Remnants of the Rattanakosin Walls in Bangkok, Thailand

The notion of historical "eras" often varies between cultures. Monarchies and empires often name eras after rulers, with Victorian and Georgian being examples from the English-speaking world. Even as one of the most important pop acts of the 21st century, Taylor Swift had her own take on "Eras". Thai culture often does timekeeping in its own way. Their numbering of years follows Buddhist benchmarks, rather than the BC/AD originated by Christianity. Also unusually for an often-staunch monarchy, the eras of Thai history are named after the cities that were capitals to the kingdom at the time, such as the Ayutthaya Era, the longest of the named eras as it lasted from 1351 to 1757. It was followed by the shortest, the Thonburi Era of 1767-82 and then the Rattanakosin Era which lasted until 1932. Thonburi was established on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River, while Rattanakosin was founded nearby, on an island on the east bank. Both are now part of Bangkok, the country's current capital, with Rattanakosin considered its historical center. Given Bangkok's strategic position near the crucial river's mouth into the Gulf of Thailand, its islands have had some type of defense since the Ayutthaya Era, but it was during the Thonburi period that the Rattanakosin Island would start to become heavily fortified. By its own era, Rattanakosin would be almost completely enclosed by its defensive walls. It may therefore come as a surprise to find out how little of these defenses still stands. The removal of the Rattanakosin Era walls came about around the end of the era itself. While the current era hasn't yet been named officially, it is likely to be the Bangkok Era (or Krung Thep Era, using the city's short Thai name) and it was the growth of Bangkok to encompass both Thonburi and Rattanakosin that made the defenses obsolete. Given the relative peace of the years since for Thailand, advances in weaponry that make light work of walls, and their impending urban sprawl, most of the walls and other defenses would be taken down, with only these few remnants left.

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