Minye Kyawswa I of Ava ( my, မင်းရဲကျော်စွာ, ; also known as Hsinbyushin Minye Kyawswa Gyi (ဆင်ဖြူရှင် မင်းရဲကျော်စွာကြီး, ; –) was king of Ava (Inwa) from 1439 to 1442. In less than three years of rule, the second king from the royal house of Mohnyin (မိုးညှင်းဆက်) had recovered four major former vassal states of Ava: his native

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 ...

Kale Kale (), or leaf cabbage, belongs to a group of cabbage (''Brassica oleracea'') cultivars grown for their edible leaves, although some are used as ornamentals. Kale plants have green or purple leaves, and the central leaves do not form a head ...

(Kalay),

Taungdwin Taungdwingyi ( my, တောင်တွင်းကြီး ) is a town located in Magway Region, Myanmar. Town scape The town is divided into ten main quarters. They are Ohndaw Quarter 1, Ohndaw Quarter 2, Taungbyin Quarter 1, Taungbyin Qua ...

and

Toungoo Taungoo (, ''Tauñngu myoú''; ; also spelled Toungoo) is a district-level city in the Bago Region of Myanmar, 220 km from Yangon, towards the north-eastern end of the division, with mountain ranges to the east and west. The main industr ...

(Taungoo), and was about to capture a fifth,

Mogaung Mogaung ( my, မိုးကောင်း ; ( Shan: မိူင်းၵွင်း) is a town in Kachin State, Myanmar. It is situated on the Mandalay-Myitkyina railway line. History Mogaung or Möngkawng was the name and capital (roya ...

, which was achieved shortly after his death. Despite the successes farther afield, his attempt to capture the closer districts of

Pinle Pinle ( my, ပင်လယ်) is an archaeological excavation site, located in Myittha Township, Mandalay Region, Myanmar. Pinle was a capital of the Myinsaing Kingdom from 1297 to 1313. Pinle today is a village on the edge of the walled Pyu c ...

and

Yamethin Yamethin Township is a township of Yamethin District in the Mandalay Region of Burma (Myanmar). The administrative seat and principal city is Yamethin, which is also the major rail stop in the township, and it has a population of 258,091. Commun ...

failed. His reign marked Ava's first attempt to forcefully reclaim the former vassal states that it had lost since the mid-1420s. As king, Minye Kyawswa implemented a more aggressive policy against the rebel states, which he had advocated for since his days as crown prince of Ava (1426–1439) but could not get his father King

Mohnyin Thado Mohnyin Thado ( my, မိုးညှင်း သတိုး, ; 1379–1439) was king of Ava from 1426 to 1439. He is also known in Burmese history as Mohnyin Min Taya (မိုးညှင်း မင်းတရား, , "Righteous L ...

to prioritize. He launched a major military campaign in every dry season of his short reign.Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 78–81 Ava's campaigns in the kingdom's north benefited greatly from Ming China's campaigns against the powerful Shan-speaking state of

Mong Mao Mong may refer to: People *A proposed original name for the Hmong people, based on the main group, the Mong community * Bob Mong (), American journalist and academic administrator *Henry Mong (), American surgeon and Presbyterian missionary *Mong ...

. King Minye Kyawswa I's expansionist policy would be continued by his successor and brother King Narapati I under whose leadership Ava would reach its height of power in the early second half of the 15th century.Aung-Thwin 2017: 91–93

Early life

The future king was the eldest child of a minor noble family of Shin Myat Hla and Thado (from present-day

Mandalay Region Mandalay Region ( my, မန္တလေးတိုင်းဒေသကြီး, ; formerly Mandalay Division) is an administrative divisions of Myanmar, administrative division of Myanmar. It is located in the center of the country, bordering ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

). He was born in

(present-day

Kachin State Kachin State ( my, ကချင်ပြည်နယ်; Kachin: ), also known by the endonym Kachinland, is the northernmost state of Myanmar. It is bordered by China to the north and east (Tibet and Yunnan, specifically and respectively); Sh ...

