Mon and Khmer Dominance

          From the 9^th to the 11^th centuries A.D., the area which is now cenyral and western Thailand was occupied by a mon civilization known as Dvaravati.the Mon race, who shared The some linguistic lineage as the Khmers, were later to settle in southtrn Burma. Little is known about the political and social “empire” of Dvaravati, but it seens quite likely that that were several Mon states sharing a common culture rather than a monnlithic”empire” with a capital city. Important Dvaravati sites in Thailand include Nakhom Pathom, Khu Bua,Phong Tuk,and Lawo(Lopburi).Some superb sculptures,bas-reliefs,and other archaeological remains survive from this obscure period of history

Dvaravati was an “Indianized”culture, with Theravada Buddhism as the dominant religion.Theravada Buddhism was to remain the major religion in this area for the next millennium, co-existing with animism,Hinduism,and Mahayana Buddhism,and its ideas and philosophy inspired       Much of Dvaravati art and sculpture, whose forms were also based on Tndian prototypes.

By the 11^th-12^th centuries, Mon dominance over central Thailand had been replaced by the power of the ever-expanding Khmer empire to the east. The capital of this empire was the great city of Angkor, and the Khmer rulers were masters of a tightly-organized society with remarkable   capacities for territorial and cultural expansion. The Khmers also controllrd most of the trade routes in the Thailand-Tndochina region. Khmer territories stretched well into the area that is present-day Thailand.