Ban Tha Lat, Mon inscription (9th CE), was found in 1968, in an area where other pieces of archaeological evidence testified to an ancient Mon presence. It is now at Ho Phra Kaeo Museum, Vientiane, Laos[1][2] Buddha sculptures at Pha That Luang Haw Phra Kaew or Temple of the Emerald BuddhaDvaravati city state kingdoms

By the 6th century in the Chao Phraya River Valley, Mon peoples had coalesced to create the Dvaravati kingdoms. In the north, Haripunjaya (Lamphun) emerged as a rival power to the Dvaravati. By the 8th century the Mon had pushed north to create city states, in Fa Daet (modern Kalasin, northeastern Thailand), Sri Gotapura (Sikhottabong) near modern Tha Khek, Laos, Muang Sua (Luang Prabang), and Chantaburi (Vientiane). In the 8th century CE, Sri Gotapura (Sikhottabong) was the strongest of these early city states, and controlled trade throughout the middle Mekong region. The city states were loosely bound politically, but were culturally similar and introduced Therevada Buddhism from Sri Lankan missionaries throughout the region.[3][4][5][6]: 6, 7 [7][8]

Myth

The great Laotian epic, the Phra Lak Phra Lam, claims that Prince Thattaradtha founded the city when he left the legendary Lao kingdom of Muong Inthapatha Maha Nakhone because he was denied the throne in favor of his younger brother. Thattaradtha founded a city called Maha Thani Si Phan Phao on the western banks of the Mekong River; this city was said to have later become today's Udon Thani, Thailand. One day, a seven-headed Naga told Thattaradtha to start a new city on the east bank of the river opposite Maha Thani Si Phan Phao. The prince called this city Chanthabuly Si Sattanakhanahud; which was said to be the predecessor of modern Vientiane.[citation needed]

Contrary to the Phra Lak Phra Lam, most historians believe Vientiane was an early Mon settlement, which later came under the domination of the Khmer Empire. In the 11th and 12th centuries, the time when the Lao and Thai people are believed to have entered Southeast Asia from Southern China, the few remaining Mon and Khmer in the area moved or assimilated into the Lao civilization, which would soon overtake the area.[citation needed]

Khmer domination

The earliest reference of the name Vientiane can be seen on a Vietnamese inscription of Duke Đỗ Anh Vũ, dated 1159 during the Khmer-Viet conflict. The inscription says that in 1135, Văn Đan (Vientiane), a vassal of Zhenla (Khmer Empire), invaded Nghe An, but was repelled by the Duke; the Duke led an army chased the invaders as far as Vũ Ôn? (unattested), and then returned with captives.[9]: 65  This name may have traced it origin to Wèndān, a supposedly kingdom located in the Khorat Plateau, mentioned by a ninth-century Chinese writer described a trade route which started at Hanoi and crossed the western mountains to Wèndān.

Lan Xang and French colonial rule

In 1354, when Fa Ngum founded the kingdom of Lan Xang.[10]: 223  Vientiane became an important administrative city, even though it was not made the capital. King Setthathirath officially established it as the capital of Lan Xang in 1563, to avoid Burmese invasion.[11] When Lan Xang fell apart in 1707, it became an independent Kingdom of Vientiane. In 1779, it was conquered by the Siamese general Phraya Chakri and made a vassal of Siam.

When King Anouvong raised an unsuccessful rebellion, it was obliterated by Siamese armies in 1827. The city was burned to the ground and was looted of nearly all Laotian artifacts, including Buddha statues and people. Vientiane was in great disrepair, depopulated and disappearing into the forest when the French arrived. It eventually passed to French rule in 1893. It became the capital of the French protectorate of Laos in 1899. During the French colonial period, the city was rebuilt and various Buddhist temples such as Pha That Luang, Haw Phra Kaew were repaired.

During French rule, the Vietnamese were encouraged to migrate to Laos, which resulted in 53% of the population of Vientiane being Vietnamese in the year 1943.[12] As late as 1945, the French drew up an ambitious plan to move massive Vietnamese population to three key areas (i.e. the Vientiane Plain, the Savannakhet region, and the Bolaven Plateau), which was only interrupted by the Japanese invasion of Indochina.[12] If this plan had been implemented, according to Martin Stuart-Fox, the Lao might well have lost control over their own country.[12]

During World War II, Vientiane fell with little resistance and was occupied by Japanese forces, under the command of Sako Masanori.[13] On 9 March 1945, French paratroopers arrived and reoccupied the city on 24 April 1945.[14]: 736 

Independence

The city became the national capital of the newly independent Lao state in 1953.

As the Laotian Civil War broke out between the Royal Lao Government and the Pathet Lao, Vientiane became unstable. In August 1960, Kong Le seized the capital and insisted that Souvanna Phouma become prime minister. In mid-December, Phoumi Nosavan then seized the capital, overthrew the Phouma Government, and installed Boun Oum as prime minister. In mid-1975, Pathet Lao troops moved towards the city and Americans began evacuating the capital. On 23 August 1975, a contingent of 50 Pathet Lao women symbolically liberated the city.[14] On 2 December 1975, the communist party of the Pathet Lao took over Vientiane, defeated the Kingdom of Laos, and renamed the country the Lao People's Democratic Republic, which ended the Laotian Civil War. The next day, an Insurgency in Laos began in the jungle, with the Pathet Lao fighting factions of Hmong and royalists.

Vientiane was the host of the incident-free 2009 Southeast Asian Games. Eighteen competitions were dropped from the previous games held in Thailand, due to Laos' landlocked borders and the lack of adequate facilities in Vientiane.