{{Short description|Premodern city states in peninsular Southeast Asia}} [[File:Ang Thong (2024) - ที่ว่าการอำเภอเมืองอ่างทอง.jpg|thumb|Capital districts of provinces in Thailand are referred to as "''mueang'' district". Pictured here is the office of ''Mueang'' Ang Thong district, i.e., the capital district of Ang Thong.]] [[File:芒市广场-迎宾门傣语.jpg|thumb|The ethnic Tai Nuea name of Mangshi ''(pictured)'' in Yunnan, China is ''Mueang'' Khon]]
'''Mueang''' (Ahom: 𑜉𑜢𑜤𑜂𑜫;{{langx|th|เมือง}} ''mɯ̄ang'', {{IPA|th|mɯaŋ˧|pron}} {{audio|Mueang (TH).ogg|listen}}), '''Muang''' ({{langx|lo|ເມືອງ}} ''mɯ́ang'', {{IPA|lo|mɯaŋ˦|pron}}), '''Möng''' (Tai Nuea: ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ''möeng''; {{langx|shn|{{lang|my|မိူင်း}}}} ''móeng'', {{IPA|shn|məŋ˦|pron}}), '''Meng''' ({{lang-zh|c=猛 or 勐}}) or '''Mường''' (Vietnamese) were pre-modern semi-independent city-states or principalities in mainland Southeast Asia, adjacent regions of Northeast India and Southern China, including what is now Thailand, Laos, Burma, Cambodia, parts of northern Vietnam, southern Yunnan, western Guangxi and Assam.
Mueang was originally a term in the Tai languages for a town having a defensive wall and a ruler with at least the Thai noble rank of ''khun'' ({{lang|th|ขุน}}), together with its dependent villages.<ref name="JSS_071_0g">{{cite journal|last=Terwiel|first=Barend Jan|year=1983|title=Ahom and the Study of Early Thai Society|journal=Journal of the Siam Society|volume=JSS Vol. 71.0|issue=digital|page=image 4|publisher=Siamese Heritage Trust|url=http://www.siamese-heritage.org/jsspdf/1981/JSS_071_0g_Terwiel_AhomAndStudyOfEarlyTaiSociety.pdf|access-date=March 7, 2013|quote=khun : ruler of a fortified town and its surrounding villages, together called a mu'ang. In older sources the prefix ph'o ("father") is sometimes used as well.}}</ref><ref name="JSS_083_0j_Vickery">{{cite journal|last=Vickery|first=Michael|year=1995|title=Piltdown3: Further Discussion of The Ram Khamhaeng Inscription|journal=Journal of the Siam Society|volume=JSS Vol. 83.0j|issue=digital|page=image 11|no-pp=<!-- hides automatic 'p' or 'pp'. -->|publisher=Siam Heritage Trust|url=http://www.siamese-heritage.org/jsspdf/1991/JSS_083_0j_Vickery_Piltdown3RamKhamhaengInscription.pdf|access-date=August 3, 2013|quote=Examples of the first are ''söaṅ'', the name of Ram Khamhaeng's mother, and ''möaṅ''. Khun Phasit said that these terms should in fact be read as /söŋ/ and /möŋ/....}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Wyatt|first=D.K.|author-link=David K. Wyatt|editor-first=J.R.|editor-last=Chamberlain|title=The Ram Khamhaeng Controversy|access-date=2013-06-13|date=1991|publisher=The Siam Society|location=Bangkok|at=Quoted text is found in image 7|chapter=Chapter 11: Contextual arguments for the authenticity of the Ram Khamhaeng inscription|chapter-url=http://sealang.net/sala/archives/pdf8/wyatt1991contextual.pdf|quote=...Lord Sam Chon, the ruler of Müang Chot, came to attack Müang Tak....}}</ref> The mandala model of political organisation organised states in collective hierarchy such that smaller mueang were subordinate to more powerful neighboring ones, which in turn were subordinate to a central king or other leader. The more powerful mueang (generally designated as {{wikt-lang|th|เชียง|chiang|i}}, {{wikt-lang|th|เวียง|wiang|i}}, {{wikt-lang|th|นคร|nakhon|i}}, or {{wikt-lang|th|กรุง|krung|i}} – with Bangkok as ''Krung'' Thep Maha ''Nakhon'') occasionally tried to liberate themselves from their suzerain and could enjoy periods of relative independence. Mueang large and small often shifted allegiance, and frequently paid tribute to more than one powerful neighbor – the most powerful of the period being Ming China.
