'Peaceful Harmony'.

As mentioned, there was a group of regency, composed by Sonin, Suksaha, Ebilun and Oboin. At first, they managed to resolve old pendences from previous reigns as we see below:

"One of the first political acts of the four imperial advisers was to replace the so-called Thirteen Offices (Shisan Yanmen) with a Neiwufu (Dorgi Yamun), or Office of Household. The Thirteen Offices, all organized solely by Chinese eunuchs, had been the abomination of the Manchus ever since they had been introduced by the late emperor, to handle affairs of the imperial household, patterned after an elaborate model that had existed under the preceding dynasty--the Chinese Ming. Now the private sector sector of the emperor's life would be run by his personal Manchu bond servants who staffed the newly created Office of Household. Thus, the Qing rulers successfully prevented court eunuchs from meddling with politics, in sharp contrast to many other dynasties, the Ming in particular, that had reccurently let eunuchs gain access to actual power, often with disastrous results."

However, when Sonin died, the apparent pacific scenario had changed to a struggle for power: Oboin took the reins of the regency and assumed what many consider to had been a dictatorship. He forged crimes to have Suksha executed for treason before submitting Ebilun to his authority. This would not last long, though: Kangxi, who had been raised by his grandmother, Grand Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, had her help to destitute both Ebilun and Oboin from their charges, having them suffering the penalty for treason: death. At the age of 14, Kangxi thus began to govern the empire by himself.

"He listed three issues of concern: flood control of the Yellow River; repair of the Grand Canal; the Revolt of the Three Feudatories in south China. The Grand Empress Dowager influenced him greatly and he took care of her himself in the months leading up to her death in 1688."

It was with the particular matter of the three feudatories that firstly occupied Kangxi's thoughts. These were three kings (named Wu Sangui of Yunnan, Shang Kexi of Guangdong, and Geng Jimao of Fujan) who were powerful warlords and held their force in their lands when Kangxi's father conquered China in 1644. Therefore, this revolt:

"[...] broke out in 1673 when Wu Sangui's forces overran most of southwest China and he tried to ally himself with local generals such as Wang Fuchen. The Kangxi Emperor employed generals including Zhou Peigong and Tuhai to suppress the rebellion, and also granted clemency to common people caught up in the war. He intended to personally lead the armies to crush the rebels but his subjects advised him against it. The Kangxi Emperor used mainly Han Chinese Green Standard Army soldiers to crush the rebels while the Manchu Banners took a backseat. The revolt ended with victory for Qing forces in 1681."

In addition to this,

"The Kangxi Emperor continued using the traditional military system implemented by his predecessors, which was more efficient and stricter. According to the system, a commander who returned from a battle alone (with all his men dead) would be put to death and likewise for a foot soldier. This was meant to motivate both commanders and soldiers alike to fight valiantly in war because there was no benefit for the sole survivor in a battle."

Where internation relations are concerned, Kangxi was responsible for invading Taiwan, where there were still present loyalists to the former Ming dinasty. In a naval battle, circa of "300-odd ships under the Qing admiral Shi Lang" defeated the enemies in Penghu. The result of the conquest can be seen in the following paragraph:

"The Qing sent most of the 17 Ming princes still living on Taiwan back to mainland China, where they spent the rest of their lives. The Prince of Ningjing and his five concubines, however, committed suicide rather than submite to capture. Their palace was used as Shi Lang's headquarters in 1683, but he memorialized the emperor to convert it into a Mazu temple as a propaganda measure in quieting remaining resistance on Taiwan. The emperor approved its dedication as the Grand Matsu Temple the next year and, honoring the goddess Mazu for her supposed assistance during the Qing invasion, promoted her to 'Empress of Heaven' (Tianhou) from her previous status as a 'heavenly consort' (tianfei)."

There was still a few more conflicts that Kangxi dealt with: one of which concerns the relations with Inner Mongols, whose leader Ligdan Khan opposed the new dynasty Qing. Evenutally, however, Ligdan's son, Ejei, chose a more diplomatic path and was granted the title of Prince (Qin Wang) instead.