) ,The date is based on the king's horoscope as given in (Zata 1960: 76) but using the year (772 ME) given in (Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 284) and (Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 81). A Thursday in the 10th month of 772 ME = (27 November 4 December, 11 December 18 December 1410).
In all, various chronicles provide different dates for his date of birth. The 17th century ''

Zatadawbon Yazawin ''Zatadawbon Yazawin'' ( my, ဇာတာတော်ပုံ ရာဇဝင်, ; also spelled ''Zatatawpon''; ) is the earliest extant chronicle of Burma. The chronicle mainly covers the regnal dates of kings as well as horoscopes of select ...

'' chronicle alone contains two different dates in two different sections: (Zata 1906: 46): one Thursday in the 4th month irst Wasoof 763 ME (i.e. 16 June 23 June, 30 June or 7 July 1401); and (Zata 1906: 76): Born on a Thursday in the 10th month of 763 ME (1401/02) (8, 15, 22, 29 December 1401). The ''

Maha Yazawin The ''Maha Yazawin'', fully the ''Maha Yazawindawgyi'' ( my, မဟာ ရာဇဝင်တော်ကြီး, ) and formerly romanized as the ,. is the first national chronicle of Burma/Myanmar. Completed in 1724 by U Kala, a historian at ...

'' chronicle (Maha Yazawin Vol. 2 2006: 73–74) gives as the birth date.
The ''Yazawin Thit'' chronicle (Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 284) corrects the prior chronicles' date of birth for the king by citing the frescoes at the Golden Monastery (Shwe Kyaung) in Pagan donated by Minye Kyawswa's mother, which says that his parents were married in 771 ME (30 March 1409–29 March 1410), and he was born in 772 ME (30 March 1410–29 March 1411). The ''

Hmannan Yazawin ''Hmannan Maha Yazawindawgyi'' ( my, မှန်နန်း မဟာ ရာဇဝင်တော်ကြီး, ; commonly, ''Hmannan Yazawin''; known in English as the '' Glass Palace Chronicle'') is the first official chronicle of Konbaung ...

'' (Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 81) accepts ''Yazawin Thit's'' correction. about eight months after his parents had relocated to the northern Shan-speaking frontier state, following his father's appointment as ''

sawbwa Chao-Pha (; 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 Tai peoples of ...

'' (lord governor) of the state by King Minkhaung I of Ava.(Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 236) and (Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 81): Thado's appointment to Mohnyin and marriage to Myat Hla took place in 771 ME (30 March 1409–29 March 1410), according to the fresco writings at the Shwe Kyaung (Golden Monastery) in Pagan, donated by Queen Myat Hla herself. Since the appointment and the marriage came after an unsuccessful five-month campaign in 771 ME, and since dry season campaigns typically began after the

Buddhist Lent The ''Vassa'' ( pi, vassa-, script=Latn, sa, varṣa-, script=Latn, both "rain") is the three-month annual retreat observed by Theravada practitioners. Taking place during the wet season, Vassa lasts for three lunar months, usually from July ...

(which ended on 23 September 1409), the events most probably took place in March. He grew up in Mohnyin with his

younger brother Younger Brother is an electronic duo formed in 2003 by Simon Posford and Benji Vaughan. Their debut album '' A Flock of Bleeps'' was released in 2003, followed by '' The Last Days of Gravity'' in 2007 and ''Vaccine'' in 2011. After making a ...

, and two younger sisters.Chronicles do not mention the personal names of King Minye Kyawswa I and his brother King Narapati I. The ''Hmannan Yazawin'' (Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 62) does mention the personal names of their sisters as

Shin Shin may refer to: Biology * The front part of the human leg below the knee * Shinbone, the tibia, the larger of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates Names * Shin (given name) (Katakana: シン, Hiragana: しん), a Japanese ...

