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ARCHITECTURE OF THE 3 KINGDOMS ( 1695-1893 )
Following the death without an heir of King Suriyavongsa in 1695, there began an extended succession dispute which brought about the final disintegration of Lane Xang into the three rival kingdoms of Luang Prabang, Vientiane and Champassak. During the following century Siamese influence in the region grew steadily, and by the mid 18th century Ayutthaya was exacting tribute from all three. Due mainly to the destruction of records during subsequent wars, comparatively little is known of the history of the three kingdoms during this period. However, it is clear that temple-building continued apace in the northern kingdom of Luang Prabang, particularly during the reigns of Kings Ong Nok (1713-1723, who commissioned Wat Nong, Wat Sene and Wat Xieng Lek), Anourathurath (1792-1819, who commissioned Wat May, Wat Phonesay Sanasongkham and Wat Phra That Chomsi and rebuilt Wat Nong) and Chantharath (1850-1868, who commissioned Wat Pa Heuk, Wat Siphouthabath, Wat Pak Ou and Wat Xieng Muan). On the eve of the devastating Chinese Black Flag invasion of 1887 there are said to have been no fewer than 65 wats in the Luang Prabang area; many were subsequently damaged or destroyed, but around half were eventually restored or rebuilt.
In Vientiane this period saw the appearance of the Vientiane (Siamese) style of temple architecture, characterised by a tall and slender sim with short eves. However, comparatively few temples were constructed in Vientiane in the century before the reign of the ill-fated King Anou (Sai Setthathirat IV, 1805-1828), who appears to have compensated for this by making a conscious effort to recreate the splendour of the Lane Xang era, building a new palace and embarking on an ambitious construction programme, both in the capital and in major regional centres such as Nakhon Pathom. A new jade Buddha image was carved to replace the Phra Keo (which had been removed to Bangkok in the wake of the Siamese invasion of 1779), and in 1816 this was ceremoniously installed in a refurbished Ho Phra Keo. An outer cloister was also added to the Phra That Luang, but perhaps the best-known monument of King Anou's reign was the magnificent Wat Sisakhet, built within the royal palace grounds between 1819 and 1824. Wat Sisakhet was the only major structure to survive the devastating Siamese invasion of 1828, in which the capital was razed to the ground and most of its residents relocated to Siam.
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