Laotians III

1353-1638 CE

From 1353 to 1638 CE, the Laotians carved a kingdom from the mountainous heart of Southeast Asia — Fa Ngum returning from Khmer exile with an army and a Theravada mission, his Lan Xang stretching from the Vietnamese highlands to the Khorat Plateau. The Million Elephants prospered through isolation, their kings building stupas at Luang Prabang while greater powers exhausted themselves in wars that barely touched the landlocked realm.