Hla Myat and Shin Hla Htut. Unlike his brother, who spent time at the capital Ava (Inwa) as a page of King

Thihathu Thihathu ( my, သီဟသူ, ; 1265–1325) was a co-founder of the Myinsaing Kingdom, and the founder of the Pinya Kingdom in today's central Burma (Myanmar).Coedès 1968: 209 Thihathu was the youngest and most ambitious of the three brother ...

from 1421 to 1425,Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 54 chronicles have no record of Minye Kyawswa spending his early years outside of Mohnyin. He apparently remained alongside his father to his early teens when he was appointed ''sawbwa'' of Moshwe, a small district of Mohnyin.Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 59

Thado's rebellion

His small town life ended in February 1426.(Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 271) and (Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 59): Tabaung 787 ME = 6 February 1426 to 7 March 1426 That month, his father formally revolted against King Min Nyo's regime, and the 15-year-old ''sawbwa'' and his 12-year-old brother, ''sawbwa'' of

Wuntho Wuntho ( my, ဝန်းသို) or Waing Hso ( shn, ဝဵင်းသိူဝ်) was a native state of Upper Burma when Burma (Myanmar), was under British control. It had an area of around with 150,000 inhabitants and lay midway between ...

, became active participants in the rebellion. The brothers' first assignment was notable in that they achieved their first battlefield victory by not strictly following their father's orders. They had sailed down the

Irrawaddy Irrawaddy may refer to: *Irrawaddy River, the main river of Burma *Irrawaddy Delta, a rice growing region of the country *Ayeyarwady Region, an administrative division of Burma *''The Irrawaddy'', a Burmese news publication based in Chiang Mai, Tha ...

with a flotilla of war boats to Thissein, Ava's forward garrison with 2000 troops and 50 war boats, while Thado marched with his army towards the garrison. Though they were to wait for their father, whose army was still ten marches away, the brothers decided to launch a surprise attack from the port-side of the fort. Ava forces were not expecting an attack, and withdrew in disarray.Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 271 Despite the success, their father, a former co-commander-in-chief of the Ava military, would not put his eager but inexperienced sons in the vanguard again for the rest of the campaign. The brothers' next assignment came only in May as Thado's forces closed in on Ava: the brothers dutifully marched to the east of Ava (Inwa) to block a possible escape route of King Nyo but saw no action.Aung-Thwin 2017: 83 Thado entered the royal capital unopposed on 16 May 1426.(Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 272): Thursday, the 10th waxing of Nayon 788 ME = ''Wednesday'', 15 May 1426. The editors of the chronicle (Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 272, footnote 3) accept Thursday, 16 May 1426. On 20 May 1426, Thado formally ascended the throne, and made his eldest son '' einshei min'' (အိမ်ရှေ့မင်း, lit. "Lord of the Front Place", heir apparent) with the title of Minye Kyawswa, and gave Salin, Sagu, and

Legaing Minbu Township ( my, မင်းဘူး မြို့နယ်) is a township of Minbu District in the Magway Region of Myanmar. The principal town is Minbu. The township is home to the Shwe Settaw Pagoda, which holds an annual pagoda festi ...

districts (all three in modern

Minbu District Minbu District is a district of the Magway Division in central Myanmar.Min Hla Nyet, daughter of his paternal aunt Shin Myat Hla and his maternal uncle Thiri Zeya Thura.Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 272Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 61

Crown prince years

Throughout his father's 13-year reign, Minye Kyawswa would prove a loyal deputy albeit with policy differences. The royal chronicles portray the crown prince as far more distrustful of the vassal rulers, and more eager to use force against the rebel states. But he failed to significantly alter the policies of Thado, who never made a sustained effort to establish his authority outside the core zone.Harvey 1925: 97Aung-Thwin 2017: 84–85 The first such episode took place just a few months into Thado's reign when Minye Kyawswa urged Thado to arrest the governors of

(Taungoo) and

, who purportedly had come to Ava to pledge their allegiance. The son argued that the governors—

Thinkhaya III of Toungoo Saw Lu Thinkhaya ( my, စောလူး သင်္ခယာ, ; 1370s–1435) was the ruler of Toungoo from 1420 to 1435. He was first appointed governor of the frontier vassal state by King Minkhaung I of Ava in 1420. Following the succ ...

and

Thihapate III of Taungdwin Thihapate or Thihapatei was a royal, official and military title. Royalty * Thihapate of Sagaing: King of Sagaing (r. 1352−64) * Thihapate of Yamethin: governor of Yamethin (r. 1330s−40s) Governors * Thihapate of Tagaung: governor of Tagaun ...

