The Dvaravati period in Thailand’s history lasts from the sixth to the thirteenth centuries.

Dvaravati refers to both a culture and a disparate conglomerate of principalities.

The people of Dvaravati use the ancient Mon language, but whether they are ethnically Mon is unknown.

There is evidence that this kingdom may have had more than one ethnic group, including Malays and Khmer.

The term Dvaravati derives from coins which were inscribed in Sanskrit with śrī dvāravatī.

The Sanskrit word dvāravatī means "she with many gates" (from dvar, "door gate").

Little is known about the administration of the kingdom, or even whether it was technically a kingdom at all.

It may simply have been a loose gathering of principalities rather than a centralized state.

The main settlements appear to have been at Nakhon Pathom, …