Bihar Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Saturday visited the Ancient City of Ayutthaya in Thailand, which is named after the birth city of lord Ram in Ayodhya in India.

The Governor is heading a 22-member Indian Delegation that took the holy relics of Lord Buddha for a 26-day exposition in Thailand.

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The Historic City of Ayutthaya, founded in 1350, was the second capital of the Siamese Kingdom after Sukhothai.

It flourished from the 14th to the 18th centuries, during which time it grew to be one of the world’s largest and most cosmopolitan urban areas and a Center of global diplomacy and commerce.

Ayutthaya was strategically located on an island surrounded by three rivers connecting the city to the sea. This site was chosen because it was located above the tidal bore of the Gulf of Siam as it existed at that time, thus preventing attack of the city by the sea-going warships of other nations. The location also helped to protect the city from seasonal flooding.

The city was attacked and razed by the Burmese army in 1767 who burned the city to the ground and forced the inhabitants to abandon the city. The city was never rebuilt in the same location and remains known today as an extensive archaeological site.

Once an important centre of global diplomacy and commerce, Ayutthaya is now home to archaeological treasures, characterized by the remains of tall prang (reliquary towers) and Buddhist monasteries of monumental proportions, which give an idea of the city’s past size and the splendor of its architecture.