Lan Na is the name of a conglomerate of Thai city-states that covered roughly the area of modern north Thailand between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries. Lan Na's influence reached far into the neighbouring regions, most under the leadership of the city-state of Chiang Mai. Beginning with the popular legends, this wide-ranging narrative takes us through prehistoric and protohistoric periods, through history, up to the present day. While the writing of Lan Na history is still in its infancy, this brief and highly readable volume is a welcome step towards developing a fuller history of Northern Thailand.  About the author Dr. Hans Penth (1937–2009) was a philologist-historian who specialised in northern Thai history. He began working at Chiang Mai University in 1965, where he later founded the Archive of Lan Na inscriptions. Dr. Penth has to his credit over one hundred scholarly publications, including the  Jinakalamali Index .