—had probably come to assess Ava's military strength but the father disagreed. The son's suspicion soon proved correct: the two governors revolted right after they got back to their respective regions.Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 274Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 65 It was not an isolated incident. The crown prince could not get his father to take a harder stance against Prince

Minye Kyawhtin Minye Kyawhtin ( my, မင်းရဲကျော်ထင်, ; also transliterated as Minyekyawdin 1651–1698) was king of Toungoo dynasty of Burma (Myanmar) from 1673 to 1698. Minye Kyawhtin, governor of Pindale, was elected by the ministe ...

either. Although the second-most senior prince of the previous dynasty had never renounced his claim to the Ava throne, and by 1427 had occupied

, only 70 km away from the capital,Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 275Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 66 Thado was unwilling to send the full force against the prince, grandson of his deceased lord, King Minkhaung. Indeed, Thado had even freed the prince back in August 1426, only to see him revolt again just a few months later. Even when Thado finally authorized Minye Kyawswa to lead an expedition to Pinle in late 1428, he gave his son just a small force (1500 troops, 300 cavalry, and 20 elephants). The crown prince dutifully went on to laid siege to the fortified town but the outcome was never in doubt; he had to withdraw after three months, in early 1429. Minye Kyawswa would not get another chance for the next four years. By then, his father had essentially abandoned the reunification project; turned to religion; and began devoting much of the kingdom's resources on building Buddhist

stupa A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circumamb ...

s and monasteries. (In all, Thado would build a total of 27 new pagodas, temples and monasteries, including one at

Rajagaha Rajgir, meaning "The City of Kings," is a historic town in the district of Nalanda in Bihar, India. As the ancient seat and capital of the Haryanka dynasty, the Pradyota dynasty, the Brihadratha dynasty and the Mauryan Empire, as well as the d ...

(ရာဇဂြိုဟ်) in India during his reign. According to a preliminary calculation by

Michael Aung-Thwin Michael Aung-Thwin (1946 – August 14, 2021) was a Burmese American historian and emeritus professor at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, specializing in early Southeast Asian and Burmese history. Early life and education Aung-Thwin wa ...

, the 27 projects may have cost the royal treasury, 1.62 million '' kyats'' (ticals) of silver, "not including the usual endowments of people and land for their subsequent upkeep."Aung-Thwin 2017: 88) In 1431, Thado formally ceded the southernmost districts of Tharrawaddy and

Paungde Paung-deh or Paungde United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. is a town in Pyay District, Pegu region in Burma (Myanmar). It is the administrative seat of Paungde Township Paungde Township is a township in Pyay District in the Bag ...

to King

Binnya Ran I Binnya Ran I ( mnw, ပထမ ဗညာရာံ; my, ပထမ ဗညားရံ, ; 1393–1446) was king of Hanthawaddy Pegu from 1424 to 1446. As crown prince, he ended the Forty Years' War with the rival Ava Kingdom in 1423. He came to th ...

Hanthawaddy Pegu (Mon) ( Burmese) , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Hongsarwatoi (Hanthawaddy) Pegu , common_name = Hongsarwatoi (Hanthawaddy) Kingdom / Ramannya (Ramam) , era = Warring states , status = Kingdom , event_pre ...

without putting up a fight.Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 73–74 In late 1433, Minye Kyawswa managed to get his father's permission to lead an expedition to Pinle and other southeastern states in revolt. Although his army was larger (5000 infantry, 300 cavalry and 120 elephants), it still was not enough to take any rebel-held town. He again came back empty handed in early 1434.Sein Lwin Lay 2006: 29Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 69–70, 166 The failed campaign was the last one Thado would authorize. Over the next five years, the king continued to focus on his pagoda building spree, and little else. Even when Pegu openly seized Toungoo in 1436,Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 166 his response was not launch a punitive campaign but to order a recalibration of the

Burmese calendar The Burmese calendar ( my, မြန်မာသက္ကရာဇ်, , or , ; Burmese Era (BE) or Myanmar Era (ME)) is a lunisolar calendar in which the months are based on lunar months and years are based on sidereal years. The calendar is ...