Following Kublai Khan's defeat of the Dali Kingdom of the Bai people in 1253 and its establishment as a tutelary state, new mueang were founded widely throughout the Shan States and adjoining regions – though the common description of this as a "mass migration" is disputed.<ref name="JSS_077_1c_DuYutingChenLufan">{{cite journal|last1=Du Yuting|last2=Chen Lufan|year=1989|title=Did Kublai Khan's Conquest of the Dali Kingdom Give Rise to the Mass Migration of the Thai People to the South? |journal=Journal of the Siam Society|format=free PDF|volume=JSS Vol. 77.1c|issue=digital|publisher=Siam Heritage Trust|url=http://www.siamese-heritage.org/jsspdf/1981/JSS_077_1c_DuYutingChenLufan_KublaiKhanConquestAndThaiMigration.pdf|access-date=March 17, 2013}}</ref> Following historical Chinese practice, tribal leaders principally in Yunnan were recognized by the Yuan as imperial officials, in an arrangement generally known as the Tusi ("Native Chieftain") system. Ming and Qing-era dynasties gradually replaced native chieftains with non-native Chinese government officials.
In the 19th century, Thailand's Chakri dynasty and Burma's colonial and subsequent military rulers did much the same with their lesser mueang, but, while the petty kingdoms are gone, the place names remain.
==Place names== {{More citations needed section|date=May 2024}} Place names in Southwestern Tai languages
===Cambodia=== In Khmer, "moeang" (មឿង) is a word borrowed from the Thai language meaning "small city" or "small town."<ref name="SEAlang Library Khmer">Headley, Robert K. [http://www.sealang.net/khmer/dictionary.htm "SEAlang Library Khmer"], ''SEAlang Library'', 05/14/2018</ref> Usually used as a place name for villages. * Moeang Char * Moeang Prachen
===China=== The placename "mueang" is written in Chinese characters as {{lang-zh|c=勐, 孟|p=měng|labels=no}}, which is equivalent to {{langx|tdd|ᥛᥫᥒᥰ}} and {{langx|khb|ᦵᦙᦲᧂ}}, both of which are spoken in China.
{| class="wikitable" |- ! Script in English !! Name in Tai Nuea !! Name in Tai Lue !! Script in Chinese !! Common used name |- | Möng Mao<ref name=":0" />|| ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥛᥣᥝᥰ<ref name="Tai Nuea">{{cite book|first1=Jiaqiang|last1=Gong|first2=Zunxian|last2=Meng|title=傣汉词典|trans-title=Tai Nuea－Chinese Dictionary|location=Kunming|publisher=Yunnan Nationalities Publishing House|date=2007|isbn=978-7-5367-3790-7|pages=1347–1350}}</ref> || || 勐卯 || Ruili |- | Möng Hkwan<ref name="HR Davies">{{Cite book |last=Davies |first=Henry Rodolph |url=https://pahar.in/pahar/Books%20and%20Articles/Tibet%20and%20China/1909%20Yun-Nan--the%20link%20between%20India%20and%20the%20Yangtze%20by%20Davies%20s.pdf |title=Yün-nan: The Link Between India and the Yangtze |date=1909 |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref>|| ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥑᥩᥢᥴ<ref name="Tai Nuea"/> || ᦵᦙᦲᧂ ᦃᦸᧃ<ref name="Tai Lue">{{cite book|first1=Cui-rong|last1=Yu|first2=Meizhen|last2=Luo|title=傣仂汉词典|trans-title=Tai Lue－Chinese Dictionary|location=Beijing|publisher=Publishing House of Minority Nationalities|date=2003|isbn=7-105-05834-X|page=274}}</ref> || 勐焕 || Mangshi |- | Möng Wan<ref name="HR Davies"/> || ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥝᥢᥰ<ref name="Tai Nuea"/> || || 勐宛 || Longchuan |- | Möng Ti<ref name="HR Davies"/> || ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥖᥤᥰ<ref name="Tai Nuea"/> || || 勐底 || Lianghe |- | Möng Na<ref name="HR Davies" />|| ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥘᥣᥲ<ref