The Kingdom of Thailand (Thai: ราชอาณาจักรไทย) is a country in Southeast Asia. To its east lie Laos and Cambodia; to its south, the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia; and to its west, the Andaman Sea and Burma. Its capital and largest city is Bangkok. The country's official name was Siam (Thai: สยาม, RTGS: Sayam origin unknown) until 23 June 1939, when it was changed to Thailand; it was renamed Siam between 1945 and 11 May 1949, after which the name Thailand was once again adopted. The word Thai (ไทย) is not, as commonly believed to be, derived from the word Tai (ไท) meaning "free" in the Thai language; it is, however, the name of an ethnic group from the central plains (the Thai people).[citation needed] A famous Thai scholar argued that Tai (ไท) simply means "people" or "human being" since his investigation shows that in some rural areas the word "Tai" was used instead of the usual Thai word "khon" (คน) for people. With that in mind the locals seemed to have also accepted the alternative meaning and will verbally state that it means "Land of the free". Ratcha Anachak Thai means "Kingdom of Thailand" or "Kingdom of Thai". Etymologically, its components are: -Ratcha- (from Sanskrit raja, meaning "king, royal, realm", from Sanskrit) ; -ana- (from Pāli, "authority, command, power", itself from Sanskrit ājñā, same meaning) -chak (from Sanskrit chakra, meaning "wheel", a symbol of power and rule). The region known today as Thailand has been inhabited by humans since the paleolithic period (about 10,000 years ago). Prior to the fall of the Khmer Empire in the 13th century, various states thrived there, such as the various Tai, Mon, Khmer and Malay kingdoms, as seen through the numerous archaeological sites and artifacts that are scattered throughout the Siamese landscape. Prior to the 12th century however, the first Thai or Siamese state is traditionally considered to be the Buddhist kingdom of Sukhothai, which was founded in 1238.
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