, over the objection of the court.Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 282Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 78

Reign

Thado died in April 1439, and Minye Kyawswa succeeded without incident.(Aung-Thwin 2017: 88–89, 323, citing (SMK Vol. 5 1998: 4)): The main chronicles and a contemporary inscription (SMK Vol. 5 1998: 4) say King Minye Kyawswa ascended the throne in 801 ME (30 March 1439 to 29 March 1440), an ( Arthein sviniYear). The chronicles (Maha Yazawin Vol. 2 2006: 61, 72) and (Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 61, 76) say King Thado died as his reign was about to turn 13, having come to power in the waxing half of Nayon of 788 ME. Thus, the latest Thado could have died would be the last waxing day of Nayon 801 ME (26 April 1439), and Minye Kyawswa would have been king by 26 April 1439. The two key vassals who could challenge the new 28-year-old king—his brother Prince

Thihathu of Prome Thihathu of Prome ( my, သီဟသူ, ; d. 1288), or Sihasura, was viceroy of Prome (Pyay) from 1275 to 1288. He is known in Burmese history for assassinating his own father King Narathihapate, the last sovereign king of the Pagan Empire, in ...

and his uncle Gov.

Nawrahta I of Myedu Anawrahta (1014–1077) was the founder of the Pagan Empire. Anawrahta or Nawrahta may refer to: People * Anawrahta I of Sagaing (1313–1339), or Shwetaungtet, king of Sagaing 1335/36 – 1339 * Anawrahta II of Sagaing (1326–1349), or Nawrah ...

—both acknowledged him. Even with their support, the realm he inherited was a rump polity that extended only along the narrow north-south axis of the

Irrawaddy river The Irrawaddy River ( Ayeyarwady River; , , from Indic ''revatī'', meaning "abounding in riches") is a river that flows from north to south through Myanmar (Burma). It is the country's largest river and most important commercial waterway. Origi ...

between

Myedu Myedu ( my, မြေဒူးမြို့ ) is a small town located in Kanbalu Township, Sagaing Region, Myanmar (Burma). The town was the fief of King Hsinbyushin (r. 1763–1776) of Konbaung Dynasty The Konbaung dynasty ( my, ကု ...

in the north to

Prome Pyay (, ; mnw, ပြန် , ; also known as Prome and Pyè) is principal town of Pyay Township in the Bago Region in Myanmar. Pyay is located on the bank of the Irrawaddy River, north-west of Yangon. It is an important trade center for the Ayey ...

in the south.Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 68–69 The following major former vassal states remained out of Ava's orbit:Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 282–284Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 78–80 The new king immediately instituted a policy to reclaim the rebel states. (Chronicles attribute this urgency to the two competing prophecies given by the court astrologers at his accession. The story goes that all but one predicted that the new king would reign three years while a lone astrologer predicted that the new king would conquer three (unspecified) countries; Minye Kyawswa is said to have preferred the lone astrologer's prophecy.Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 282–283 He may have believed in the larger group's prophecy as well. He as king would not go to the front in any of the campaigns during his reign although he as crown prince did so in at least three campaigns.) At any rate, Minye Kyawswa shifted much of the resources of his narrow realm, which nonetheless did include the most productive granaries of the kingdom, Mu valley,

Minbu Minbu ( my, မင်းဘူးမြို့) is a city in Magwe Division, Myanmar. , the city has an urban population of 22,962. The area consists of low plain-land towards the Ayeyarwady River, and of undulating country inland rising highe ...

and a large portion of

Kyaukse Kyaukse ( my, ကျောက်ဆည် မြို့, ) is town and capital of Kyaukse District in Mandalay Region, Myanmar. Lying on the Zawgyi River, 25 miles (40 km) south of Mandalay, it is served by the Mandalay-Yangon (Rangoon) railway ...

