Lopburi

{{Main|History of Lopburi|Lavo Kingdom|Lawa people}}

The city has a history dating back to the Dvaravati period more than 1,000 years ago.Higham, C., 2014, Early Mainland south-east Asia, Bangkok: River Books Co., Ltd., {{ISBN|9786167339443}}{{rp|302,308}} According to the Northern Chronicles, Lavo was founded by Phraya Kalavarnadishraj, who came from Takkasila in 648 CE.{{citation|url=http://digital.library.tu.ac.th/tu_dc/frontend/Info/item/dc:780|title=พระราชพงศาวดารเหนือ|date=1958|access-date=1 March 2021|publisher=โรงพิมพ์ไทยเขษม|language=th}}Adhir Chakravarti, "International Trade and Towns of Ancient Siam", Our Heritage: Bulletin of the Department of Post-graduate Training and Research, Sanskrit College, Calcutta, vol.XXIX, part I, January–June 1981, pp. 1-23, nb p. 15; also in The South East Asian Review (Gaya, India), vol. 20, nos.1 & 2, 1995. According to Thai records, Phraya Kakabatr from Takkasila (it is assumed that the city was Tak or Nakhon Chai Si){{citation|url=http://kids-d.swu.ac.th/dspace/bitstream/123456789/1370/2/p02.pdf|title=ลพบุรีที่น่ารู้|page=5|author=Huan Phinthuphan|access-date=1 March 2021|date=1969|language=th}}{{citation|url=http://www.thapra.lib.su.ac.th/objects/thesis/fulltext/thapra/Saritpong_Khunsong_Doctor/fulltext.pdf|title=พัฒนาการทางวัฒนธรรมของเมืองนครปฐมโบราณในช่วงก่อนพุทธศตวรรษที่ 19|author=Saritpong Khunsong|date=2010|access-date=1 March 2021|language=th}}{{rp|29}}{{citation|url=https://arit.kpru.ac.th/contents/pdf/local/1289.pdf|title=กําแพงเพชร เมืองก่อนประวัติศาสตร์|language=th|date=28 February 2021|access-date=1 March 2021}} set the new era, Chula Sakarat in 638 CE, which was the era used by the Siamese and the Burmese until the 19th century. His son, Phraya Kalavarnadishraj founded the city a decade later. Lopburi, or Lavapura as it then was, was under the rule of the rising Angkor regime and became one of the most important centers in the Chao Phraya Basin from then on.Dhida Saraya, "Lavo — A Coastal State of the 11th Century", Muang Boran, vol.11, no.2, 1985, pp.35-51. Epigraphic evidence indicates that the dominant population of the city was Mon.Peter Skilling, "Dvaravati: Recent Revelations and Research", in Dedications to Her Royal Highness Princes Galyani Vadhana Krom Luang Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra on her 80th birthday, Bangkok, The Siam Society, 2003, pages 87–112, p.105; Pan Hla Nai, The Significant Role of the Mon Language and Culture in south-east Asia, Tokyo, Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, 1992; Pierre Dupont, The Archaeology of the Mons of Dvāravatī, translated by Joyanto K.Sen, Bangkok, White Lotus Press, 2006, pp.1, 3, 10.

The earliest confirmed occurrence of the name Lavapura is on silver coins inscribed "lava" on the obverse and "pura" on the reverse in a Pallava-derived script of the seventh or eighth century; several such coins were recovered in 1966 from a hoard found in an ancient jar in U Thong.{{cite web|last1=Boeles|first1=J.J.|title=A Note on the Ancient City Called Lavapura|url=http://www.siamese-heritage.org/jsspdf/1961/JSS_055_1j_Boeles_AncientCityCalledLavapura.pdf|website=Siamese Heritage|publisher=Siamese Heritage Trust}}Robert S. Wicks, Money, Markets, and Trade in Early south-east Asia: The Development of Indigenous Monetary Systems to AD 1400, SEAP Publications, 1992, pp.165-166.[https://books.google.com/books?id=Qs1q9VEoEkoC&dq=Lavapura++coin&pg=PA165 7-8th century Lavapura coin]

Inscriptions say that Lopburi was incorporated into the administration structure of the Khmer Empire during the reign of Suryavarman I.Hall, Kenneth R. "Khmer Commercial Development and Foreign Contacts under Sūryavarman I." Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, vol. 18, no. 3, 1975, pp. 318–336. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3632140. Accessed 3 June 2020. Control of Lopburi gave the Khmer Empire access to trade going through the Kra Isthmus.