But what does interest us here is Kangxi's domestic affairs, mostly inside the Chinese culture, whose influence is still perceptible to our days. It is at least intriguing to see the role that mathematics played on it. In his article entitled "Cartography During The Times Of The Kangxi Emperor: The Age And The Background", author Han Qi tells us how straight were relations between West and East under Kangxi's government and the extent of interest towards sciences, astronomy and, as mentioned formerly, mathematics.

"Many of the Catholic missionaries were talented and competent in various fields of science. They gained Kangxi's confidence and were entrusted by him with the task of cartographic surveys. On 14 November 1685, the Belgian Jesuit Antoine Thomas (1644-1709) shortly after his arrival in Beijing wrote a letter to Europe in which he mentioned that Emperor Kangxi requested that a map be drawn of the Tartar region. In 1678 Verbiest wrote a letter to Europe, appealing for more Jesuits to be sent to China to preach the Catholic faith. In response to Verbiest's open letter, King Louis XIV responded positively. Under the guidance of the French Royal Academy of Sciences, the Society of Jesus in France sent off Jesuits as 'King's Mathematicians' to China. [...] Through Verbiest's meditation, the Ministry of Rites submitted the following to the emperor for the decision: 'Of Hong Ruo's [Jean de Fontaney]'s party of five it is not yet known if they include experts in calendar studies. The group will be brought to Beijing pending assignments; and those who are not called upon may stay if they wish.'" (QI: 2014, p 5,6) 

In his other article, "Knowledge and power: A social history of the transmission of mathematics between China and Europe during the Kangxi reign (1662–1722)", same author explains that:

"The aims of the Jesuits in China were, of course, primarily missionary, and from the beginning they used science merely as a means of arousing Chinese scholars’ interest in Christianity. However, their influence in China was to prove effective mostly in the field of science itself. In the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, they played a leading role in the transmission of mathematical knowledge between China and Europe."(QI: p 1)

They would come, specially:

"In response to Verbiest’s urgent appeal of 1678, Jean de Fontaney (1643-1710), Joachim Bouvet, J.F. Gerbillon (1654-1707) and other two Jesuits came to Beijing. Sent by Louis XIV as “the King’s Mathematicians”, they were expected to glorify the French King, propagate Christian doctrines, benefit science and arts, and thereby reduce Portuguese sea power in East Asia. They were also charged with making astronomical observations, investigating native Chinese flora and fauna, and learning other technical arts" (QI: p3)

This attempt of christianize China through science would continue with other results. For now, we are enlighting those in Kangxi's government. As we see next:

"Kangxi’s actions also had a political motive, as the lecture and demonstration provided him an opportunity to show his “genius” in front of his ministers and challenge Chinese officials’ presumptions about the superiority of their cultural and mathematical learning. His success in this court session of 1692 had resulted from more than two years of systematic study. The Jesuits had given Kangxi access to “new knowledge” from Europe, and thereby provided him with the basis for his memorable “performance.” On several other occasions, Kangxi also used his newly acquired skills to put the Confucian elite in their place, even in 1702 publicly criticizing Chinese scholars as completely ignorant of mathematics". (QI: p 4)

Kangxi was also responsible for a "dictionary of Chinese characters, which became known as the Kangxi Dictionary", which was also a political measure to undermine the resistance coming from scholars who were still loyal the Ming dinasty. He also ordered a "compilation of Tang poetry, the Quantangshi". 

But it was another compilation that would prove to be more fruitful to China, and this would be, as Han Qi points out:

"The compilation of a compendium of astronomical, mathematical and musical texts, entitled The Origin of pitchpipes and calendar (律历渊源), was one of its main goals. This imperially composed work comprises three parts:Basic Mathematical Principles (数理精蕴), Imperially composed calendar (钦若历书, later called Compendium of the calendar, 历象考成), and the Exact meaning of pitchpipes (律吕正义). In addition, many astronomical observations were made by members of this academy in order to collect data to be used for various problems, most notably, the obliquity of the ecliptic. Based on their observations, Chinese mathematicians corrected some astronomical data and completed the compilation of the Imperially composed calendar (printed in about 1722). After the Academy of Mathematics was established, the Kangxi Emperor worked as a mathematics tutor, at times even teaching some of the young students.[...]" (QI: p5)

