Untitled - Sabrizain.org

S 1AM.
[A kingdom lying between lat. 12 and 18 NM and long. 99 and
104 E. ; bounded on the N. and W. by Birmah * on the ;
E. by
Cambodia and Anam on the S. ;
by the Gulf of Siam.]
THE kingdom of Siam ranked at one period, in wealth
and importance, at the head of the Indo-Chinese
states. Though considerably reduced in its geographical
limits, within the last fifty years by the encroachments
of the Birmans, it still extends over a
vast and highly valuable tract of country, comprising
the shores of the Gulf of Siam, and the grand valley of
the Meinam. The name under which it is known, is
said to be of Malay origin, and signifies black; an
appellation probably derived from the colour of its rich
alluvial soil.f The Siamese call themselves T'hay (or
Tai), that is, Free-men or Franks. They are divided
* The northern boundaries of Siam appear not to be ascertained.
In Hamilton's Gazetteer, Siam is stated to lie principally between
the parallels of 10 and 15; while Mr. Crawfurd makes it -extend
as far southward as lat. 7, and its Malayan tributaries to 3. To
the northward, he says, the extreme confines of the Siamese terri-
tory extend, as far as could be learned, to lat. 25. Asiat. Jour.
vol. xix. p. 12. The boundary of Siam Proper, however, has been
understood to be a river that flows from the westward into the
Meinam between lat. 17 and 18.
t Plutarch informs us, that the priests of Isis called their country
Chemia, Black, (evidently the same word as Syama,) from its
rich, black soil. And it will appear that this is not the only remarkable
coincidence between the valley of Egypt and that of
" the Siamese Nile." The Peguans pronounce the word Tsiam.
Sayammay or Chiamay is probably derived from the same word.