<P> By 1550, the kingdom's vassals included some city - states in the Malay Peninsula, Sukhothai, Lan Na and parts of Burma and Cambodia . This part of the Kingdom's history is sometimes referred to as' The Ayutthayan Empire .' </P> <P> In foreign accounts, Ayutthaya was called Siam, but many sources say the people of Ayutthaya called themselves Tai, and their kingdom Krung Tai (Thai: กรุง ไท) meaning "The Tai country" (กรุง ไท). It was also referred to as Iudea in a painting that was requested by the Dutch East India Company </P> <P> According to the most widely accepted version of its origin, the Thai state based at Ayutthaya in the valley of the Chao Phraya River rose from the earlier, nearby Lavo Kingdom (at that time, still under the control of the Khmer Empire) and Suvarnabhumi . One source says that in the mid-fourteenth century, due to the threat of an epidemic, King Uthong moved his court south into the rich floodplain of the Chao Phraya River onto an island surrounded by rivers . The name of the city indicates the influence of Hinduism in the region . It is believed that this city is associated with the Thai national epic, the Ramakien, which is the Thai version of the Ramayana . </P> <P> Ayutthaya began its hegemony by conquering northern kingdoms and city - states like Sukhothai, Kamphaeng Phet and Phitsanulok . Before the end of the fifteenth century, Ayutthaya launched attacks on Angkor, the classical great power of the region . Angkor's influence eventually faded from the Chao Phraya River Plain while Ayutthaya became a new great power . </P>

How many dynasties ruled over ayutthaya in total