There is some evidence the Khmer Empire, under Suryavarman II, fought against the Mons in the 12th century over suzerainty. Lopburi sent embassies to China in 1115 and 1155.{{cite book|last= Coedès|first= George|author-link= George Coedès|editor= Walter F. Vella|others= trans.Susan Brown Cowing|title= The Indianized States of south-east Asia|year= 1968|publisher= University of Hawaii Press|isbn= 978-0-8248-0368-1}}{{rp|161}}

Lopburi (Lavo) is described in Book III of Marco Polo's Travels, where it is called Locach. This came from the Chinese (Cantonese) pronunciation of Lavo, "Lo-huk".Paul Pelliot, Notes on Marco Polo, Paris, Imprimerie Nationale, 1963, Vol.II, pp.768-9, note 2. The city is referred to as "Lo-ho" in chapter 20 of the History of Yuan (元史 : Yuán Shǐ), the official history of the Mongol, or Yuan Dynasty of China. Due to a scribal error in Book III of Marco Polo's travels treating of the route southward from Champa, where the name Java was substituted for Champa as the point of departure, Java Minor was 1,300 miles to the south of Java Major, instead of from Champa, on or near an extension of the Terra Australis.Paul Pelliot, Notes on Marco Polo, Paris, Imprimerie Nationale, 1963, Vol.II, p.769; James R. McClymont, "The Theory of an Antipodal Southern Continent during the Sixteenth Century", Report of the Fourth Meeting of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science, Hobart, January 1892, Hobart, the Association, 1893, pp.442-462. As explained by Sir Henry Yule, the editor of an English edition of Marco Polo's Travels: "Some geographers of the 16th century, following the old editions which carried the travellers south-east of Java to the land of Boeach (or Locac), introduced in their maps a continent in that situation".{{cite book|editor1-last=Yule|editor1-first=Sir Henry|title=The Book of Ser Marco Polo|date=1921|publisher=Murray|location=London|pages=276–280}}

After the foundation of the Ayutthaya Kingdom in the 14th century, Lopburi was a stronghold of Ayutthaya's rulers. It became the capital of the kingdom during the reign of King Narai the Great in the mid-17th century and the king resided there about eight months a year.

WaterBuffaloLopburiThailand2300BCE.jpg|Water buffalo, Lopburi, 2300 BCE

CeramicLopburiThailand2300BCE.jpg|Ceramic, Lopburi, 2300 BCE

• several flaked stone tools were discovered in Ban Mi district  dated back to the Paleolithic Age in 1931.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/life/social-and-lifestyle/1658436/past-lives|title=Past lives|publisher=Bangkok Post|website=bangkokpost.com|date=8 April 2019 |last1=Karnjanatawe |first1=Karnjana }}
• a number of tools, human burial sites and bronze accessories belong to Iron Age were found in Lop Buri river Basin in 1964.
• Bracelets and beads dated back 2700–3500 years were revealed at Ban Khok Charoen in 1966–1970.
• Prehistoric human skeletons and clay jugs were found in Ban Tha Kae in 1979.
• A Copper source was discovered in Khao Wong Phrachan in 1986–1994.

Lopburi lies on the Lopburi River at an elevation of {{convert|20|m|ft}} mostly surrounded by alluvial plains, although some hills rise to between {{convert|300|m|ft}} and {{convert|600|m|ft}} to the north-east.

Lopburi has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification Aw). Winters are dry and very warm. Temperatures rise until April, which is very hot with the average daily maximum at {{convert|36.8|°C|°F}}. The monsoon season runs from late April through October, with heavy rain and somewhat cooler temperatures during the day, although nights remain warm.

{{Weather box|width=auto

|location = Lop Buri (1991–2020, extremes 1951-present)