name="Tai Nuea"/> || || 勐腊 || Yingjiang |- | Moeng La (Hò)<ref name="Moeng Lu">{{Cite journal |last=Liew-Herres |first=Foon Ming |title=Intra-dynastic and Inter-Tai Conflicts in the Old Kingdom of Moeng Lü in Southern Yunnan |url=https://archive.org/details/FoonMingLiew-herresIntra-dynasticAndInter-taiConflictsInTheOld |journal=SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research Volume 5, Parts 1 & 2 |pages=52-112}}</ref> || || ᦵᦙᦲᧂ ᦟᦱ || 勐拉 || Simao |- | Moeng La<ref name="Moeng Lu" />|| || ᦵᦙᦲᧂ ᦟᦱᧉ || 勐腊 || Mengla |- | Moeng Hai<ref name="Moeng Lu" />|| ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥞᥣᥭᥰ<ref name="Tai Nuea"/> || ᦵᦙᦲᧂ ᦣᦻ<ref name="Tai Lue"/> || 勐海 || Menghai |- | Möng Lem<ref name="HR Davies" />|| ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥘᥥᥛᥰ<ref name="Tai Nuea"/> || || 孟连 || Menglian |- | Möng Cheng<ref name="HR Davies" />|| ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥐᥪᥒ<ref name="Tai Nuea"/> || || 勐耿 || Gengma |- | Möng Long<ref>{{Cite book |last=Scott |url=https://www.myanmar-law-library.org/IMG/pdf/shan_state_part_ii_volume_iii.pdf |title=Gazetteer of Upper Burma and the Shan States, Pt. 2, Vol. 3 |last2=Hardiman |date=1900 |pages=263}}</ref>|| ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥘᥨᥒ<ref>{{cite journal|last=Daniels|first=Christian|title=The Mongol-Yuan in Yunnan and ProtoTai/Tai Polities during the 13th-14th Centuries|journal=Journal of the Siam Society|date=2018|volume=106|pages=201–243}}</ref>{{rp|221}} || || || Longling |- | Möng Möng<ref name="HR Davies" />|| ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥛᥫᥒᥰ<ref name="Tai Nuea"/> || || 勐勐 || Shuangjiang |- | Meng Lam or Möng Lang<ref name="HR Davies" />|| ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥘᥣᥛᥰ<ref name="Tai Nuea"/> || || 勐朗 || Lancang |- | Möng Htong<ref name="HR Davies" />|| ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥗᥨᥒᥴ<ref name="Tai Nuea"/> || || 勐统 || Changning |- | Meng Tsung || ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥓᥧᥒᥰ<ref name="Tai Nuea"/> || || || Yuanjiang |- | Meng Then or Möng Hköng<ref name="HR Davies" />|| ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥗᥦᥢᥴ<ref name="Tai Nuea"/> || || || Fengqing |- | Möng Myen<ref name="HR Davies" />|| ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥛᥦᥢᥰ<ref name="Tai Nuea"/> || || 勐缅 || Tengchong or Lincang |- | Möng Sè<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Scott |url=https://www.myanmar-law-library.org/IMG/pdf/shan_state_part_i_volume_i.pdf |title=Gazetteer of Upper Burma and the Shan States, Pt. 1, Vol. 1 |last2=Hardiman |date=1900}}</ref> or Moeng Sae<ref name="Moeng Lu" />|| ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥔᥥᥴ<ref name="Tai Nuea"/> || ᦵᦙᦲᧂ ᦵᦉ<ref name="Tai Lue"/> || || Kunming |- | Meng Ha || ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥑᥣᥰ<ref name="Tai Nuea"/> || || || {{ill|Kejie Town|zh|柯街镇}} |- | Meng Ha or Möng Ya<ref name="HR Davies" />|| ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥑᥣᥴ<ref name="Tai Nuea"/> || || || {{ill|Wandian Dai Ethnic Township|zh|湾甸傣族乡}} |- | Möng Hkö<ref name="HR Davies" />|| ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥑᥫᥰ<ref name="Tai Nuea"/> || || || {{ill|Lujiang Town|zh|潞江镇}} |- | Möng Nyim<ref name="HR Davies" />|| ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥒᥤᥛᥰ<ref name="Tai Nuea"/> || || 勐允 || {{ill|Shangyun Town|zh|上允镇}} |- | Moeng Cae<ref name="Moeng Lu" />|| ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥓᥥ<ref