Relations between Christianity and Kangxi would deteriorate, eventually, when Pope Clement XII determined that worshipping ancestrals was a sort of idolatry and Kangxi took this as a deep offense against him. After all,

"As a Manchu monarch, he had from childhood followed the Manchu traditions of archery and horse-riding. At the same time he received a good education in the traditional Confucian classics from his high officials. And, he played an essential role in the transmission of Western mathematics to China. (QI: p1)

And it must not be forgotten that, despite Kangxi not being very close to the Chinese people specially in some culture terms, he was more than willing to embrace Confucian properly. To deny that in favour of Christianism was too much for him. This thus close the tolerance for Christanity that the Jesuits were pleading ever since the first beginning of the emperor's reign.

In spite of this,

"From 1711 to 1723, Matteo Ripa, an Italian priest sent to China by the Congregration for the Evangelization of Peoples, worked as a painter and copper-engraver at the Qing court. In 1723, he returned to Naples from China with four young Chinese Christians, in order to groom them to become priests and send back to China as missionaries. This marked the beginning of the Collegio dei Cinesi, sanctioned by Pope Clement XII to help the propagation of Christianity in China. This Chinese Institute was the first school of Sinology in Europe, which would later develop to become the Istituto Orientale and the present day Naples Eastern University."

Curious to perceive as well it's that:

"The Kangxi Emperor was also the first Chinese emperor to play a western musical instrument. He employed Karel Slavicek as court musician. Slavicek was playing Spinet; later the emperor would play on it himself." 

Aside of music, sciences and astronomy, the Jesuits left too a military legacy under Kangxi's government. They were the responsibles for introducing of gun manufacturing and artillery, both resulting in the conquest of the kingdom of Tungning laterwards.

Towards the end of Kangxi's life, we are brought to the inheritance issue. Who would be the next emperor? Having produced at least 17 princes, Kangxi was at first favourable to his second eldest, Yinreng, son of his first consort, Xiaochengren, but whom would prove to be a disappointment. It is said that, despite the good education he receives, the crown prince:

"[...] was said to have beaten and killed his subordinates, and was alleged to have had sexual relations with one of his father's concubines, which was deemed incest and a capital offense. Yinreng also purchased young children from Jiangsu to satisfy his pedophiliac pleasure. In addition, Yinreng's supporters, led by Songgotu, gradually fromed a 'Crown Prince Party' (...) that aimed to help Yinreng get the throne as soon as possible, even if it meant using unlawful methods."

Despite the initial toleration towards his son's behavior, the emperor eventually placed him under house arrest. A few other princes supported Yinreng, amongst which Kangxi's first-born, but it came to nothing. There had been much talk about whom the sovereign would choose as his successor, but this was kept in secret until his death in 1722. It is said that:

"In the evening of 20 December 1722 before his death, the Kangxi Emperor called seven of his sons to assemble at his bedside. They were the third, fourth, eighth, ninth, 16th and 17th princes. After the Kangxi Emperor died, Longkodo announced that the emperor had selected the fourth prince, Yinzhen, as the new emperor. Yinzhen ascended to the throne and became known as the Yongzheng Emperor. The Kangxi Emperor was entombed at the Eastern Tombs in Zunhua, Hebel."

It is even amazing to point out that Kangxi, née Xuanye, was the emperor who reigned for the most time before and after his dynasty was settled in China. The quote below is claimed to have been his, said during his lifetime:

"What man am I, that among all those who have reigned... it should be I who reigned the longest?"

