Wikipedia
Thesaban (, , ) are the municipalities of Thailand. There are three levels of municipalities: city, town, and sub-district. Both Bangkok and Pattaya are special municipal entities not included in the thesaban system.
The municipalities assume some of the responsibilities which are assigned to the districts ( amphoe) or communes ( tambon) for non-municipal (rural) areas. Historically, this devolution of central government powers grew out of the Sukhaphiban sanitary districts first created in Bangkok by a royal decree of King Chulalongkorn in 1897.
The thesaban system was established in the Thesaban Organization Act of 1934 , and has been updated several times since, starting with the Thesaban Act of 1939 , which was replaced by the Thesaban Act of 1953. The 1953 act was most recently amended by the Thesaban Act (No. 12) of 2003.