|metric first = Yes

|single line = Yes

|Jan record high C = 38.4

|Feb record high C = 38.6

|Mar record high C = 40.6

|Apr record high C = 41.8

|May record high C = 41.5

|Jun record high C = 39.5

|Jul record high C = 38.3

|Aug record high C = 37.7

|Sep record high C = 36.2

|Oct record high C = 35.6

|Nov record high C = 35.8

|Dec record high C = 36.2

|year record high C = 41.8

|Jan record low C = 8.4

|Feb record low C = 13.5

|Mar record low C = 16.4

|Apr record low C = 19.7

|May record low C = 17.9

|Jun record low C = 22.2

|Jul record low C = 21.5

|Aug record low C = 21.5

|Sep record low C = 20.5

|Oct record low C = 17.0

|Nov record low C = 10.5

|Dec record low C = 10.2

|year record low C =

|Jan high C = 32.8

|Feb high C = 34.4

|Mar high C = 35.9

|Apr high C = 36.7

|May high C = 35.7

|Jun high C = 34.6

|Jul high C = 33.9

|Aug high C = 33.5

|Sep high C = 33.0

|Oct high C = 32.9

|Nov high C = 32.8

|Dec high C = 32.1

| year high C =

|Jan mean C = 26.7

|Feb mean C = 28.2

|Mar mean C = 29.7

|Apr mean C = 30.5

|May mean C = 30.0

|Jun mean C = 29.3

|Jul mean C = 28.8

|Aug mean C = 28.5

|Sep mean C = 28.2

|Oct mean C = 28.1

|Nov mean C = 27.6

|Dec mean C = 26.4

| year mean C =

|Jan low C = 21.7

|Feb low C = 23.3

|Mar low C = 25.1

|Apr low C = 26.0

|May low C = 26.0

|Jun low C = 25.6

|Jul low C = 25.3

|Aug low C = 25.2

|Sep low C = 25.0

|Oct low C = 24.7

|Nov low C = 23.3

|Dec low C = 21.5

| year low C =

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 9.7

|Feb precipitation mm = 8.7

|Mar precipitation mm = 36.9

|Apr precipitation mm = 79.2

|May precipitation mm = 133.3

|Jun precipitation mm = 113.8

|Jul precipitation mm = 122.2

|Aug precipitation mm = 151.5

|Sep precipitation mm = 266.8

|Oct precipitation mm = 135.8

|Nov precipitation mm = 30.1

|Dec precipitation mm = 7.8

| year precipitation mm = 1095.8

|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm

|Jan precipitation days = 0.7

|Feb precipitation days = 0.8

|Mar precipitation days = 2.4

|Apr precipitation days = 4.4

|May precipitation days = 9.7

|Jun precipitation days = 9.3

|Jul precipitation days = 10.7

|Aug precipitation days = 12.4

|Sep precipitation days = 14.4

|Oct precipitation days = 9.8

|Nov precipitation days = 2.3

|Dec precipitation days = 0.8

|year precipitation days = 77.7

|Jan humidity = 63.2

|Feb humidity = 64.6

|Mar humidity = 67.4

|Apr humidity = 68.8

|May humidity = 73.4

|Jun humidity = 75.8

|Jul humidity = 76.7

|Aug humidity = 78.6

|Sep humidity = 81.4

|Oct humidity = 76.9

|Nov humidity = 66.6

|Dec humidity = 60.6

| year humidity = 71.2

| Jan dew point C = 18.5

| Feb dew point C = 20.1

| Mar dew point C = 22.3

| Apr dew point C = 23.6

| May dew point C = 24.2

| Jun dew point C = 24.2

| Jul dew point C = 24.0

| Aug dew point C = 24.1

| Sep dew point C = 24.5

| Oct dew point C = 23.3

| Nov dew point C = 20.4

| Dec dew point C = 17.7

| year dew point C = 22.2

|Jan sun = 263.5

|Feb sun = 245.8

|Mar sun = 238.7

|Apr sun = 240.0

|May sun = 155.0

|Jun sun = 114.0

|Jul sun = 117.8

|Aug sun = 117.8

|Sep sun = 108.0

|Oct sun = 182.9

|Nov sun = 219.0

|Dec sun = 260.4

|year sun =

|Jand sun = 8.5

|Febd sun = 8.7

|Mard sun = 7.7

|Aprd sun = 8.0

|Mayd sun = 5.0

|Jund sun = 3.8

|Juld sun = 3.8

|Augd sun = 3.8

|Sepd sun = 3.6

|Octd sun = 5.9

|Novd sun = 7.3

|Decd sun = 8.4

|yeard sun = 6.2

|source 1 = World Meteorological Organization{{cite web

| url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/1.1/data/0-data/Region-2-WMO-Normals-9120/Thailand/CSV/LopBuri_48426.csv

| title = World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991–2020

| publisher = World Meteorological Organization

| access-date = 12 October 2023}}

|source 2 = Office of Water Management and Hydrology, Royal Irrigation Department (sun 1981–2010){{cite web

