Bunnag
Encyclopedia
The House of Bunnag was a powerful Siamese noble family of the Persian descent of the early Rattanakosin
. By the nineteenth century, its power and influence reached its zenith. The family was favored by Chakri monarchs and monopolized high-ranking titles. Three Somdet Chao Phrayas came from the Bunnag family - Prayurawongse
, Pichaiyat, and Sri Suriyawongse. They played key roles in government and foreign relations of the Early Rattanakosin Era. However, after the Front Palace Crisis
, the Bunnags gradually withdrew from Siamese politics as Chulalongkorn
sought to undo the power of nobility and pursued centralization. Yet the Bunnags continued to fill important official ranks.
, Safavid Iran
, south of Tehran
. Sheikh Ahmad established himself as a rich merchant in Ayutthaya. Then, he came under the service of Songtham
, who appointed him as Lord of the Right Pier (เจ้ากรมท่าขวา) who supervised the traders that came from the West i.e. the Persians, the Indians, the Europeans, and Chularachamontri (จุฬาราชมนตรี) - who oversaw all Shiites in Siam.
After subjugating a Japanese revolt (under Yamada Nagamasa
), Sheikh Ahmad became Samuha Nayok (First Prime Minister). Descendants of Sheikh Ahmad exerted control over Siamese politics, trade, and foreign affairs. Many of them became Samuha Nayok. They also monopolized the post of Chularachamontri. Some of them even converted to Buddhism
.
, who was the wife of Thong Duang. He was then kinsmen to Thong Duang. Though Thong Duang emerged as a powerful noble in Thonburi, Bunnag stayed far from the bureaucracy due to his childhood conflicts with Taksin
.
Thong Duang then became Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke
, the first king of Chakri dynasty in 1782. During the Nine Armies War
, Bunnag led the Siamese forces against the Burmese. Bunnag was then awarded the higher rank and eventually became the Samuha Kalahom as Chao Phraya Akkaramahasaena.
favored the nobles from the Bunnag and Bangchang (his mother's family) family. Dis then became the minister of Krom Tha, supervising trade and foreign affairs under Jessadabodindra
- a powerful post.
He was offered the position of Samuha Kalahom (Second Prime Minister) by the king but Dis said that the Prime Ministers died early. Dis then became Samuha Kalahom instead.
During the Siamese-Vietnamese Wars, Dis led the Siamese forces to Vietnam and imposed the naval blockade on Saigon. However, the campaigns was not so successful and the war was negotiated in 1845. With the death of Bodindecha
in 1849, Dis remained as the sole powerful nobility in the court.
Dis was, indeed, played a key role in the ascension of Mongkut
, whether or not Jessadabodindra intended to give the throne to his half-brother. There is a legend said that Jessadabodindra had intended the throne to be passed to his son Prince Annop. He even gave the bracelet passed down from his grandfather Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke. However, Dis switched the bracelet for a forged one, so the genuine one was not passed to Prince Annop. Mongkut, who had been in ecclesiastic status for 27 years, was lobbied by Dis to succeed the throne.
In 1851, when Mongkut had succeeded the throne, he appointed his main supporter as Somdet Chao Phraya Borom Maha Prayurawongse
and Regent in the kingdom. Prayurawongse's brother, That, became Somdet Chao Phraya Borom Maha Pichaiyat and Regent in Bangkok. The Somdet Chao Phraya title was highest among the nobility and rivaled that of royalty. The first Somdet Chao Phraya - Maha Kshatriyaseuk - had become the first monarch of Chakri dynasty.
So Mongkut gave off much of his power to the Regents he appointed. As a Bunnag, Prayurawongse was also competent in trade and foreign affairs. The Bowring Treaty
was indeed negotiated by Prayurawongse.
A member of a family originally of Persian origin, Sri Suriyawongse was born the eldest son of Dis (ดิศ) Bunnag (Prayurawongse
, สมเด็จเจ้าพระยาบรมมหาประยูรวงศ์) and Tan Poo-Ying Chan. Chuang was well educated for the time. King Mongkut made him Samuha Kalahom, one of the two Prime Ministers of old Siam.
After the death of King Mongkut in 1868, his young son Prince Chulalongkorn became the new monarch. However, as the new king was underage, Sri Suriyawongse was named as regent, a post he held until 1873.
He died in 1883 in Ratchaburi.Sri Suriyawongse was also the first Thai to have a life insurance policy, after King Rama V granted foreign companies permission to extend their insurance business into Siam.
His son Won Bunnag succeeded him as Samuha Kalahom and also held the title Chao Phraya Surawongse.
Rattanakosin
Rattanakosin may refer to*Rattanakosin Island, the historic center of Bangkokestablishment of Bangkok as capital, and continuing to the present day*Rattanakosin style , a distinct period in the Thai art...
