the dominant religion in Burma, with strong ties to Sri Lankan Buddhism. One of their kings, Dhammazedi, is particularly known for his reformation of Burmese Buddhism from the Sri Lankan Mahavihara tradition between 1476 and 1479. Theravada remained the official religion of the subsequent Burmese Taungoo Dynasty (1510–1752). During the reign of the Khmer King Jayavarman VII (r. c. 1181–1218), Theravada Buddhism was promoted by the royal family and Sri Lankan monks, including his son Tamalinda who himself had traveled to Sri Lanka. During the 13th and 14th centuries, Theravada became the dominant religion of Cambodia, and monasteries replaced the local priestly classes. The Theravāda faith was also adopted by the Thai kingdom of Sukhothai as the state religion during the reign of Ram Khamhaeng (1237/1247–1298). Theravāda Buddhism was further reinforced during the Ayutthaya period (14th–18th century), becoming an integral part of Thai society. Modern period The modern era brought new challenges to the Buddhist religion such as the colonization of traditionally Buddhist Asian countries by Western states, which weakened the traditional political structures which supported the religion, as well as criticism and competition from Christianity. Modern wars, communist anti-religious pressure, the growth of capitalism, modern science and regional political instability are also influential pressures on modern Buddhism. South and Southeast Asia In British Ceylon, Christian missionaries ran all the state-approved schools and commonly criticized Buddhist beliefs. By 1865, Buddhist monks began a counter movement against Christian attacks, printing pamphlets and debating Christians in public, such as at the famous Panadura debate in 1873, which saw the monk Gunananda win a debate in front of a crowd of 10,000. During this period a new form of Buddhism began to take shape, termed Buddhist modernism (or sometimes "Protestant Buddhism"), which tended to see the Buddha from a humanist point of view and claimed that Buddhism was a rational and scientific religion. Important figures in this new movement include the American convert Henry Olcott (1832–1907) and Anagarika Dharmapala (1864–1933), who promoted Buddhist schools, lay organizations and the printing of newspapers. Dharmapala also founded the Mahā Bodhi Society to restore the dilapidated Indian site of Bodh Gaya. Dharmapala also traveled to the UK and the US to teach Buddhism. This society helped usher in a revival of Buddhism in India, where Buddhism became popular among some Indian intellectuals. One of these was the lawyer B. R. Ambedkar (1891–1956), leader of the Dalit Buddhist