Hkonmaing ( my, ခုံမှိုင်း , shn, ၶုၼ်မိူင်း; also Hkonmaing Nge, Sao Hkun Mong;Aung Tun 2009: 104 1497–1545) was king of Ava from 1542 to 1545. The ''

saopha Chao-Pha (; Ahom language, Tai Ahom: 𑜋𑜧𑜨 𑜇𑜡, th, เจ้าฟ้า}, shn, ၸဝ်ႈၾႃႉ, translit=Jao3 Fa5 Jao3 Fa5, my, စော်ဘွား ''Sawbwa,'' ) was a royal title used by the hereditary rulers of the T ...

'' of the

Shan state Shan State ( my, ရှမ်းပြည်နယ်, ; shn, မိူင်းတႆး, italics=no) also known by the Endonym and exonym, endonyms Shanland, Muang Tai, and Tailong, is a administrative divisions of Myanmar, state of Myanmar. ...

of Onbaung–Hsipaw was elected by the Ava court to the Ava throne in 1542, by extension the leader of the

Confederation of Shan States The Shan States (1885–1948) were a collection of minor Shan kingdoms called ''muang'' whose rulers bore the title ''saopha'' in British Burma. They were analogous to the princely states of British India. The term "Shan States" was first ...

, despite strenuous objections by the House of

Mohnyin Mohnyin ( my, မိုးညှင်း, ; Shan:မိူင်းယၢင်း) is a town in Kachin State, Myanmar. It is the administrative center for both Mohnyin Township and Mohnyin District and it has a population of 33,290. History T ...

. He was accepted as the leader by other Confederation leaders only because the Confederation was in the middle of a serious war with Toungoo Dynasty. After the Confederation's failed military campaigns in 1543–45 that resulted in the loss of Central Burma, Hkonmaing lost the support of

Sawlon II of Mohnyin Sawlon of Mohnyin ( my, မိုးညှင်းစလုံ ; 1486–1533) was saopha of the Shan state of Mohnyin in the early the 16th century. He is best remembered in Burmese history as the conqueror of Ava Kingdom. Sawlon led a confede ...

. He died in 1545 while fighting a Mohnyin-backed rebellion by

Sithu Kyawhtin Sithu Kyawhtin ( my, စည်သူကျော်ထင်, ; also known as Narapati Sithu (နရပတိ စည်သူ, )) was the last king of Ava from 1551 to 1555. He came to power by overthrowing King Narapati III in 1551, the culmi ...

Background

Born in 1497, the future king was the eldest son of Hkonmaing I, the longtime ruler of Onbaung–Hsipaw. His father was the only ally of King Narapati II of Ava between 1505 and 1527 when they unsuccessfully fought against Sawlon I of Mohnyin. His father later joined the Confederation, and died during or shortly after his participation in the Confederation's 1542 campaign against

Toungoo Dynasty , conventional_long_name = Toungoo dynasty , common_name = Taungoo dynasty , era = , status = Empire , event_start = Independence from Ava , year_start ...

.(Maha Yazawin Vol. 2 2006: 120): Hkonmaing the elder was already dead in Kason 904 ME (15 April 1542 to 14 May 1542) when the Ava court offered the throne to his son, Hkonmaing the younger. Hkonmaing the younger succeeded the Onbaung throne.Maha Yazawin Vol. 2 2006: 120

King of Ava

Accession

Shortly after he became ''saopha'', the Ava court came calling. King

Thohanbwa Thohanbwa ( my, သိုဟန်ဘွား, ; Shan language, Shan: သိူဝ်ႁၢၼ်ၾႃ့; 1505 – May 1542) was king of Ava Kingdom, Ava from 1527 to 1542. The eldest son of Sawlon of Mohnyin was a commander who actively parti ...

, who was deeply unpopular with his subjects even before his military defeats against Toungoo Dynasty,Harvey 1925: 107–108 had been assassinated in May 1542 (Kason 904 ME).(Maha Yazawin Vol. 2 2006: 120): Kason 904 ME = 15 April to 14 May 1542. The court elected Hkonmaing king in June 1542(Maha Yazawin Vol. 2 2006: 121): Waso 904 ME = 13 June to 11 July 1542 after the leader of the court insurrection,

Yan Naung Yan may refer to: Chinese states * Yan (state) (11th century – 222 BC), a major state in northern China during the Zhou dynasty * Yan (Han dynasty kingdom), first appearing in 206 BC * Yan (Three Kingdoms kingdom), officially claimed indepe ...

, rejected the offer.Lieberman 2003: 135 Yan Naung agreed to remain in office and advise the new king for one year.Harvey 1925: 109 The House of Mohnyin was furious. Not only did they believe the Ava throne rightfully belonged to them but they were also appalled by Thohanbwa's assassin Yan Naung remaining in office. Nevertheless,

relented since the Confederation was in the middle of a serious war with Toungoo. The Confederation leadership reluctantly accepted Hkonmaing as king of Ava in August/September 1542,(Maha Yazawin Vol. 2 2003: 121): Tawthalin 904 ME = 11 August 1542 to 9 September 1542 and agreed to continue the war.Maha Yazawin Vol. 2 2006: 121

War with Toungoo

Hkonmaing prepared for war in the next 12 months. All seven Confederation states (Ava, Mohnyin, Momeik, Hsenwi, Bhamo, Hsipaw and Yawnghwe) had agreed to contribute manpower and materiel. He was not able to persuade King

Min Bin Min Bin ( Arakanese and my, မင်းဘင်, , Arakanese pronunciation: ; also known as Min Ba-Gyi (မင်းဗာကြီး, , Meng Ba-Gri, Arakanese pronunciation: ); 1493–1554) was a king of Arakan from 1531 to 1554, "whose re ...

Arakan Arakan ( or ) is a historic coastal region in Southeast Asia. Its borders faced the Bay of Bengal to its west, the Indian subcontinent to its north and Burma proper to its east. The Arakan Mountains isolated the region and made it accessi ...

to stay in the alliance however. In December 1543, he personally led the Confederation's armies and navies, and invaded Lower Burma. After initial successes, they were decisively driven back by February 1544. They could not stop advancing Toungoo forces which took all the way up to

Pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

(Bagan).Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 216–222 It was a complete disaster for Hkonmaing. He had not only failed to retake Prome but also managed to lose all of central Burma. The Confederation leadership was unsure how to respond. They sent a small army led by

as a probe in late 1544, which was subsequently destroyed at Salin.

War with Mohnyin

By then, Sawlon II's patience had run out. He sent Sithu Kyawhtin with an army of 5,000 to take Ava. Sithu Kyawhtin easily took

Sagaing Sagaing (, ) is the former capital of the Sagaing Region of Myanmar. It is located in the Irrawaddy River, to the south-west of Mandalay on the opposite bank of the river. Sagaing with numerous Buddhist monasteries is an important religious and ...

, and attacked Ava (Inwa). The arrival of the rainy season of 1545 saved the day for Hkonmaing. But his territory was now badly splintered: the Mohnyin-controlled west of the Irrawaddy (present-day Sagaing Region and southern Kachin State), and Hsipaw/Onbaung-controlled eastern half (approximately, northern Mandalay Region and western Shan State). He died during the rainy season c. September 1545. He was 48.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{Burmese monarchs Ava dynasty 1545 deaths 1497 births 16th-century Burmese monarchs