Nang Keo Phimpha

Keo Phimpha
Queen regnant of Lan Xang
Reign1438
Coronation1438
PredecessorKham Keut
SuccessorInterregnum
Born1343
Died1438
Executed at Pha Dieo, Muang Sua
SpouseKing Fa Ngum
King Samsenthai
Chief Minister Xieng Lo
Regnal name
Samdach Brhat-Anya Sadu Chao Nying Kaeva Bhima Fa Mahadevi(Lao: ສົມເດັຈພຣະຍາ ສາທຸເຈົ້າຍິງ ແກ້ວພິມພາ ມະຫາເທວີ)

Nang Keo Phimpha (Lao: ນາງແກ້ວພິມພາ) (1343–1438), an epithet meaning literally "The Cruel",[1] was Queen regnant of Lan Xang in 1438, taking the regnal name Samdach Brhat-Anya Sadu Chao Nying Kaeva Bhima Fa Mahadevi(Lao: ສົມເດັຈ ພຣະຍາ ສາທຸເຈົ້າຍິງ ແກ້ວພິມພາມະຫາເທວີ).[citation needed] She is also known by her title Maha Devi,[a] and may have been the only reigning female sovereign of the kingdom of Lan Xang.[2] According to some chronicles, she briefly occupied the throne for a few months, before she was deposed and killed at ninety-five years old.[2] Her brief reign was the culmination of a ten-year period of regicide, which she orchestrated through a series of puppet kings.[2][3]

The true identity of the Maha Devi is a matter of dispute both in the chronicles of later periods, and among current scholars.[4] She has variously been described as the eldest daughter,[5] younger sister,[6] principal wife,[7] or step-mother of Samsenthai.[2][4] Of the few solid clues to her identity, her title as Maha Devi or "Great Goddess," was reserved for only the senior queen of a ruling monarch.[2][4] Scholars including Martin Stuart-Fox and Amphay Dore, point out that both her age at the time of execution and title as Maha Devi indicate her true identity to be Keo Lot Fa the Queen Consort of Fa Ngum from Ayutthaya who would have assumed the title of Maha Devi after the death of Queen Keo Kang Nya in 1368, shortly before Fa Ngum was deposed in 1371.[4] Although her identity remains a mystery, the consensus among the royal chronicles remains that she was the de facto ruler during a brutal succession dispute between court factions from the death of Lan Kham Deng to the accession of Chakkaphat Phaen Phaeo.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]

  1. ^ a b René de Berval: Kingdom of Laos: the land of the million elephants and of the white parasol France-Asie, 1959 p.27
  2. ^ a b c d e f Simms, Peter and Sanda (1999). The Kingdoms of Laos: Six Hundred Years of History. Surrey: Curzon Press. pp. 48–50. ISBN 9780700715312.
  3. ^ a b Stuart-Fox, Martin (1998). The Lao Kingdom of Lan Xang: Rise and Decline. Bangkok: White Lotus Press. pp. 61–62. ISBN 9748434338.
  4. ^ a b c d e Stuart-Fox, Martin (1993). "Who was Maha Thevi?". Journal of the Siam Society. 81 (1): 103–108.
  5. ^ a b Le Boulanger, Paul (1930). "Histoire du Laos français. Essai d'une étude chronologique des principautés laotiennes". Bulletin de l'École française d'Extrême-Orient. 30 (1): 423–430.
  6. ^ a b Viravong, Sila (1964). History of Laos. New York: Paragon Book Reprint Corp. pp. 41–43. ISBN 0685419630.
  7. ^ a b Oger, Michel (1972). "La Légende de Mahathevi". Bulletin des Amis du Royaume Lao. 7: 109.


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