, away from his father's expensive pagoda building projects,(Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 284) and (Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 80): He built no pagodas or stupas but three monasteries during his reign. and ordered the court to prepare for war in the upcoming dry season. His first target was not his nemesis Minye Kyawhtin at Pinle, just 70 km away from Ava, but his birthplace Mohnyin by the Chinese border, some 400 km away. It was entirely an opportunistic decision. Mohnyin's overlord

had been under attack by the Chinese since 1436,Fernquest 2006: 61 and Mohnyin itself was in a fight with

(Kalay), another former vassal state of Ava. In , Minye Kyawswa ordered his brother-in-law Gov. Thihapate I of Pakhan to march to Mohnyin with a sizeable army (9000 men, 500 cavalry, 30 elephants). The show of force worked. The ''sawbwa'' of Mohnyin submitted without a fight, and the ''sawbwa'' of Kale also submitted soon after. Minye Kyawswa replaced the ''sawbwas'' with his brothers-in-law Thihapate (at Mohnyin) and Thiri Zeya Thura (at Kale/Kalay) to hold his new forward bases. But he decided to hold off an attack on Mogaung itself—as Tho Ngan Bwa by then had survived the first round of Chinese attacks (1436–1439). For his part, Tho Ngan Bwa did not contest Ava's takeover of Mohnyin as he remained preoccupied with the Chinese, (who would return in 1441).Fernquest 2006: 61 In 1440, Minye Kyawswa launched a campaign to conquer the southeastern states. But with the northern front was still in a stalemate, he could allocate only a smaller army (7000 men, 400 cavalry, 20 elephants) to the operation, which was led by his uncle

. The results were decidedly mixed. The small army still could not take heavily fortified

and

. Indeed, its capture of the next two states

and

may have been helped by the decision of the rulers of those regions to engage the army in open battle.Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 79Aung-Thwin 2017: 89 (The Toungoo army fell apart after their leader Min Saw Oo was killed atop his war elephant by

Yazathingyan Yazathingyan ( my, ရာဇသင်္ကြန်, ; 1263 – 1312/13) was a co-founder of Myinsaing Kingdom in present-day Central Burma (Myanmar).Coedès 1968: 209 As a senior commander in the Royal Army of the Pagan Empire, he, along wi ...

, one of the commanders of the Ava army.) Gaining Toungoo in particular was a major achievement. The southeastern state was never part of his father's realm, and had been controlled by the southern

Hanthawaddy Kingdom ( Mon) ( Burmese) , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Hongsarwatoi (Hanthawaddy) Pegu , common_name = Hongsarwatoi (Hanthawaddy) Kingdom / Ramannya (Ramam) , era = Warring states , status = Kingdom , event_pre ...

since 1436. He appointed

Tarabya Tarabya ( ota, Tarabiye, el, Θεραπειά, translit=Therapiá) is a neighbourhood in the Sarıyer district of Istanbul, Turkey. It is located on the European shoreline of the Bosphorus strait, between the neighbourhoods of Yeniköy, Istanbul, ...

governor of Toungoo.Sein Lwin Lay 2006: 30 He also gave Taungdwin to the portfolio of his brother-in-law Thiri Zeya Thura, the ''sawbwa'' of Kale. In the next dry season, Minye Kyawswa reopened the northern front, ordering an attack on Mogaung. (The Ming records say that the Chinese, who had resumed their attacks against Mong Mao since June 1441, had asked Ava and

Hsenwi Theinni or Hsenwi ( shn, ; my, သိန္နီ, ; th, แสนหวี, , ) is a town in northern Shan State of Burma, situated near the north bank of the Nam Tu River and now the centre of Hsenwi Township in Lashio District. It is nort ...

to join in on the attack, offering the Luchuan district (present-day

Longchuan County, Yunnan Longchuan County (; th, เมืองวัน) is a County (People's Republic of China), county located in Dehong Prefecture, Yunnan province, southwestern China. Administration The county seat is in Zhangfeng Town (). Three other Townships ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

