Kawila

Kawila (Thai: พระเจ้ากาวิละ, Kāvila, Northern Thai: ᨻᩕᨸᩮ᩠ᨶᨧᩮᩢ᩶ᩣᨠᩣᩅᩥᩃᩡ, 31 October 1742 – 1816), also known as Phra Boromrachathibodi (Northern Thai: ᨻᩕᨷᩫ᩠ᩅᩁᩫ᩠ᨾᩁᩣᨩᩣᨵᩥᨷᩦ᩠ᨯ; Thai: พระบรมราชาธิบดี), was a Northern Thai ruler and the first monarch of Chiang Mai of the Chet Ton (Thipchakrathiwong) dynasty, and the leader of the restored polity in Lanna. His reign was shaped by near-constant warfare alongside large-scale efforts to rebuild towns, repopulate settlements, and restore administration across the "57 Lanna Tai cities."

He was a ruler who played an active role in military campaigns, cooperating with his six younger brothers and the forces of King Taksin of Thonburi to drive Burmese power out of Lanna and reassert local rule. In the aftermath, Lanna entered the Siamese sphere as a tributary polity, while Kawila emerged as the foremost ruler in the northern region.

In recognition of his military strength and loyalty to the Chakri dynasty, King Rama I ordered a formal consecration on 14 September 1802, elevating Kawila (then holding the title Phraya Wachiraprakan) to be King of Chiang Mai and paramount over Chiang Mai and the northern tributary towns. The elevation also marked him as the first Chiang Mai ruler to be raised to the rank of "tributary king".