Phet Fort

Pom Phet is a historic fort along the city walls of Ayutthaya, in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Thailand. It is one of only two surviving fortresses of Ayutthaya's 29 forts. The fort was built during the reign of King Maha Chakkraphat in the middle Ayutthaya period, after the first great war between Ayutthaya and Burma (Burmese–Siamese War; 1547–1549). Pom Phet is considered the strongest and most important fort, hence the name "Pom Phet" (literally: "diamond fort"). It is located at the point where the Pa Sak River confluence the Chao Phraya and the Lop Buri Rivers (now the Chao Phraya River) known as Bang Kaja (บางกะจะ, ). It was made of brick and laterite, built thick, with a boundary marker high, and 8 openings for cannons. In the Ayutthaya period, the area around the fort included a significant trading centre where people of different nationalities resided. One person who used to live in this quarter was Thongdi, a Mon nobleman who was the father of King Rama I, the founder of Rattanakosin Kingdom and the first monarch of Chakri dynasty.