Career

When King Ramathibodi ascended to the throne of Ayuthaya, he sent King Ramesuan to reign in Lavo. Whatever the case, by 1388 King Ramesuan had gathered sufficient support from his power base in Lavo to return to Ayutthaya and challenge Boromarachi"s son Thong Lan for the throne. King Ramesuan"s forces quickly took the palace and executed the 17-year-old Thong Chan.

During King Ramesuan"s second reign, the king seems to have come to an understanding with the kingdom of Sukhothai, against whom Boromarachi had warred throughout his reign.

Instead, some sources record conflicts with the kingdom of Lan Na (in northern Thailand), and the empire of Angkor. Ayutthaya chronicles indicate that King Ramesuan took Chiang Mai, then the capital of the kingdom of Lan Na, in 1390 and settled many captives within the kingdom of Ayutthaya.

A similar defeat of Angkor is recorded as having taken place in 1393, in response to raids from the Cambodian kingdom. Neither of these battles are attested to by chronicles from Lan Na or Angkor.