The royal city of Ayutthaya (ah-you-tah-ya) was a small kingdom in Siam (modern Thailand), and it was an unrivalled commercial and maritime power from 1350-1767 CE. Ayutthaya became the second capital of Siam in 1438 CE when it absorbed the Sukhothai kingdom in northeast Thailand.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original content at https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1548/ayutthaya-venice-of-the-east/.