name="Tai Nuea"/> || ᦵᦙᦲᧂ ᦵᦵᦋᧈ || 勐遮 || {{ill|Mengzhe Town|zh|勐遮镇}} |- | Möng Hsa<ref name="HR Davies" />|| ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥔᥣᥴ<ref name="Tai Nuea"/> || || 勐撒 || {{ill|Mengsa Town|zh|勐撒镇}} |- | Möng Yang<ref name="HR Davies" />|| ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥕᥣᥒᥰ<ref name="Tai Nuea"/> || || 勐养 || {{ill|Mengyang Town|zh|勐养镇}} |- | Möng Tum<ref name="HR Davies" />|| ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥖᥧᥛᥰ<ref name="Tai Nuea"/> || || 勐董 || Mengdong |- | Meng Ten || ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥖᥦᥢᥰ<ref name="Tai Nuea"/> || || 勐典 || Mengdian (a place in Yingjiang County) |- | Möng Ting<ref name="HR Davies" />|| ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥖᥤᥒ<ref name="Tai Nuea"/> || || 孟定 || {{ill|Mengding Town|zh|孟定镇}} |- | Meng Lim || ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥘᥤᥛᥴ<ref name="Tai Nuea"/> || || || Huangcao-Ba ({{lang-zh|labels=no|黄草坝}}, a place in Longling County) |- | Moeng Luang<ref name="Moeng Lu" />|| ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥘᥨᥒ<ref name="Tai Nuea"/> || ᦵᦙᦲᧂ ᦷᦟᧂ<ref name="Tai Lue"/> || 勐龙 || {{ill|Menglong Town|zh|勐龙镇}} |- | Meng Loong || ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥘᥩᥒᥴ<ref name="Tai Nuea"/> || || 勐弄 || {{ill|Mengnong Township|zh|勐弄乡}} |- | Möng Maw<ref name="HR Davies" />|| ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥛᥨᥝᥱ<ref name="Tai Nuea"/> || || 勐磨 || Jiucheng Township |- | Moeng Ham<ref name="Moeng Lu" />|| ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥞᥛᥰ<ref name="Tai Nuea"/> || ᦵᦙᦲᧂ ᦣᧄ<ref name="Tai Lue"/> || 勐罕 || {{ill|Menghan Town|zh|勐罕镇}} |- | Meng Heu || ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥞᥥᥝᥰ<ref>{{cite book|author=People's Government of Ruili County|title=云南省瑞丽县地名志|trans-title=Toponymy Dictionary of Ruili County, Yunnan|date=1987|page=149}}</ref> || || 勐秀 || Mengxiu Township |- | Meng Ka || ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥐᥣ || || 勐戛 || Mengga |- | Meng Yue || || || 勐约 || {{ill|Mengyue Township|zh|勐约乡}} |- | Möng Hpawng<ref name="HR Davies" /> or Moeng Phong<ref name="Moeng Lu" />|| || ᦵᦙᦲᧂ ᦘᦳᧂ || 勐捧 || {{ill|Mengpeng Town|zh|勐捧镇}} |- | Meng Dui || || || 勐堆 || {{ill|Mengdui Township|zh|勐堆乡}} |- | Meng Ku || || || 勐库 || {{ill|Mengku Town|zh|勐库镇}} |- | Meng Yoong || ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥕᥩᥒᥰ<ref name="Gengma">{{cite book|author=People's Government of Gengma Dai and Wa Autonomous County|title=云南省耿马傣族佤族自治县地名志|trans-title=Toponymy Dictionary of Gengma Dai and Wa Autonomous County, Yunnan|date=1985|pages=勐永:198,勐简:201,勐省:208}}</ref> || || 勐永 || {{ill|MengYong Town|zh|勐永镇}} |- | Meng Keng || ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥐᥦᥒᥰ<ref name="Gengma"/> || || 勐简 || {{ill|Mengjian Township|zh|勐简乡}} |- | Meng Seng || ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥔᥫᥒᥴ<ref name="Gengma"/> || || 勐省 || Mengsheng |- | Meng Jiao || || || 勐角 || Mengjiao Dai, Yi and Lahu People Township |- | Meng Nuo || || || 勐糯 || {{ill|Mengnuo Town|zh|勐糯镇}} |- | Meng Xian || || || 勐先 || {{ill|Mengxian Town|zh|勐先镇}} |- | Meng Nong || || || 孟弄 || {{ill|Mengnong Yi Ethnic Township|zh|孟弄彝族乡}} |- | Möng Pan<ref name="Moeng Lu" />|| || || 勐班 || Mengban Township |- | Meng Da || || || 勐大 || {{ill|Mengda Town|zh|勐大镇}} |- | Moeng Lae<ref name="Moeng Lu" />|| || || 勐烈 || {{ill|Menglie Town|zh|勐烈镇}} |- | Meng Ma || || || 勐马 || {{ill|Mengma Town|zh|勐马镇}} |- | Meng