. By the nineteenth century, its power and influence reached its zenith. The family was favored by Chakri monarchs and monopolized high-ranking titles. Three Somdet Chao Phrayas came from the Bunnag family - Prayurawongse
Prayurawongse
Somdet Chao Phraya Borom Maha Prayurawongse or Dis Bunnag was a prominent political figure of Siam during the mid-19th century as a regent for Mongkut kingdom-wide...
, Pichaiyat, and Sri Suriyawongse. They played key roles in government and foreign relations of the Early Rattanakosin Era. However, after the Front Palace Crisis
Front Palace crisis
The Front Palace crisis or the Front Palace incident was a political crisis that took place in the Kingdom of Siam from 28 December 1874 to 25 February 1875. The crisis was a power struggle between the reformist King Chulalongkorn and the conservative Prince Bovorn Vichaichan the Second King...
, the Bunnags gradually withdrew from Siamese politics as Chulalongkorn
Chulalongkorn
Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramintharamaha Chulalongkorn Phra Chunla Chom Klao Chao Yu Hua , or Rama V was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri. He was known to the Siamese of his time as Phra Phuttha Chao Luang . He is considered one of the greatest kings of Siam...
sought to undo the power of nobility and pursued centralization. Yet the Bunnags continued to fill important official ranks.
Sheikh Ahmad
Sheikh Ahmad the Persian merchant, along with his brother Muhamad Sa-id and his subdornates, settled in Siam around 1600. Sheikh Ahmad was native to QomQom
Qom is a city in Iran. It lies by road southwest of Tehran and is the capital of Qom Province. At the 2006 census, its population was 957,496, in 241,827 families. It is situated on the banks of the Qom River....
, Safavid Iran
Safavid dynasty
The Safavid dynasty was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran. They ruled one of the greatest Persian empires since the Muslim conquest of Persia and established the Twelver school of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning...
, south of Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
. Sheikh Ahmad established himself as a rich merchant in Ayutthaya. Then, he came under the service of Songtham
Songtham
Somdet Phra Boromma Trailokanat Songtham was the King of Ayutthaya from 1611 to 1628 of the House of Sukhōday. His reign was marked as prosperity after the First Fall of Ayutthaya and saw the commencement of trade with foreign nations especially the Dutch and the Japanese...
, who appointed him as Lord of the Right Pier (เจ้ากรมท่าขวา) who supervised the traders that came from the West i.e. the Persians, the Indians, the Europeans, and Chularachamontri (จุฬาราชมนตรี) - who oversaw all Shiites in Siam.
After subjugating a Japanese revolt (under Yamada Nagamasa
Yamada Nagamasa
was a Japanese adventurer who gained considerable influence in Ayutthaya kingdom at the beginning of the 17th century and became the governor of the Nakhon Si Thammarat in southern Thailand....
), Sheikh Ahmad became Samuha Nayok (First Prime Minister). Descendants of Sheikh Ahmad exerted control over Siamese politics, trade, and foreign affairs. Many of them became Samuha Nayok. They also monopolized the post of Chularachamontri. Some of them even converted to Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
.
Settlement in Thonburi
A man called Bunnag was a Buddhist descendant of Sheikh Ahmad. Bunnag married the sister of NakNaK
NaK, or sodium-potassium alloy, an alloy, of potassium , and sodium , is usually liquid at room temperature. Various commercial grades are available. NaK is highly reactive with water and may catch fire when exposed to air, so must be handled with special precautions...
, who was the wife of Thong Duang. He was then kinsmen to Thong Duang. Though Thong Duang emerged as a powerful noble in Thonburi, Bunnag stayed far from the bureaucracy due to his childhood conflicts with Taksin
Taksin
Taksin ; was the only King of the Thonburi Kingdom...
.
Thong Duang then became Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke
Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke
Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramintharamaha Chakri Borommanat Phra Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke , posthumously titled "the Great", or Rama I , was the founder and the first monarch of the reigning House of Chakri of Siam . He ascended the throne in 1782, after defeating a rebellion which had deposed King...
, the first king of Chakri dynasty in 1782. During the Nine Armies War
Nine Armies War
The Nine Armies Wars, so called in Siamese history because the Burmese came in nine armies, is also called the Burmese-Siamese War of 1785–1786. King Bodawpaya of Burma pursued an ambitious campaign to expand his dominions into the lands of the former Ayutthaya Kingdom...
, Bunnag led the Siamese forces against the Burmese. Bunnag was then awarded the higher rank and eventually became the Samuha Kalahom as Chao Phraya Akkaramahasaena.
