The Kingdom of Phaniat and the Chang People - An Early Port City State in Modern Eastern Thailand : is a study about the almost unknown ancient Kingdom of Phaniat, which was founded by a colony of Khmer people in the early 7th centrury AD, during the Chenla period, in the region of modern Eastern Thailand, close to present-day city of Chanthaburi.
Archaeological finds and dating of building materials have shown that the ancient Phaniat sie harbors the oldest pure Khmer settlement ruins in the territory of modern Thailand.
Inscriptions and artifacts found in the greater area of Chanthaburi city, and the lack of any Mon Dvaravati artifacts in the entire southern region of Eastern Thailand, indicate a flourishing coastal city-state, ruled by Khmer people but with a population base of Pearic-speaking Chong people who are still settling in the area today.
Providing the political, ethnical, religious and social concept of Phaniat, the larger historical context is described and explained, in which the tiny kingdom was embedded in the region of Southeast Asia at that time in history.