) as reward for capturing Si Renfa (Tho Ngan Bwa). However, Ava apparently was not acting because of the Chinese offer as it did not exchange Luchuan for Tho Ngan Bwa. The noncompliance led the Ming court in 1445 to threaten an attack on Ava itself.Fernquest 2006: 62) His two brothers in-law, the ''sawbwas'' of Mohnyin and Kale, went on to lay siege to Mogaung, about 90 km northeast of Mohnyin.Fernquest 2006: 61–62 During the siege, the king died in Ava in December 1441/January 1442, (probably in early January 1442).He likely died in January 1442. The chronicles ''Maha Yazawin'' (Maha Yazawin Vol. 2 2006: 74) and ''Hmannan Yazawin'' (Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 80) say King Minye Kyawswa died in

Tabodwe Tabodwe ( my, တပို့တွဲ) is the eleventh month of the traditional Burmese calendar. Festivals and observances *Full moon of Tabodwe **Harvest Festival () **Mon National Day Rakhine tug of war festival, Yatha Hswe Pwe. *Pagoda fes ...

803 ME (12 December 1441 to 10 January 1442); however, the two chronicles' narrative on the selection of the next king by the court suggests Minye Kyawswa most probably died in late Tabodwe (early January 1442). The ''Yazawin Thit'' chronicle (Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 283) does not mention Tabodwe or any specific month at all; its subsequent narrative (Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 284–285) says after a brief search by the court, the next king, Narapati, arrived at Ava at the beginning of Late

Kason Kason ( my, ကဆုန်; mnw, ပသာ်) is the second month of the traditional Burmese calendar. Festivals and observances *Vesak, Full Moon of Kason () ** Bodhi tree, Bodhi Tree Watering Festival () Kason symbols *Flower: ''Magnolia ch ...

803 ME (11 March 1442), suggesting a more recent death, perhaps even later than January 1442, of King Minye Kyawswa. The 31-year-old king had reigned less than three years.Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 80

Aftermath

Minye Kyawswa did not leave a male heir. In fact, he had only one daughter, Min Mya Hnit. Although his younger brother Viceroy

was next in

line of succession An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.Thihapate of Mohnyin Thihapate of Mohnyin ( my, မိုးညှင်း သီဟပတေ့, ; also spelled Thihapatei of Mong Yang;Fernquest 2006: 61–62, 65 –1450/51) was ''sawbwa'' of Mohnyin from 1439 to 1450/51, and governor of Pakhan from 1429 to 145 ...

. (According to Aung-Thwin, the ministers may have preferred Thihapate because they wished to wield greater power at court, knowing that Thihathu was likely to be a stronger leader than Thihapate.Aung-Thwin 2017: 89–90) The ministers rushed a messenger on horseback to the outskirts of Mogaung, 500 km north of Ava, where Thihapate was besieging the town, to invite him to be king. But he refused, saying that he was neither a son or younger brother of the king, and that the court should give the throne to the rightful heir, Thihathu.Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 81 Only then did the court send a royal flotilla down the Irrawaddy to

(Pyay) to invite Thihathu to Ava. Thihathu accepted, and arrived at Ava on 11 March 1442.(Yazawin Thit Vol. 2 2012: 284): Beginning of the month of Late Kason, 803 ME = Sunday, 11 March 1442 He formally ascended to the throne with the reign name of Narapati on 6 April 1442.(Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 285, and footnote 2): Date of coronation (Friday, 12th waning of Kason 804 ME) per a contemporary inscription at the

Htupayon Pagoda The Htupayon Pagoda ( my, ထူပါရုံ ဘုရား, ) is a Buddhist stupa located in Sagaing, Myanmar. The pagoda has experienced several earthquakes since its foundation in 1444, and undergone at least three major reconstructions. ...

founded by the king himself. The editors of the 1798 ''Yazawin Thit'' chronicle (Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 285, footnote 1) translated the date as 6 May 1442 which was a Sunday, not Friday as per the inscription. The reason for this error seems to be that the editors treated the previous year 803 ME as a great leap year, which added a leap day and a leap month. If 803 ME was a regular year, then the inscription date (Friday, 12th waning of Kason 804 ME) correctly translates to Friday, 6 April 1442.