| url = http://water.rid.go.th/hwm/cropwater/CWRdata/ETo/ETo_PenMon_2554.pdf

| title = ปริมาณการใช้น้ำของพืชอ้างอิงโดยวิธีของ Penman Monteith (Reference Crop Evapotranspiration by Penman Monteith)

| publisher = Office of Water Management and Hydrology, Royal Irrigation Department

| page = 75

| language = th

| access-date = 4 August 2016}}(extremes){{cite web

| url = http://climate.tmd.go.th/content/file/75

| title = Climatological Data for the Period 1981–2010

| publisher = Thai Meteorological Department

| accessdate = 4 August 2016}}

}}

{{Original research|section|date=December 2024}}

Today, the city is best known for the thousands of long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) that live there, especially around the Khmer temple Prang Sam Yot and the Khmer shrine Sarn Phra Karn. It is suspected that urban expansion caused the monkeys to adapt to city life. They are fed by the local people, especially during the annual Monkey Festival, which usually occurs on the last Sunday of November. The monkeys can be aggressive, are not afraid of humans, and often steal whatever items or food they can find from unwary visitors. Most of the hotels and guesthouses in Lopburi are "monkey-proofed" using screen wire or sealed windows.

In the city, signs are posted, reading: {{quote|To prevent monkeys attacking people, the officer will feed monkeys in 3 designated areas outside San Phrakan twice a day, at 10am and 4pm. Those who want to feed monkeys other than these times, please contact the officer or caretaker}}

During the 2020–21 COVID-19 pandemic, the lack of tourists prompted hungry monkeys to harass local residents.{{Cite web|url=https://www.france24.com/en/20200624-macaque-attack-humans-try-to-take-back-thai-city-from-monkeys|title=Macaque attack: humans try to take back Thai city from monkeys|date=24 June 2020|website=France 24}}{{cite web |title=This is bananas! Monkey gangs return to terrorize Thailand streets |date=31 July 2021 |website=New York Post |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126220451/https://nypost.com/2021/07/31/monkey-gangs-return-to-terrorize-thailand-streets/ |archive-date=26 November 2022 |url-status=live |url=https://nypost.com/2021/07/31/monkey-gangs-return-to-terrorize-thailand-streets/}} To address the problem, the government implemented a mass roundup and sterilization program in 2024. Within five months, 1,600 of the estimated 3,000 monkeys had been captured for neutering.{{Cite news |last1=Thirasupa |first1=Chalinee |last2=Pookasook |first2=Artorn |date=13 November 2024 |title=No more monkey mania in Thai town after clamp down |url=https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/thailand-monkeys-lopburi/ |access-date=14 November 2024 |work=Reuters}}

The Royal Thai Army Special Warfare Command, the special forces of the Royal Thai Army, is headquartered at the Khok Kathiam Air Force Base {{convert|10|km|mi}} northeast of the Lopburi town.{{cite news |last1=Nanuam |first1=Wassana |title=Army reshuffle sees loyalists appointed |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1532774/army-reshuffle-sees-loyalists-appointed |accessdate=3 September 2018 |work=Bangkok Post |date=3 September 2018}}

The main road through Lobpuri is Route 1 (Phahonyothin Road), which starts in Bangkok, and continues through Lopburi, Chai Nat, Nakhon Sawan, Kamphaeng Phet, Tak, Lampang, Chiang Rai, and the border with Burma at Mae Sai. Route 311 leads west to Sing Buri, and Route 3196 leads south-west to Ang Thong.

Lopburi is a station of the State Railway of Thailand's Northern Line, forming the end of Bangkok's suburban service. Train service from Bangkok railway station (Hua Lamphong) in Bangkok usually takes about 2 hours. The third class train costs less than $1 and is a great way to experience the local culture and the "Real Thailand".

Lopburi had a short-lived tramway system, operating between 1955-1962. It was the only provincial tramway system outside Bangkok.

• Jessica Amornkuldilok, first winner of Asia's Next Top Model

{{reflist}}

{{Commons category|Lopburi}}

• {{Wikivoyage-inline|Lopburi}}

{{Lopburi}}

{{Angkorian sites}}

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{{Coord|14|48|0|N|100|37|37|E|type:city(26000)_region:TH|display=title}}

Category:Populated places in Lopburi province

Category:Cities and towns in Thailand

Category:Populated places established in the 1st millennium