Who they were
Born around 1555 at Phitsanulok, Naresuan reigned as king of Ayutthaya from 1590 to 1605. After Ayutthaya fell under Burmese overlordship, he spent boyhood years at the Burmese court at Pegu, according to the chronicles.
What they did
He led Ayutthaya’s break from Burmese vassalage, renouncing allegiance in 1584 and repelling repeated Burmese invasions. In January 1593 at Nong Sarai — as Thai chronicles recount, though Burmese accounts differ on the details — he killed the Burmese crown prince Mingyi Swa in single combat on war elephants, the most celebrated single combat in Thai history. He afterwards campaigned into Cambodia, taking Lovek in 1594 as commonly dated, and fought Burma along the Tenasserim coast. He died on campaign in 1605.
Legacy
Naresuan is the archetypal warrior-king and a national hero. Royal Thai Armed Forces Day, January 18, commemorates the elephant duel, and he is honored in monuments, shrines and films.