Suo || || || 勐梭 || {{ill|Mengsuo Town|zh|勐梭镇}} |- | Meng Ka || || || 勐卡 || {{ill|Mengka Town|zh|勐卡镇}} |- | Meng La || || || 勐拉 || {{ill|Mengla Town|zh|勐拉镇}} |- | Meng Qiao || || || 勐桥 || {{ill|Mengqiao Township|zh|勐桥乡}} |- | Meng Òng<ref name="Moeng Lu" />|| || || 勐旺 || {{ill|Mengwang Township, Jinghong|zh|勐旺乡}} |- | Moeng Hun<ref name="Moeng Lu" />|| || || 勐混 || {{ill|Menghun Town|zh|勐混镇}} |- | Moeng Man<ref name="Moeng Lu" />|| || || 勐满 || {{ill|Mengman Town|zh|勐满镇}} |- | Meng A || || || 勐阿 || {{ill|Meng'a Town|zh|勐阿镇}} |- | Meng Song || || || 勐宋 || {{ill|Mengsong Township|zh|勐宋乡}} |- | Moeng Òng<ref name="Moeng Lu" />|| || || 勐往 || {{ill|Mengwang Township, Menghai|zh|勐往乡}} |- | Moeng Nun<ref name="Moeng Lu" />|| || || 勐仑 || {{ill|Menglun Town|zh|勐仑镇}} |- | Meng Ban || || || 勐伴 || {{ill|Mengban Town|zh|勐伴镇}} |}
===Laos=== Laos is colloquially known as ''Muang Lao'', but for Lao people, the word conveys more than mere administrative district. The usage is of special historic interest for the Lao; in particular for their traditional socio-political and administrative organisation, and the formation of their early (power) states,<ref name=Raendchen>{{cite conference|url=http://laomanuscripts.net/downloads/literaryheritageoflaos31_raendchen_en.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104074758/http://laomanuscripts.net/downloads/literaryheritageoflaos31_raendchen_en.pdf|archive-date=2013-11-04|title=The socio-political and administrative organisation of müang in the light of Lao historical manuscripts|first=Jana|last=Raendchen|date=October 10, 2005|conference=The Literary Heritage of Laos Conference, 2005|conference-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104074845/http://laomanuscripts.net/en/resources/papers#1|book-title=The Literary Heritage of Laos: Preservation, Dissemination and Research Perspectives, Vientiane: National Library of Laos|publisher=Digital Library of Lao Manuscripts|location=Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin Preußischer Kulturbesitz|access-date=September 12, 2013|quote=The use of the word ''müang'' is of special historic interest for the Lao; in particular for their traditional socio-political and administrative organisation, and the formation of their early (power) states.|pages=401–420}}</ref> described by later scholars as Mandala (Southeast Asian political model). Provinces of Laos are now subdivided into what are commonly translated as districts of Laos, with some retaining Muang as part of the name: *Muang Sing *Muang Xay *Former Muang **Muang Phuan (modern Phonsavan, capital city of Xiangkhouang Province) **Muang Sua
===Myanmar=== {{further|Saopha|Shan States}} [[File:ႁူင်းယႃ ဝဵင်းမိူင်းၼၢႆး - panoramio.jpg|thumb|A hospital in ''Mong'' Nai]] *Mong Mao *Mong Hsat *Mong Hpayak *Mong Ton *Mong Nai *Mong Ping *Mohnyin (former Mongyang State) *Mogaung (former Mongkawng) *Momauk *Mogok *Momeik
===Northeast India=== * Mong Dun Shun Kham or Ahom kingdom<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gohain|first=Birendra kr|title=Origin of the Tai and Chao Lung Hsukapha: A Historical Perspective|date=1999|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k01uAAAAMAAJ}}</ref> – The Mueang (currently the states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in North-East India), established by a Tai Prince Sukaphaa in 1228 with 9000 Tai People migrated from Mong Mao called as Ahom by local people, transformed itself into a huge kingdom by the 17th century that withstood the might of the Mughal Empire.
