Lān Xāng Hôm Khāo is one romanization of the Lao name ລ້ານຊ້າງຮົ່ມຂາວ ([lâːn sâːŋ hōm kʰǎːw]), meaning "the Million Elephants and the White Parasol".

The Tai peoples migrated south in a series of waves beginning in the 7th century and accelerated following the Mongol conquest of Yunnan (1253–1256) into the northern reaches of what would become the kingdom of Lan Xang.

[12] The cultural memory of the early migrations and the mixing of Tai influence with the indigenous, Mon, and Khmer peoples were preserved in the origin myths and traditions of Lan Xang.

Fa Ngum's campaign started in southern Laos, taking the towns and cities in the region around Champasak and moving northward through Thakek and Kham Muang along the middle Mekong.

Continuing his conquests Fa Ngum turned toward the Sip Song Chau Tai along the Red and Black River valleys, which were heavily populated with Lao.

From 1428 to 1440 seven kings ruled Lan Xang; all were killed by assassination or intrigue guided by a Queen known only by her title as Maha Devi or as Nang Keo Phimpha "The Cruel".

The elephant was recognized as a symbol of kingship throughout Southeast Asia and Lê Thánh Tông requested the animal's hair to be brought as a gift to the Vietnamese court.

[33] Prince Thaen Kham then offered to restore his father Chakkphat to the throne, but he refused and abdicated in favor of his son who was crowned as Suvanna Balang (The Golden Chair) in 1479.

Vientiane was the principal city of Lan Xang, and lay at the confluence of trade routes, but that access also made it the focal point for invasion from which it was difficult to defend.

In response, Chairacha set out at the head of a second army in 1547 to take Chiang Mai where he was again defeated and forced into full retreat to Ayutthaya, where he died almost immediately upon his return.

Facing the threat of a superior Burmese force, King Chakkraphat had lost a potential alliance with Lan Xang, the northern territories of Ayutthaya and his daughter.

Facing disease, malnutrition and demoralizing guerrilla warfare, King Bayinnaung was forced to retreat in 1565 leaving Lan Xang the only remaining independent Tai kingdom.

Realizing Phitsanulok was too fortified, King Setthathirath withdrew his attack, but set up a devastating counter ambush on his retreat to Vientiane in which five pursuing Burmese generals were killed.

[61] After a two-day struggle the Lan Xang forces prevailed at the Pa Sak Valley near Phetchabun, at which point one of the commanding generals from Nakhon Phanom broke south toward Ayutthaya.

Defeating the Khmer would have greatly strengthened Lan Xang, giving it vital sea access, trade opportunities, and most importantly, European firearms which had been growing use since the early 1500s.

In 1591 he was crowned in Vientiane, gathered an army and marched to Luang Prabang where he reunited the cities, declared Lan Xang independence and cast off any allegiance to the Toungoo Empire.

King Naresuan dispatched a large army and turned on Tharrawaddy Min, forcing the Burmese to accept Ayutthaya as independent and Lanna as a vassal kingdom.

A succession dispute took place where the king's nephew Prince Sai Ong Hue emerged; Sourigna Vongsa's grandsons fled into exile in Sipsong Panna and Princess Sumangala to Champasak.

The river provided the means for the people, commerce and armies of Lan Xang to move between regional power centers, but also formed important geographic and defensive barriers.

South of Vientiane on the Khorat Plateau, Nong Bua Lamphu (or Muang Dan) was a major fortified city and traditionally administered by the Lao crown princes.

[80] Lao society was divided with the religious and secular authority of the royal family at the top, followed by nobles, and then the peasantry which included merchants, artisans, farmers, and general laborers.

[84] Animism was also one of the earliest, enduring and most important belief systems to the Lao-Tai groups, and the traditions and practices which began in Lan Xang have remained a vital part of Lao spirituality.

The Lao Loum believed that ancient mythical serpents known as ngueak inhabited major waterways, carving out the surrounding countryside and protecting key points along rivers or other bodies of water.

[88] Phi were believed to influence natural phenomena including human illness and thus the baci became an important part of Lao identity and religious health over the millennia.

In the north and northwest the overland trade routes from Burma and Lanna passed through Lan Xang and Sipsong Panna ( Xishuangbanna ) toward Yunnan, where they would join with the Chinese Tea-Horse Road.

Subsistence farming of root crops, bananas, gourds, cucumbers, yams, water buffalo, chickens, pigs and other domesticated animals was indigenous within Lan Xang.

Elephants, ivory, benzoin resin (similar to Frankincense), lac (used in lacquer production), cardamom, beeswax, rhinoceros horn, along with porcupine quills and a variety of skins were commonly traded.

[93] Villages would specialize in a particular craft or skill where they would manufacture tools, weapons, pottery, paper, jewelry, alcohol (lao-lao), elephant training or other unique trades.

Surrounding Lan Xang were populous and powerful neighboring states: Ming China, Burma, Ayutthaya, Sukhothai, Lanna, the Đại Việt and the Khmer.

[102] Access to advanced European weapons proved decisive during the Burmese invasions of Lan Xang and would become more important in subsequent wars with Vietnam and Thailand during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.