Setthathirath (1534-1572) is considered one of the great leaders in Lao history. In 1570, he successfully defended Laos against the military campaign of the Burmese conqueror Bayinnaung, who had already subdued Xieng Mai (Chiang Mai) in 1556 and Ayutthaya in 1569. Setthathirath was a prolific builder and erected many Buddhist monuments including Wat Xieng Thong in Louang Phrabang and the That Luang in Vientiane. Wikipedia
The definitive Wikipedia entry for Setthathirath. Wikipedia is the biggest multilingual free-content encyclopedia on the Internet. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setthathirath