=== Thailand === {{Further|Amphoe|Boriwen|Monthon|Muban|Sukhaphiban|Tambon|Thesaban}} [[File:หอนาฬิกาเชียงราย Chiang Rai Clock Tower.jpg|thumb|The ''Mueang'' Chiang Rai Clock Tower]] Thailand is colloquially known as ''Mueang Thai''. After the ''Thesaphiban'' reforms of Prince Damrong Rajanubhab, city-states under Siam were organized into monthon ({{lang|th|มณฑล}}, Thai translation of mandala), which was changed to ''changwat'' ({{lang|th|จังหวัด}}) in 1916.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Royal Gazette|volume=33|issue=ก|page=51|script-title=th:ประกาศกระทรวงมหาดไทย เรื่อง ทรงพระกรุณาโปรดเกล้า ฯ ให้เปลี่ยนคำว่าเมืองเรียกว่าจังหวัด|url=http://www.ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/DATA/PDF/2459/A/51.PDF|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080409014441/http://www.ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/DATA/PDF/2459/A/51.PDF|archive-date=April 9, 2008|date=28 May 1916|language=th}}</ref> ''Mueang'' still can be found as the term for the capital districts of the provinces (''amphoe mueang''), as well as for a municipal status equivalent to town (''thesaban mueang''). In standard Thai, the term for the country of Thailand is ประเทศไทย, rtgs: Prathet Thai.
==== Mueang toponyms ==== ''Mueang'' still forms part of the placenames of a few places, notably Don Mueang District, home to Don Mueang International Airport; and in the Royal Thai General System of Transcription ''Mueang Phatthaya'' ({{lang|th|เมืองพัทยา}}) for the self-governing municipality of Pattaya.
==== Nakhon mueang ==== ''Nakhon'' ({{lang|th|นคร}}) as the word for "city" has been modified to ''thesaban nakhon'' ({{lang|th|เทศบาลนคร}}), usually translated as "city municipality". It still forms part of the name of some places. * Krung Thep Maha Nakhon * Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya * Nakhon Lampang * Nakhon Nayok * Nakhon Ratchasima * Nakhon Si Thammarat * Nakhon Thai * Renu Nakhon
==== Buri mueang ==== <!-- Buri#See_also /*Buri placenames in Thailand*/ links here --> Sung Noen District is noted for having been the site of two ancient cities: Mueang Sema and Khorakhapura. Pali ''púra'' became Sanskrit ''puri'', hence Thai {{lang|th|บุรี, บูรี}},<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thai-language.com/default.aspx?search=%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%B9%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B5|title=บูรี|author=Glenn S.|date=5 Aug 2013|format=Dictionary|work=Royal Institute Dictionary – 1982|publisher=Thai-language.com|access-date=2013-08-03|quote=บุรี; บูรี /บุ-รี; บู-รี/ Pali: ปุร [นาม] เมือง}}</ref> (buri) all connoting the same as Thai ''mueang'': city with defensive wall.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/search3advanced?dbname=soas&query=9825&matchtype=exact&display=utf8|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130805042703/http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/search3advanced?dbname=soas&query=9825&matchtype=exact&display=utf8|archive-date=August 5, 2013|title=A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages|access-date=5 Aug 2013|last=Turner|first=Sir Ralph Lilley|author-link=Ralph Lilley Turner|year=1985|orig-date=London: Oxford University Press, 1962-1966.|work=Includes three supplements, published 1969-1985.|publisher=Digital South Asia Library, a project of the Center for Research Libraries and the University of Chicago|page=469|quote=8278 púra noun. fortress, town, gynaeceum}}</ref> "Khorakhapura" was nicknamed "Nakhon Raj," which as a portmanteau with Sema, became Nakhon Ratchasima.