Having been described as 'fairly tall and well proportioned, he loved all manly exercises and devoted three months annually to hunting. Large bright eyes lighted up his face, which was pitted with smallpox', Kangxi was a highly educated man of his own days and sought to balance conquest and military successes to justice and peace equally. But what remains the most surprising is his dialogue with Jesuits that produced a great academic deal of astronomy, music, the learning he was so fond of, even tutoring his court in mathematics, a subject he was very passionated about. He also "commissioned numerous compilations of records, maps, histories, and literature as well as encyclopedic works like the Kangxi Dictionary", leaving so much more to be learned, studied and here brought to further discussion so that his legacy is not forgotten by us.

Bibliography:

-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangxi_Emperor

-https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kangxi

-http://www.shenyun.com/learn/article/read/item/Q9CcRzXxH7A/emperor-kangxi-aobai-manchurian-qing-dynasty.html

QI, Han. Cartography During The Times Of The Kangxi Emperor: The Age And The Background. "Jesuit Mapmaking in China: D'Anville's Nouvelle Atlas de La Chine (1737)". Edited by Roberto M. Ribeiro with John W. O'Malley, SJ. Saint Joseph's University Press. Philadelphia. 2014.

QI, Han. "Knowledge and power: A social history of the transmission of mathematics between China and Europe during the Kangxi reign (1662–1722)". Year uncertain (2010 or 2014)

Narai Of Ayutthaya: The Remarkable Story Of The King Of Thailand (1633-1688)

As previously commented on the former posts here on the blog, the focus upon eastern monarchies continue and with it, the difficulties in finding a character to examine upon. Motivated by the knowledge that, thankfully, internet has provided us, we have come across with this intriguing character named Narai, king of Ayutthaya, a region that is located in what we know today as Thailand. He too earned the nickname of being 'the Great' of his kingdom, but it appears that, even though it is debatable the means which led him to become sovereign of Ayutthaya, his deeds are quietly turned into footnotes in History, or rather mentioned as diplomatic relations as it was the case when Narai corresponded with Louis XIV of France himself. In order to attempt to change that or at least be responsible for instigating a broad discussion about this king, we are here to bring to the public eye further information based on the consulted bibliography listed in the end of this post.

So who was this 'Narai the Great' of Thailand? What were his deeds? Why most of them were so remarkable? How can we perceive the conception of kingship amongst his accomplishments? With the intention in responding these answers, mostly motivated by them, we begin this post with.

What we know of Narai is that he was likely born on 16 February 1633. His parents were King Prasatthong, allegedly the first king of the Prasatthong Dynasty who appears to have usurped the throne from a previous dynasty, and Queen Phra Rajya Devi. Narai also had a brother, Prince Chai, a sister named Si Suphan, and an uncle known as Prince Si Suthammaracha. It appears that Narai received this name upon his birth because:

"The Royal Chronicle of Ayuttaya Royal Recension Version recorded that 'in that year [1633] the princess consort gave birth to a son. When the royal family glanced at the infant, they saw the baby had four arms before having two arms as normal. Upon learning this, the king thought it was a miracle. He therefore named his son Narai'. The name Narai is from Sanskrit Narayana, a name of Hindu god Vishnu who has four arms."

Whether this story is true or not, what is important to tell next is the education he received, whose results would be seen in his reign. As "The Great Kings Of Siam", author unknown, tells us:

"King Prasatthong graciously had the topknot cutting off (Sokan) ceremony organized for his son and made him ordained as a novice at Wat Phra Sri Sanphet for him to study the technical knowledges and liberal arts in different fields until he was 16 years old. He then left the priesthood and served under the crown of his father as he was appointed to be “Phra Narai” in the position of the King's son or principality and made him stay at Wang Nok. Surrounded by the royal pages and highly knowledgeable and able court officials, he became an expert in Phra Tripitaka, liberal arts and literature, including the war strategy, elephant and horse activities and political science and more."

It appears, as told by Wikipedia, that Narai's ascension was a result of the dispute over the crown of Ayutthaya, nearly causing a Civil War, as it is stated below:

"Prince Sutharmmaracha plotted with his nephew, Prince Narai, to bring Sanpet VI [Narai's elder brother] down. After nine months of ascension, Sanpet VI was executed following a coup. Narai and his uncle marched into the palace and Si Suthammaracha crowned himself king [and] [...] appointed Narai as the Uparaja, or the Front Palace. However, Narai was also an ambitious prince and had requested Dutch support against his uncle. [...] On the Day of Ashura, the Persians, Japanese and Dutch stormed the palace. The prince engaged in single combat with his uncle, until the king fled to the Rear Palace. Si Suthammaracha was captured and was executed at Wat Khok Phraya on 26 October 1656."

