Thiri Thihathura Shwetaungtet ( my, သီရိ သီဟသူရ ရွှေတောင်တက် ; also Anawrahta I of Sagaing; 1313–1339) was king of
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 ...
from 1335/36 to 1339. He came to power by deposing his father
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, ...
. He was assassinated three years later by the loyalists of his father.
Brief
His father
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, ...
was a commoner stepson 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 ...
of
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 ...
; his mother, whose identity is unknown, may have been of royal descent.
[Tarabya was adopted in 1298, and grew up as an adopted son of Thihathu, co-regent of ]Myinsaing
Kyaukse District is a district of the Mandalay Region in central Myanmar.
Townships
The district contains the following townships:
*Kyaukse Township
*Sintgaing Township
*Myittha Township
Tada-U Township was promoted as Tada-U District
Tada-U ( ...
. Thus, Tarabya likely married a royal. Shwedaungtet was likely born in either 1313 in
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 ...
or 1312 in
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 ...
.
[''Yazawin Thit'' and ''Hmannan'' imply that he was born in Pinle whereas ''Zata'' implies that he was born in Pinya. (Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 174) and (Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 390) imply that he was born 1312, ''Zata'' says he was born in September 1313. Per (Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 370), Thihathu moved to Pinya on 7 February 1313 from Pinle.] From 1315 onwards, he grew up in
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 ...
as Tarabya followed Prince
Saw Yun
, image =
, caption =
, reign = 15 May 1315 – 5 February 1327
, coronation =
, succession = King of Sagaing
, predecessor = Thihathu
, successor = Tar ...
's insurrection of Thihathu in 1315.
Shwedaungtet's stature likely grew after his father succeeded Saw Yun as ruler of Sagaing in 1327.
[Than Tun 1959: 126] While Tarabya may have been a regent on behalf of Saw Yun's young children—the eldest son
Kyaswa
Kyaswa ( my, ကျစွာ, ; 1198–1251) was the king of the Pagan dynasty of Burma (Myanmar) from 1235 to 1251. Kyaswa succeeded his father Htilominlo and was even more devout.Harvey 1925: 59Coedès 1968: 183 Kyaswa's reign like his father ...
was not yet 4—Shwedaungtet was nearly ten years older than Kyaswa. Although Shwedaungtet's claim to the throne was weaker than those of the three sons of Saw Yun, he eyed the throne nonetheless. He decided to act before his cousins reached teenage years. In 1335/36,
[All main four royal chronicles say that Tarabya was dethroned in 698 ME (29 March 1336 to 28 March 1337). But inscriptional evidence per (Than Tun 1959: 126) shows that Tarabya lost power in 697 ME (29 March 1335 to 28 March 1336).] he successfully staged a palace coup and imprisoned his father.
[Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 389]
The usurper, now with the reign names of Anawrahta
[ and Thiri Thihathura][The name Shwedaungtet, "Climber of Golden Mountain" itself was a title; the "Mountain" here refers to the throne.] however could not eliminate Saw Yun's children. The dowager Queen Saw Hnaung with the help of Chief Minister Nanda Pakyan
Nanda Pakyan ( my, နန္ဒပကြံ, ; also spelled Ananda Pakyan; 1280s – 1350s) was chief minister of Sagaing from the 1330s to the 1350s. The powerful minister placed at least three kings Kyaswa (r. 1339−49), Anawrahta II (r. 13 ...
hid the children (and Thado Hsinhtein, the husband of the eldest child Soe Min Kodawgyi
Soe Min Kodawgyi ( my, စိုးမင်း ကိုယ်တော်ကြီး, ) was the chief queen consort of Sagaing from 1352 to 1364. The eldest daughter of the founder of Sagaing Saw Yun was a powerful figure who twice led diplo ...
) in faraway Mindon inside Pinya territory.[Than Tun 1959: 127] She had to continue bribing the powerful minister, who may have also been her lover.[Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 389−390]
In 1339, Shwedaungtet located the whereabouts of his cousins, led an expedition into Pinya territory, brought them back to Sagaing. But he was assassinated August 1339,[Based on chronicle reporting their ages at death, Tarabya and Shwetaungtet died sometime between 23 July 1339 and 4 September 1339. Per (Zata 1960: 43, 70), Shwetaungtet died at age 25, meaning he lost power before he turned 26 on the 2nd waxing of Thadingyut 701 ME (Sat, 4 September 1339). Per (Zata 1960: 43), Tarabya died at age 42 (43rd year), meaning on or after the 3rd waning of Wagaung 701 ME (23 July 1339).] soon after he got back to the Sagaing Palace, by the loyalists of his father the deposed king.[ Chief Minister Nanda Pakyan's forces ultimately defeated Tarabya's loyalists in the ensuing battle. The powerful minister ordered the execution of Tarabya, and placed Kyaswa on the throne.][Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 390−391]
Chronicle reporting differences
The royal chronicles do not agree on his birth, death and reign dates.
Notes
References
Bibliography
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{{Burmese monarchs
Myinsaing dynasty
Sagaing dynasty
1339 deaths
1313 births
14th-century Burmese monarchs