powerful in Kambuja from about B.E. 1545 to 1625 (1002 – 1082 C.E.). During this period (usually called the Lopburi period), the Khmer empire covered the whole of northeastern and central Thailand. The Khmers were adherents of Mahayana Buddhism which came from Sumatra and became mixed with their older faith, Brahmanism. But the Mahayana both of the Srivijaya and of the Lopburi periods did not succeed in replacing the Theravada and the two schools flourished side by side. However, it was during these periods that Brahmanism and the Mahayana had strong influences on the Thai culture. Sanskrit, the sacred language of the Hindus and the Mahayana, took deep root in the Thai language and literature, while the Brahmanic influence can be seen even today in many Thai customs and public ceremonies.
In B.E. 1600, while the Khmers were still very powerful in the east, Anurudh the Great, the king of Pagan or Pukam, rose to power in the whole of Burma. His kingdom extended to the Thai kingdoms of Lanna and Lanchang. A different form of Theravada called the Pukam Hinayana Buddhism was introduced into these areas and was strongly supported by King Anurudh.
Meanwhile, the Thais, who were themselves Theravada Buddhists, had settled down in Suvarnabhumi and come into contact both with the Mahayana and with the Pukam Hinayana. They became more and more powerful while the Pukam kingdom broke up after the reign of King Anurudh and the Khmer Empire declined. Then in about B.E. 1800 there emerged the kingdom of Lanna in the north founded by King Mengrai of Chiengsan and the kingdom of Sukhothai in north-central Thailand, founded by Phoh Khun Sriindraditya. It was at this time that the continuous history of the Thai nation began and the