On the other hand, "The Great Kings Of Siam" simply mentions that when: 

"King Prasatthong was dead in 1656 and all the King's counsellors and high ranking officials invited Phra Narai to succeed the throne as the fourth king of the Prasatthong Dynasty when he was 25 years old"

In spite of how Narai's reign actually began, it is important to point an observation of his reign as a whole. It had a profund link between astrology and history, as we will see in the next paragraphs; for how precise were the astrologues' calculations to determine certain inner events of the realm such as, for example, the king's coronation. Narai's reign was also notable for the diplomatic relations he held with Western's country to the benefit of Thailand, to the point that it made Ayutthaya a cosmopolitan city in modern concept. What is quite absorbing, however, is that he too was modern from the moment he decided to break with old traditions, something he would do until the end of his life.

"When Narai was crowned in 1656 he inherited a large and powerful kingdom in the centre of mainland South-East Asia. His realm reached south to the kingdoms of Pattani, Ligor, Phattalung and Songkhla; in the east Cambodia had ackowledged Ayutthaya's suzerainty, and in the west the port of Tenasserim on the Bay of Bengal was under Thai control. Narai's Ayutthaya was a cosmopolitan city frequented by foreigners from as far afield as northern Europe, the Islamic sultanates of west Asia, the Indonesian archipelago, India and north Asia. Some were directly employed by Narai or lived in the kingdom as missionaries and merchants. Other visitors; traders and diplomats, formed a more transient foreign population that occasionally came into contact with the royal court (leosiwong 1980: 29-36).

Aged in his mid-twenties when he became king, Narai immediately challenged tradition by refusing to move into the king's palace after his coronation. He also took the unorthodox step of spending a large part of each year in Lopburi, fifty kilometres to Ayutthaya's north, removing himself from the royal capital that was the symbolic centre of his power." (HODGES 1999: 4)

In addition, 

"Administration and the laws for better development and more up to date. No royalties were sent to rule the chiet cities but instead, they were ordered to rule the departments in the capital city. It had become the tradition inherited from then until the Rattanakosin Period. For the military and war aspects, King Narai graciously established the new department in the Capital City which was considered as his wise policy, allowing him to have more of his own troops for protecting the city without waiting for the troops from the Chief cities He also adopted the military knowledge obtained from the European countries that came in to contact with Ayutthaya to apply for use in the fighting forces, making the Thai forces become more progressive in armaments and combatants which consisted of foreign soldiers such as Portuguese and Japanese." ("The Great Kings Of Siam")

By adopting a modern concept of kingship for his days, and here it must not be mistaken with the idea of adopting Western ideals which is not in discussion nor to be applied, Narai was responsible for developing arts, music and poetry within his realm, a result that is not only consequence of his studies but that of his personal tastes. As we will see in the next paragraphs, Narai was a literate man who was passionated about literature, poems, and mostly astronomy:

"In the reign of King Narai, it was considered as the "golden era of the Thai literatures”. It was because he was a King who had remarkable ability and wisdom in the field of art and literature and his royal court consisted of many important scholars and poets who had their fames and many master pieces of their works inherited since then until present. He graciously ordered the history of the City of Ayutthaya to be collected in 1680 which later was known as “the Royal Historical Record of the Old City of Luang Prasert Aksorn Niti”. It is the only historical record that was collected in the Ayutthaya period and has been inherited until now."

