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Yazathingyan ( my, ရာဇသင်္ကြန်, ; 1263 – 1312/13) was a co-founder of
Myinsaing Kingdom , conventional_long_name = Myinsaing Kingdom , common_name = Myinsaing Kingdom , era = Warring states , status = Regency , event_pre = , date_pre = 1277–87 , event_start = , year_start ...
in present-day Central
Burma 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 Wells explai ...
(Myanmar).Coedès 1968: 209 As a senior commander in the Royal Army of the
Pagan Empire The Kingdom of Pagan ( my, ပုဂံခေတ်, , ; also known as the Pagan Dynasty and the Pagan Empire; also the Bagan Dynasty or Bagan Empire) was the first Burmese kingdom to unify the regions that would later constitute modern-da ...
, he, along with his two brothers
Athinkhaya Athinkhaya ( my, အသင်္ခယာ, ; also spelled Athinhkaya; 1261 – 1310) 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, h ...
and
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 ...
, led Pagan's successful defense of central Burma against the
Mongol invasions The Mongol invasions and conquests took place during the 13th and 14th centuries, creating history's largest contiguous empire: the Mongol Empire ( 1206- 1368), which by 1300 covered large parts of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastati ...
in 1287. Following the collapse of the Pagan Empire, the brothers became rivals of King
Kyawswa of Pagan Kyawswa ( my, ကျော်စွာ, ; 2 August 1260 – 10 May 1299) was king of the Pagan dynasty of Burma (Myanmar) from 1289 to 1297. Son of the last sovereign king of Pagan Narathihapate, Kyawswa was one of many "kings" that emerged afte ...
in central Burma, and overthrew him in December 1297, nine months after Kyawswa became a Mongol vassal. They successfully defended the second Mongol invasion (1300–01), and emerged the sole rulers of central Burma.


Early life

Yazathingyan was born 1263 to a prominent family in
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 ( ...
in Central Burma. His father
Theinkha Bo Theinkha Bo ( my, သိင်္ခဗိုလ်, ) was the father of kings Athinkhaya, Yazathingyan and Thihathu of Myinsaing, the dynasty that replaced the Pagan Dynasty in 1297.Maha Yazawin Vol. 1 2006: 254 His descendants founded the kingdo ...
was a younger brother of the ''
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 ...
'' (chief) of Binnaka, and had fled to Myinsaing after a dispute with his brother in 1260. Traditional ( British colonial era) scholarship identifies his father as an ethnic Shan.Phayre 1967: 57Harvey 1925: 76 But the historian
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 ...
has rejected the assertion, given that no historical evidence any kind exists to support the claim.(Aung-Thwin 1996: 884–885): Arthur Phayre was the first one to make the assertion, based purely on the chronicles' use of ''sawbwa'', equating the office with ethnicity. GE Harvey (Harvey 1925: 76) inserted the word "Shan", in what he claimed was the direct quote from Hmannan, which says no such thing. In all, no historical evidence of any kind (in Burmese, Shan or anything else) that indicates the ethnicity of their father or the three brothers exists. At any rate, Theinkha Bo married a daughter of a wealthy banker at Myinsaing.(Maha Yazawin Vol. 1 2006: 254): His mother was from a wealthy but commoner ''athi'' (အသည်) family. (Aung-Thwin 1996: 884): The ''athi'' were a class of people not attached to the crown or the ''
sangha Sangha is a Sanskrit word used in many Indian languages, including Pali meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community"; Sangha is often used as a surname across these languages. It was historically used in a political context t ...
''.
Yazathingyan was the second child of the couple's four children. He had an elder brother
Athinkhaya Athinkhaya ( my, အသင်္ခယာ, ; also spelled Athinhkaya; 1261 – 1310) 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, h ...
, a younger brother
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 ...
, and a younger sister Hla Myat.Chronicles ''
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 ...
'' (Zata 1960: 42) and ''
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 t ...
'' (Maha Yazawin Vol. 1 2006: 258–259) both say that Yazathingyan was the eldest, followed by Athinkhaya, Thihathu and their sister. But ''
Yazawin Thit ''Maha Yazawin Thit'' ( my, မဟာ ရာဇဝင် သစ်, ; ; also known as ''Myanmar Yazawin Thit'' or ''Yazawin Thit'') is a national chronicle of Burma (Myanmar). Completed in 1798, the chronicle was the first attempt by the Konbau ...
'' (Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 156–157) corrects it based on a contemporary inscription. Subsequent chronicles (''Hmannan'', ''Dutiya Hmannan'') and scholarship accept Athinkhaya as the eldest.


