The founding myth of Lampang. Hariphunchai Period. Lampang was a major city in the Lanna kingdom. However, its historical prominence is largely overshadowed by Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai which were the traditional seats of government, and whose histories were well recorded in chronicles. Following decades of warfare with both the Ava Burmese and Ayudhya during the 17th-18th century, the region was in decline, severely depopulated, and subject to Burmese control. In the late 18th century, the famed marksman and Lampang native Nan Thip Chang assassinated the local Burmese leader in the Wat Phra That Lampang Luang, and led an uprising which led to a rollback of Burmese rule over Lanna. Allied with Bangkok, the descendents of Nan Thip Chang, known as Chao Ched Ton (The Seven Princes), became the vassal rulers of the various Lanna cities until the annexation of Lanna into Siam (Thailand) proper under King Chulalongkorn (Rama V)