In other words, 

"His life-long interest in learning, for example, provided the intellectual atmosphere [...]. Narai received an education typical of that provided to the children of Ayutthaya's elite in the seventeenth century. European visitors reported that it was common practice for Siamese boys to obtain their education in Buddhist temples, the centre of all learning. Students were taught art, law and philosophy by Buddhist monks while other subjects including astrology, mathematics and medicine were taught by lay experts (Wyatt 1969: 9, Yupho 1979: 11 ). The more gifted beneficiaries of this specialist education were then recruited by the royal court. One such person was Narai's teacher [...], the Phra Horathibodi, who came to Ayutthaya from Phichit to complete his studies before rising to the position of Chief Royal Astrologer (Schouten 1636: 15, Wyatt 1969: I 0, 17). His intelligence enabled Narai to profit from his privileged education. He made his palace a haven for poets and writers who gathered to compose works and participate in literary competitions, and he provided prominent members of Ayutthaya's literati, including the Phra Horathibodi, with food and lodgings. He became an accomplished poet himself and is recognised as one of the three authors of the Samut Khat Khamchan. Narai's reign was a time of significant literary achievement and the authors of some of the better known works of this period were his teachers."(Hodges 1999: 5)

Those intern reformations would also turn Ayutthaya a capital that attracted different foreigners, an accomplishment that came correspondingly with his curiosity in adopting technologies in vogue during those days, thus adapting them to his realm. As seen here:

"In his reign there were several European people serving under his crown such as the Portuguese, Hollanders, English and French, giving Thailand opportunity to obtain the military and engineering assistance from those countries. [...]
King Narai was very interested in the western countries’ modern technical knowledges. He ordered to have the gun turrets built and the intercity canals excavated. He also paid attention to the marine science and equipment such as compass's, clock's and map's showing the geographic conditions, continents, the sea levels, etc., including the learning of modern medicine. He graciously ordered to have an observatory built at the Chankasem Palace in Ayutthaya and in Lop Buri City as he saw that astronomy was very important for the marine navigation. In addition, the French priest presented him with the calendar invented for use in the City of Ayutthaya in place of the old one that caused the difficulties in making the agreement with the westerners. Other technical knowledges he was interested in were the ore smelting, work's of art, architecture and construction in western style as well as water supplies and many more."

As Ayutthaya, a profit example to be used for illustration of the scenario we've been presenting this far, was well developed according to the king's expectations where technologies and society (not only their morals, but also regarding their culture, which can seen subtly through Narai's deeds to improve it), welcoming the presence of many foreigners as Dutch, Portuguese, Frenchmen and others from Western and Eastern's countries, relationship with the Dutch began to deteriorate as Narai and Louis XIV of France started to correspond. In other words: in those days, in the 17th century, the Dutch and the French were not in the best terms, not to say they had been even at war. To have a better comprehension of it, here's what can be said of this political background:

"As for foreign relations, King Narai became the most renowned Thai monarch since he adopted a friendly policy towards foreigners, especially the Europeans. Ayutthaya was a metropolis where peoples from many lands congregated, including the Dutch, the British, the French, the Portuguese and the Arab. The French, who first arrived in 1662, sent missionaries and merchants to the capital. During the 1680's, splendid embassies were exchanged between King Narai and King Louis XIV. Later on, the conflict broke out when the French tried to convert King Narai to Christiniaty and also attempted to gain a foothold in the Thai kingdom by sending troops to garrison Bangkok and Mergui in 1687. However, an anti-French official seized power in 1688, drove out the French garrisons, and executed King Narai's Greek favorite Constantine Faulcon, who had been championing the French cause. After 1688, Ayutthaya had less contact with western nations."

In addition, Ian Hodges remarks that:

"Within a few years of Narai's becoming king, however, relations had soured to the point where he feared a Dutch attack on Siam. To counter the threat, he sought to establish stronger relations with other European powers. His approaches to the English having met with little success, Narai turned to the French who, hoping to both convert the Thai to Catholicism and establish Ayutthaya as a regional trading base, seized the opportunity to establish a presence in Siam. (Love 1999: 19)." (Hodges 1999: 4)

That his kingship was proeminent for the boost of astronomy and astrology, intern reforms regarding the improve of his society, the break of ancient traditions, always looking up to welcome better relations in international diplomacy, we perceive in his doings. Where astronomy and astrology were concerned, we understand that such were their impacts in implicating the foundation of cities, in propitiating times to wage war, in looking upon building the history of the realm, aside of civil functions as funerals, etc. As author Ian Hodges explains:

