---
node: rama_i
type: person
slug: rama_i
title: "Rama I"
lead: "Rama I (1737–1809, r. 1782–1809) was the founder of the Chakri dynasty and of Bangkok. The dynasty he founded still reigns in Thailand today."
published: 2026-07-10
updated: 2026-07-10
---

## Who they were

Born Thongduang at Ayutthaya in 1737, he rose to become a leading general under King Taksin, holding the title Chao Phraya Chakri. He took the throne in April 1782 after Taksin's deposition, and is known posthumously as Phra Phutthayotfa Chulalok.

## What they did

He moved the capital from Thonburi across the river to the east bank — Rattanakosin Island — founding Bangkok, and built the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew, where the Emerald Buddha was installed in 1784. He restored Ayutthayan court forms and Buddhist institutions, by tradition convening a council to revise the Buddhist canon in 1788, and compiled the Three Seals Law Code (1805). A complete Thai Ramakien was produced in his reign, parts of it attributed to the king himself. His forces crushed Bodawpaya's Nine Armies invasion of 1785–86.

## Legacy

The dynasty he founded still reigns, through ten kings from Rama I to Rama X. April 6, the date of his accession, is Chakri Memorial Day, and Bangkok's rise from garrison town to royal capital begins with him.