The 1724 ''Maha Yazawin'' Chronicle (Maha Yazawin Vol. 2 2006: 75) says that Narapati's coronation was on Friday, 1st waning of Kason 804 ME ic which is a copying error for the following reasons: (1) 804 ME did not begin until the 5th waning of Late Kason; and (2) 1st waning of Kason 803 ME did not fall on a Friday but on Monday, 26 March 1442. (The editors of the chronicle (Maha Yazawin Vol. 2 2006: 75, footnote 1) erroneously translated "1st waning of Kason 804 ME" to 25 April 1442, which was a Wednesday.) The 1832 ''Hmannan Yazawin'' chronicle (Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 82) follows the ''Maha Yazawin's'' date of 1st waning of Kason, 804 ME instead of ''Yazawin Thit's'' inscription-supported date. Meanwhile, Thihapate had captured Mogaung, and presented Tho Ngan Bwa to the new king at the coronation ceremony.Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 286

Legacy

Minye Kyawswa's legacy was his policy to restore Ava's former borders. In a marked change from his father's policy, Minye Kyawswa used Ava's still considerable resources to expand his authority outside the core narrow zone he inherited. His goals of reestablishing a "miniature

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. ...

" were reflected in a 1440 inscription from his reign, which according to Aung-Thwin "used, perhaps for the first time, ''amyo-tha'' ��မျိုးသား("sons of the race, or countrymen") as a reference to the people in the Kingdom of Ava. Although it was likely a reference mainly to the dominant Burmese speakers of the kingdom, the context also suggests that it included many who were not originally born Burmese speakers, but belonged to other ethnolinguistic groups, who had become "citizens" of the kingdom."Aung-Thwin 2017: 90 In all, in his short reign of less than three years, Minye Kyawswa successfully had brought four key vassal states (Mohnyin, Kale, Taungdwin and Toungoo) back into the fold, and begun the eventual capture of Mogaung, which was achieved shortly after his death. His expansionist policy would be continued by his brother under whose reign Ava reached its "apogee".

Administration

Minye Kyawswa kept his father's court led by Chief Minister

. He also kept his uncle Nawrahta at

and his younger brother

(Pyay). While he used his uncle to lead a major campaign, he did not involve his younger brother in any of the campaigns or any major decisions. Instead, he installed his brothers-in-law

Thihapate of Mohnyin Thihapate of Mohnyin ( my, မိုးညှင်း သီဟပတေ့, ; also spelled Thihapatei of Mong Yang;Fernquest 2006: 61–62, 65 –1450/51) was ''sawbwa'' of Mohnyin from 1439 to 1450/51, and governor of Pakhan from 1429 to 145 ...

and Thiri Zeya Thura in three of the four newly conquered states (Mohnyin, Kale, Taungdwin), and appointed them to lead the 1441–1442 Mogaung campaign. He apparently trusted Thihapate as his only child Min Mya Hnit was married to Thihapate's son Thinkhaya. At any rate, the distance between the brothers may have led to the court initially selecting Thihapate to be the next king after Minye Kyawswa's death.

List of military campaigns

The following is a list of military campaigns in which he went to the front per the royal chronicles. The campaigns which he ordered as king but did not go to the front are not included.

Historiography

The main chronicles all say that the king was an able leader who possessed good martial abilities but was also short-tempered. But with regard to the key events of his life, various chronicles provide different information. In particular, the earlier chronicles the ''Zatadawbon Yazawin'' and ''Maha Yazawin'' erroneously say the king was born in 1401; the date was corrected to 1410/1411 in the later chronicles.

Ancestry

The king was descended from a distant branch of the

Pinya Pinya ( my, ပင်းယ), or Vijayapura, was the capital of the Kingdom of Pinya, located near Ava, Mandalay Region, Myanmar. It was the residence of the Pinya dynasty who ruled this part of central Myanmar from 1313 to 1365.Hmannan Vol. 1 20 ...

and

royal lines from his father side, and from the maternal line, a two times great grandchild of King

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Minye Kyawswa Of Ava Ava dynasty 1410 births 1442 deaths 15th-century Burmese monarchs