Royal service

Yazathingyan entered the royal service of King
Narathihapate Narathihapate ( my, နရသီဟပတေ့, ; also Sithu IV of Pagan; 23 April 1238 – 1 July 1287) was the last king of the Pagan Empire who reigned from 1256 to 1287. The king is known in Burmese history as the "Taruk-Pyay Min" ("the King ...
, following the footsteps of Athinkhaya, and was joined by Thihathu. The three brothers distinguished themselves in the war with the Mongols, which began in 1277. Both Athinkhaya and Hla Myat married into the royal family.Than Tun 1964: 277Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 402–403 In 1285, the three brothers, still in their twenties, came to lead the defense of Central Burma. The army had been defeated in northern Burma by the
Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...
in the previous dry-seasons (1283–85). Over the next two years, they manned the front (north of present-day
Mandalay Mandalay ( or ; ) is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. Located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631km (392 miles) (Road Distance) north of Yangon, the city has a population of 1,225,553 (2014 census). Mandalay was fo ...
) while the king and his court relocated to Lower Burma. It was probably during this period that the brothers were given the official titles of Athinkhaya, Yazathingyan and Thihathu by which they would be known in history.(Than Tun 1959: 121): The three brothers are mentioned in an inscription dated 13 February 1289 as Athinkhaya, Yazathingyan and Thihathura. Since Kyawswa would not become king until 30 May 1289, they must have been awarded the titles by Narathihapate. The king later accepted the Mongol suzerainty in January 1287 but was assassinated on 1 July 1287.Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 149, footnote 3 When the Mongols at Tagaung invaded southward, the brothers successfully held the Mongols, who after taking heavy casualties retreated to their base in
Tagaung Tagaung is a town in Mandalay Region of Myanmar (Burma). It is situated on the east bank of the Ayeyarwady River, 127 miles north of Mandalay. Etymology "Tagaung" derives from the Shan language term "Takawng" ( shn, တႃႈၵွင်; ), wh ...
.Aung-Thwin and Hall 2011: 34–35


Rise to power in Central Burma


Viceroy of Mekkhaya

The country fell into anarchy. The Mongols at Tagaung decided not to get involved, leaving the power vacuum unfilled. In Central Burma, the brothers officially took over the leadership of the army, and consolidated their hold of the Kyaukese region, the main granary of the Pagan Kingdom.Than Tun 1959: 121 One of Narathihapate's sons Kyawswa eventually emerged king at Pagan on 30 May 1289 but Kyawswa did not control much beyond the capital. The real power in Central Burma now belonged to the brothers. On 19 February 1293, Kyawswa tried to buy their loyalty by appointing them viceroys of Kyuakse: Athinkhaya as viceroy 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 ( ...
, Yazathingyan as viceroy of
Mekkhaya Mekkhaya ( my, မက္ခရာ; also spelled Mekkara) is a small town just south of Mandalay, Myanmar. It was a co-capital of the Myinsaing Regency from 1297 to 1313. Notable people * Yazathingyan Yazathingyan ( my, ရာဇသင် ...
and Thihathu as viceroy 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 ...
.Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 361–362 The territories they were given to govern were small but the king himself ruled a small region around the capital.Htin Aung 1967: 73 The brothers took the title of viceroy but did not think much of the "king". Their commemorative inscription of their appointment as viceroy actually states that they were equal to the king, and reminds that it was them who defeated the Mongols in 1287. When
Martaban Mottama ( my, မုတ္တမမြို့, ; Muttama mnw, မုဟ်တၟံ, ; formerly Martaban) is a town in the Thaton District of Mon State, Myanmar. Located on the west bank of the Thanlwin river (Salween), on the opposite side ...
(Mottama) in Lower Burma, which had been in revolt since 1285 and officially declared independence from Pagan since 1287, became a vassal of Sukhothai in 1293, it was the brothers who marched to retake the former Pagan territory. Although they were driven back by 1296, it left no doubt as to who held the real power in Central Burma.Htin Aung 1967: 79Aung-Thwin 2017: 25