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asiaexplorers.com/thailand/nakhon-ratchasima.htm|title=Nakhon Ratchasima (Khorat), Thailand|access-date=5 Aug 2013|date=5 Aug 2013|format=Text available under Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License 3.0 (Unported)|work=More about Nakhon Ratchasima|publisher=AsiaExplorers|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130909014002/http://www.asiaexplorers.com/thailand/nakhon-ratchasima.htm|archive-date=2013-09-09|url-status=live|quote=Nakhon Ratchasima was originally two separate cities namely Khorakhapura (also called Nakhon Raj) and Sema.... The present city of Nakhon Ratchasima, whose name is a portmanteau of Nakhon Raj and Sema, was established by King Narai (1656-88) as the eastern frontier of his kingdom centered on Ayutthaya.}}</ref> Though dropped from the name of this mueang, Sanskrit ''buri'' persists in the names of others. * '''Buri'''ram * Chon'''buri''' * Sing '''Buri''' * Suphan '''Buri''' * Thon'''buri'''
===Vietnam=== {{further|Sip Song Chau Tai}} [[File:Lai Châu Town Square Monument (2014).jpg|thumb|''Mường ''Lay town square]] *Muong Cha *Muong La *Mường Lay *Muong Lat *Muong Khuong *Muong Nhe *Muong Te *Muong Thanh
==Etymology== :''NB: Luo et al. employ /ü/ which may erroneously scan as /ii/.''
=== Müang Fai irrigation system === '''''Müang Fai''''' is a term reconstructed from Proto-Tai, the common ancestor of all Tai languages. In the Guangxi-Guizhou of Southern China region, the term described what was then a unique type of irrigation engineering for wet-rice cultivation. ''Müang'' meaning 'irrigation channel, ditch, canal' and ''Fai'', 'dike, weir, dam.' together referred to gravitational irrigation systems for directing water from streams and rivers.<ref name="JGIS_Tai_Origin"> {{cite journal|last1=Luo|first1=Wei|last2=Hartmann|first2=John|last3=Li|first3=Jinfang|last4=Sysamouth|first4=Vinya|date=December 2000|title=GIS Mapping and Analysis of Tai Linguistic and Settlement Patterns in Southern China|journal=Geographic Information Sciences|volume=6|issue=2|pages=129–136|location=DeKalb|publisher=Northern Illinois University|doi=10.1080/10824000009480541|bibcode=2000AnGIS...6..129L|s2cid=24199802|access-date=May 28, 2013|url=http://www.niu.edu/landform/papers/JGIS_Tai_Origin.pdf|quote=Abstract. By integrating linguistic information and physical geographic features in a GIS environment, this paper maps the spatial variation of terms connected with wet-rice farming of Tai minority groups in southern China and shows that the primary candidate of origin for proto-Tai is in the region of Guangxi-Guizhou, not Yunnan or the middle Yangtze River region as others have proposed....}}</ref> The Proto-Tai language is not directly attested by any surviving texts, but has been reconstructed using the comparative method. This term has Proto-Tai-tone A1. All A1 words are rising tone in modern Thai and Lao, following rules determined for tone origin. Accordingly, the term is: :in modern {{langx|th|เหมืองฝาย}}<ref>[http://sealang.net/thai/dictionary.htm เหมืองฝาย];</ref> :in modern {{langx|lo|ເຫມື່ອງຝາຍ}}.<ref>http://sealang.net/lao/dictionary.htm ເຫມືອງຝາຽ</ref> (NB: SEAlang Library's Lao entry omits tonal marking – a typographical error.) Different linguistic tones give different meanings; scholarship has not established a link between this term and any of the terms which differ in tone.
