Sakon Province (also known as Sakon Nakhon Province; Thai: สกลนคร; English: SakonNakhon) is a province in the northeastern part of Thailand. Sakon Nakhon was originally under Khmer rule, but was occupied by the Siamese during the era of Rama I. The Siamese called it "Sakon Tawapi". In 1838, Rama III renamed it "Sakon Nakhon Phu", and the local Chinese customarily called it "Sakon Phu". Sakon Nakhon Province (Sakon Nakhon) covers an area of about 9,605 square kilometers and is about 647 kilometers from Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. It is bounded by Nongkhai Province in the north, Khorasin and Monakhet in the south, Nakhon Phanom in the east, and Udon Province in the west. Sakon Nakhon Province is divided into 18 districts, which are further divided into 125 districts and finally into 1,323 villages.