Overthrow of Kyawswa

In the following years, the brothers continued to consolidate power in Central Burma. Their youngest brother Thihathu was the least diplomatic, proclaiming himself ''hsinbyushin'' (ဆင်ဖြူရှင်, "Lord of the White Elephant") in 1295 and ''mingyi'' (မင်းကြီး, "Great King") in 1296.Than Tun 1959: 122 Though Athinkhaya and Yazathingyan may have tolerated their brother's declarations, Kyawswa felt threatened by them. In January 1297, Kyawswa decided to ask for the protection of the Mongols, and was recognized by the Mongol emperor
Temür Khan Öljeytü Khan ( Mongolian: Өлзийт; Mongolian script: '; ), born Temür ( mn, Төмөр ; ; October 15, 1265 – February 10, 1307), also known as Emperor Chengzong of Yuan () by his temple name ''Chengzong'', was the second emperor of th ...
as King of Pagan on 20 March 1297. The emperor also gave Chinese titles to the brothers as subordinates of Kyawswa.Htin Aung 1967: 74 The brothers ultimately decided to overthrow Kyawswa and face the Mongols. On 17 December 1297, with the help of the dowager queen
Pwa Saw Pwa Saw ( my, ဖွားစော ; also known as Saw Hla Wun (စောလှဝန်း, ); 1240– 1295/96 or 1310s) was a chief queen consort of King Narathihapate of the Pagan Dynasty of Burma (Myanmar). She is remembered as witty, wise ...
, they overthrew Kyawswa, and installed one of Kyawswa's sons, Saw Hnit as their puppet king. The brothers now ruled Central Burma as co-regents from their respective capitals of Myinsaing, Mekkhaya and Pinle.Than Tun 1959: 119, 121–122


Co-regency


Second Mongol invasion

After the overthrow, the brothers braced for a reprisal by the Mongols. But the expected reprisal never came. They became bolder, and allowed Saw Hnit to give his first audience on 8 May 1299. Two days later, they executed Kyawswa and his eldest son
Theingapati , image = , caption = , reign = 30 May 1289 – 17 December 1297 , coronation = , succession = Heir-apparent of Pagan , predecessor = Uzana of Bassein , successor ...
. Another son of Kyawswa, Kumara Kassapa, escaped to Yunnan in September 1299 to seek the help of the Mongols. In January 1300, the brothers decided to force the issue by attacking and occupying southernmost Mongol garrisons at
Singu Singu is a town in the Mandalay Region of central Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speaker ...
and
Male Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to ...
. The Mongol government at Yunnan could not respond until a year later, sending a 12,000-strong army. The brothers decided to face the Mongols in Central Burma at their heavily fortified city of Myinsaing. The Mongol army began the siege of Myinsaing on 25 January 1301, and launched a major attack on the fort on 28 February 1301. The attack failed. On 12 March 1301, Athinkhaya, with his brothers' support, made an offer to the Mongol command, to give them a bribe in exchange for their withdrawal.Than Tun 1964: 278 The Mongol command agreed. On 6 April 1301, upon receiving a bribe of 800 taels (30 kg) of gold and 2200 taels (83 kg) of silver, the Mongol army began their withdrawal.Harvey 1925: 77 The Yunnan government did not agree with the withdrawal; the two senior Mongol commanders were executed for abandoning the original mission. Nonetheless, the Mongols did not send another expedition, and withdrew altogether from northern Burma two years later.Harvey 1925: 78


Post-invasion

The Mongols left northern Burma to their nominal vassals, the
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 firs ...
.Harvey 1925: 73 The brothers were able to extend their influence as far north as Tagaung but no further. The brothers' joint-rule survived despite Thihathu's ambitions. The youngest brother assumed a royal title of Ananda Thiha Thura Zeya Dewa in 1306, and proclaimed himself king on 20 October 1309. It is not known what the two elder brothers made of the proclamations. At any rate, Athinkhaya died on 13 April 1310 and the two younger brothers were still alive.Than Tun 1959: 123 Yazathingyan passed to the background and died in 1312/13.The main chronicles before ''Hmannan'' all say Yazathingyan died in 674 ME (1312/13): see (Zata 1960: 43), (Maha Yazawin Vol. 1 2006: 259) and (Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 156–157). ''Hmannan'' (Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 369) in contradiction to the prior chronicles says Yazathingyan died in 665 ME (1303/04) but inscriptional evidence shows it is incorrect. Thihathu proclaimed himself as the successor of the Pagan dynasty, as he founded
Pinya Kingdom The Kingdom of Pinya ( my, ပင်းယခေတ်, ), also known as the Vijaia State (၀ိဇယတိုင်း), was the kingdom that ruled Central Myanmar (Burma) from 1313 to 1365. It was the successor state of Myinsaing, the poli ...
on 7 February 1313.Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 370


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * {{Burmese monarchs Pagan dynasty Myinsaing dynasty 1260s births 1310s deaths 13th-century Burmese monarchs 14th-century Burmese monarchs