"Every important ceremonial or civil function, including the casting of calendars, the founding of cities, coronations, funerals and the launching of military expeditions had to begin at the most auspicious moment as determined by the astrologers. For Siam's royal court, astrology, in essence a scientifically based system of calculating the rotations of the sun, the moon and the planets, provided a means to interpret the universe (Winnichakull994: 58). (Hodges, 1999: 6)"

Those scientific methods, however our modern thoughts about them might be (specially in regard to astrology), would not be possible to be stimulated, for instance, had it the king not been an avid reader and eager to acquire knowledge. For he genuinely believed that by promoting the use of astronomy and astrology would also make it possible to comprehend the world he was part of, and to even improve the social relations he was inserted.  

On that aspect, Hodges corroborates with our argument when he says that:

"La Loubere also made note ofNarai's love of reading, describing him as "curious to the highest degree." (de La Loubere 1969: 99) Here we see a king with a love of literature and art who encouraged those gifted in these areas and it is easy to imagine why one of this group was assigned the task of writing the Kingdom's history." (Hodges, 1999: 5)

And he also states a curious event as we read the following quote below:

"Nicolas Gervaise wrote that after 4.00 pm each day the King's personal reader was called to duty. This uneviable task was described thus: 'There is no employment in the royal palace more exhausting than that of the reader. He must often spend three or four hours reading prostrate on the ground and leaning on his elbows, hardly daring to breathe and unable to adopt a more comfortable position.' (Gervaise 1989, 209)". (Hodges, 1999: 5)

A learning man and a pacific king, perhaps that is how we can describe Narai in general. His brightness as a stadist is very clear once he:

"Like his predecessors, Narai realised the value of cultivating ties with foreigners for the trade they could bring to the kingdom. He increased the Crown's participation in the maritime trade with China and Japan as well as the Indian Ocean region, and continued Thai involvement with the Indonesian archipelago. Not content to simply maintain previously established commercial relations with the Dutch and Portuguese, Narai sought also to establish trading links with other European powers (Na Pombejra 1984: 41)." (Hodges, 1999: 4)

It is impressive how he managed to conduct peaceful relations for a good while, living 56 years, rulling 32 as king of Thailand. Even more impressive is to observe his inheritance in his efforts by giving to his subjects better condictions, stimulating education for all, respecting religiosity in spite of the jesuists pressure for Narai's conversion and by extent of his realm. He managed to hold Thailand intact against possible Europeans' invasions. And also innovated intern technology which made Ayutthaya, as already mentioned here, as a cosmopolitan city.

Therefore, to emphasize all that has been said:

"Whatever its implications for Siam's foreign policy and internal political situation, Narai's contact with foreigners also contributed to his education. His reign coincided with European advances in the sciences associated with navigation, astronomy and astrology. He lived in an age when humans were first beginning to grasp the nature and extent of the cosmos and his exulted position afforded him access to both news of scientific discoveries in Europe and to some of the most modern scientific and astronomical instruments then available." (Hodges, 1999: 4)

Finally,

 "King Narai had been on the throne for 32 years before he passed away on the eleventh day of July 1688 as his lite had lasted for a total of 56 years. His period was regarded as a significant time in history for the diplomatic field, the development of the friendly relations with other countries as well as his royal activities in relation with the polities, administration, arts and literature, religion, education and modern technical knowledge." ("The Great Kings Of Siam")

Bibliography:

HODGES, Ian. "TIME IN TRANSITION: KING NARAI AND THE LUANG PRASOET CHRONICLE OF AYUTTHAYA" Journal of the Siam Society 87.1 & 2. 1999

-http://www.thailaws.com/download/thailand/thegreatkingsofsiam.pdf

-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narai

-https://www.thaimain.com/eng/monarchy/ayutthaya/narai.html

-https://sejarah-nusantara.anri.go.id/hartakarun/item/23/