Suphan Buri () is a town (thesaban mueang) in central Thailand. It covers tambon Tha Philiang and parts of tambons Rua Yai and Tha Rahat, all within the Mueang Suphan Buri District. As of 2006 it had a population of 26,656. The town is 101 km north-northwest of Bangkok. Geography Suphan Buri lies on the Tha Chin River (known locally as the Suphan River), at an elevation of . The surrounding area is low-lying and flat, with rice farms covering much of the land. Climate Suphan Buri has a tropical wet and dry climate (Köppen climate classification Aw). Winters are quite dry and very warm. Temperatures rise until April, which is very hot with the average daily maximum at . The monsoon season runs from May through October, with heavy rain and somewhat cooler temperatures during the day, although nights remain warm. History 19th-century Siamese historian and statesman Damrong Rajanubhab speculated that the city was founded under the name Suvarnapurī around 1350, around the time when nearby U Thong was plagued by an epidemic. U Thong was the capital of the Kingdom of Suphannaphum, one of the mueang of the Dvaravati period, in which Ramathibodi I had reigned before founding Ayutthaya, the capital of the homonymous kingdom in the same period. U Thong's ancient name was Suphannaphum or Suvarnabhumi (literally: the origin or birthplace of gold), which was probably abandoned when the water shortage epidemic raged and Suvarnapurī was founded along the Tha Chin River. Ramathibodi appointed his brother-in-law Khunluang Pha Ngua as governor of Suvarnapurī, who gave the city its present name Suphanburi and who would become king of Ayutthaya in 1370 with the name Borommarachathirat I. Later, Suphanburi remained a frontier town between Siam and the kingdoms that alternated in modern day Burma. Several battles were fought in its surroundings between the Siamese and Burmese armies until the first half of the 19th century. The most important was the one that took place on January 18, 1593 in Nong Sarai, a few kilometers northwest of the city. The battle was in progress, when the Siamese king Naresuan challenged the heir to the throne of the Toungoo dynasty to a duel on the back of elephants to decide the fate of the clash. Within minutes Naresuan killed his rival, the Burmese troops withdrew and Ayutthaya thus gained independence after 29 years of vassalage at Pegu's court. The provincial coat