=== Origin of mueang === '''Mueang''' conveys many meanings, all having to do with administrative, social, political and religious orientation on wet-rice cultivation. The origin of the word ''mueang'' yet remains obscure. In October 2007, The National Library of Laos, in collaboration with the Berlin State Library and the University of Passau, started a project to produce the Digital Library of Lao Manuscripts. Papers presented at the Literary Heritage of Laos Conference, held in Vientiane in 2005, have also been made available. Many of the mss. illuminate the administrative, social, political, and religious demands put on communities in the same watershed area that insured a high degree of cooperation to create and maintain irrigation systems (''müang-faai'') – which probably was the primary reason for founding ''mueang''.<ref name=Raendchen2>{{cite conference|url=http://laomanuscripts.net/downloads/literaryheritageoflaos31_raendchen_en.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104074758/http://laomanuscripts.net/downloads/literaryheritageoflaos31_raendchen_en.pdf|archive-date=2013-11-04|title=The socio-political and administrative organisation of müang in the light of Lao historical manuscripts|first=Jana|last=Raendchen|date=October 10, 2005|conference=The Literary Heritage of Laos Conference, 2005|conference-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104074845/http://laomanuscripts.net/en/resources/papers#1|book-title=The Literary Heritage of Laos: Preservation, Dissemination and Research Perspectives, Vientiane: National Library of Laos|publisher=Digital Library of Lao Manuscripts|location=Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin Preußischer Kulturbesitz|access-date=September 12, 2013|quote=However, being wet-rice growing societies, Tai ''baan'' could not have sustained themselves in isolation, but were dependent to a high degree on water irrigation that demands cooperation of several ''baan'' communities being situated in one and the same watershed area. The organisation of cooperation of a number of ''baan'' in irrigation works, historically, probably was the primary reason for founding ''müang'', that is a group of several ''baan'' managing one common irrigation system (''müang-faai''), and generally worshipping the same territorial guardian spirit (''phii müang'') and ancestral spirits.|page=416}}</ref>
=== Kham Mueang === [[File:Wat Ming Mueang, Chiang Rai - 2017-06-27 (001).jpg|thumb|A signage in Tai Tham script, traditionally used for written kham ''mueang'']] '''''Kham Mueang''''' ({{langx|th|คำเมือง}}) is the modern spoken form of the old Northern Thai language that was the language of the kingdom of Lan Na (Million Fields). Central Thai may call northern Thai people and their language Thai Yuan. They call their language ''Kham Mueang'' in which ''Kham'' means language or word; ''mueang''; town, hence the meaning of "town language," specifically in contrast to those of the many hill tribe peoples in the surrounding mountainous areas.<ref name=Natnapang>{{cite book|author=Natnapang Burutphakdee|others=Asst. Prof. Dr. Kirk R. Person, adviser|title=Khon Muang Neu Kap Phasa Muang|trans-title=Attitudes of Northern Thai Youth towards Kammuang and the Lanna Script|url=http://ic.payap.ac.th/graduate/linguistics/theses/Natnapang_Thesis.pdf|access-date=June 8, 2013|type=M.A. Thesis|series=Presented at 4th National Symposium on Graduate Research, Chiang Mai, Thailand, August 10–11, 2004|date=October 2004|publisher=Payap University|location=Chiang Mai|at=P. 7, digital image 30|quote=The reason why they called this language 'Kammuang' is because they used this language in the towns where they lived together, which were surrounded by mountainous areas where there were many hill tribe people.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505040726/http://ic.payap.ac.th/graduate/linguistics/theses/Natnapang_Thesis.pdf|archive-date=May 5, 2015}}</ref>
== See also == * Acequia, Spanish term for irrigation system organized like the Müang Fai irrigation system * Chiang (place name) * Internal colonialism * Tusi * Wiang
==References== {{reflist}}
== External links == * {{Wiktionary-inline|mueang}}
{{Polities associated with the Kra–Dai-speaking peoples}} Category:Former countries in Southeast Asia Category:Former countries in Thai history Category:Former countries in Chinese history Category:Subdivisions of Laos Category:Subdivisions of Myanmar Category:Subdivisions of Thailand Category:Thai words and phrases Category:Types of administrative division Category:Former countries in Indian history