Sam Saen Thai

king of Lan Xang

Also known as: Oun Hueun, Sam Sene Thai, Un Heuan

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Also spelled:: Sam Sene Thai

Original name:: Un Heuan

Born:: 1356

Died:: 1417 (aged 61)

Also Known As:: Sam Sene Thai; Un Heuan; Oun Hueun

Sam Saen Thai (born 1356—died 1417) was a great sovereign of the Lan Xang kingdom of Laos, whose reign brought peace, prosperity, and stability to the kingdom.

The eldest son of Fa Ngum, founder of Lan Xang, Un Heuan was installed as king in 1373. While his father had been a conqueror, Un Heuan excelled in administration. He is remembered chiefly for his compilation of population registers in 1376, which inscribed the names of 300,000 able-bodied men available for military conscription. From the census comes his posthumous honorific, for “Sam Saen” denotes the number 300,000.

Sam Saen Thai enjoyed a peaceful reign. He undertook extensive public works and created a central administration. He assigned his sons to rule over various cities within the kingdom, and he cemented his relations with smaller surrounding vassal states by accepting daughters from their rulers as his concubines.

Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon in Coronation Robes or Napoleon I Emperor of France, 1804 by Baron Francois Gerard or Baron Francois-Pascal-Simon Gerard, from the Musee National, Chateau de Versailles.

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