Rise of Prayurawongse
Akka Mahasena was, of course, the primogenitor of the House of Bunnag. He sent his sons, including Dis and That, into the palace as the royal pages of Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke as an entrance to Siamese bureaucracy. Dis quickly rose to higher official ranks as Buddha Loetla NabhalaiBuddha Loetla Nabhalai
Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramenthramaha Isarasundhorn Phra Buddha Loetla Nabhalai , or Rama II , was the second monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, ruling from 1809-1824. In 1809, Isarasundhorn succeeded his father Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke, the founder of Chakri dynasty, as Buddha Loetla Nabhalai...
favored the nobles from the Bunnag and Bangchang (his mother's family) family. Dis then became the minister of Krom Tha, supervising trade and foreign affairs under Jessadabodindra
Jessadabodindra
Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramintharamaha Jessadabodindra Phra Nangklao Chao Yu Hua , or Rama III , was the third monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, ruling from 21 July 1824 to 2 April 1851. He succeeded his father, Buddha Loetla Nabhalai, as the King of Siam...
- a powerful post.
He was offered the position of Samuha Kalahom (Second Prime Minister) by the king but Dis said that the Prime Ministers died early. Dis then became Samuha Kalahom instead.
During the Siamese-Vietnamese Wars, Dis led the Siamese forces to Vietnam and imposed the naval blockade on Saigon. However, the campaigns was not so successful and the war was negotiated in 1845. With the death of Bodindecha
Bodindecha
Chao Phraya Bodindecha was one of the most prominent political and military figures of the early Bangkok Rattanakosin Kingdom. Bodindecha was both chancellor and military general during the reign of King Rama III...
in 1849, Dis remained as the sole powerful nobility in the court.
Dis was, indeed, played a key role in the ascension of Mongkut
Mongkut
Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramenthramaha Mongkut Phra Chom Klao Chao Yu Hua , or Rama IV, known in foreign countries as King Mongkut , was the fourth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, ruling from 1851-1868...
, whether or not Jessadabodindra intended to give the throne to his half-brother. There is a legend said that Jessadabodindra had intended the throne to be passed to his son Prince Annop. He even gave the bracelet passed down from his grandfather Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke. However, Dis switched the bracelet for a forged one, so the genuine one was not passed to Prince Annop. Mongkut, who had been in ecclesiastic status for 27 years, was lobbied by Dis to succeed the throne.
In 1851, when Mongkut had succeeded the throne, he appointed his main supporter as Somdet Chao Phraya Borom Maha Prayurawongse
Prayurawongse
Somdet Chao Phraya Borom Maha Prayurawongse or Dis Bunnag was a prominent political figure of Siam during the mid-19th century as a regent for Mongkut kingdom-wide...
and Regent in the kingdom. Prayurawongse's brother, That, became Somdet Chao Phraya Borom Maha Pichaiyat and Regent in Bangkok. The Somdet Chao Phraya title was highest among the nobility and rivaled that of royalty. The first Somdet Chao Phraya - Maha Kshatriyaseuk - had become the first monarch of Chakri dynasty.
So Mongkut gave off much of his power to the Regents he appointed. As a Bunnag, Prayurawongse was also competent in trade and foreign affairs. The Bowring Treaty
Bowring Treaty
The Bowring Treaty is the name given to an agreement signed on April 18, 1855 between the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Siam that liberalized foreign trade in Siam....
was indeed negotiated by Prayurawongse.
Sri Suriyawongse
Somdet Chao Phraya Borom Maha Sri Suriyawongse (Thai: สมเด็จเจ้าพระยาบรมมหาศรีสุริยวงศ์) (personal name Chuang Bunnag) December 23, 1808 - January 19, 1883) was a prominent 19th century Thai figure and served as the regent during the early years of the reign of King Chulalongkorn.A member of a family originally of Persian origin, Sri Suriyawongse was born the eldest son of Dis (ดิศ) Bunnag (Prayurawongse
Prayurawongse
Somdet Chao Phraya Borom Maha Prayurawongse or Dis Bunnag was a prominent political figure of Siam during the mid-19th century as a regent for Mongkut kingdom-wide...
, สมเด็จเจ้าพระยาบรมมหาประยูรวงศ์) and Tan Poo-Ying Chan. Chuang was well educated for the time. King Mongkut made him Samuha Kalahom, one of the two Prime Ministers of old Siam.
After the death of King Mongkut in 1868, his young son Prince Chulalongkorn became the new monarch. However, as the new king was underage, Sri Suriyawongse was named as regent, a post he held until 1873.
He died in 1883 in Ratchaburi.Sri Suriyawongse was also the first Thai to have a life insurance policy, after King Rama V granted foreign companies permission to extend their insurance business into Siam.
His son Won Bunnag succeeded him as Samuha Kalahom and also held the title Chao Phraya Surawongse.