Maha Dhammaraza Dipati ( my, မဟာ ဓမ္မရာဇာ ဓိပတိ, ; pi, Mahādhammarājadhipati; 1714–1754), was the last king of

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

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) from 1733 to 1752. The young king inherited a kingdom already in severe decline, and his inexperience only made the decline faster, finally resulting in the end of House of Toungoo and the collapse of the kingdom over his 18-year reign.Htin Aung 1967: 152–156

Early life

The future king was born to Prince Taninganway and his chief queen Thiri Maha Mingala Dewi. He was the fifth child and fourth son of the couple. He was given Singu in fief in his youth. He became the heir presumptive because all three elder brothers died young. He was made the heir apparent on 6 May 1727 (1st waning of Kason 1089 ME).Hmannan Vol. 3 2003: 362

Reign

Five years into his reign, the armies of

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of ...

invaded and plundered the northern Burmese provinces. The Burmese were unable to suppress them. Since the move of capital from

Pegu Bago (formerly spelt Pegu; , ), formerly known as Hanthawaddy, is a city and the capital of the Bago Region in Myanmar. It is located north-east of Yangon. Etymology The Burmese name Bago (ပဲခူး) is likely derived from the Mon langua ...

to Ava by King Thalun in 1635, Pegu had become the rallying point for the Mon revival and insurgency. The Burmese governors were readily hated due to heavy corrupted taxation. Taking the advantage of weak royal authority after the Manipur invasions, a Burmese governor rebelled and proclaimed himself the King of Pegu in 1740. The Mons, unwilling to have a Burmese king in Pegu, rioted and murdered the new king. Mahadhammaraza Dipati then installed his uncle as the new governor of Pegu. Yet the Mons were still unsatisfied and went on to kill Burmese officials in Pegu. The king was then enraged at the Mons and ordered a massacre of the Mons at Pegu. The Gwe Shans (the Shans who were taken as captives from their northern homelands to Pegu by King Bayinnaung in the 16th century) took this opportunity to stage their own rebellion. The Shan armies with supports from the Mons took Pegu in 1740. A popular monk of Shan origin was proclaimed Gwe Min the King of Pegu. As Ava was largely distracted by another Manipur invasion. The Peguan armies invaded

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 Aye ...

and Ava but failed. They were able to take

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 industry ...

. Thado Minkhaung, the viceroy of Prome and Mahadhammaraza Dipati’s brother, hurried south and took Syriam but was soon repelled. Prome eventually fell to the Mons in 1745. The Mons tried to take Ava again without success. In 1747, Binnya Dala was proclaimed the King of Pegu. The two sides were unable to overcome each other until 1751 when the crown prince of Pegu (Binnya Dala’s brother) marched the Peguan armies into Upper Irrawaddy and laid siege on

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 m ...

and Ava. Ava fell to the Mons on 22 March 1752 (Wednesday, 8th waxing of Late Tagu 1113 ME) and Maha Dhammaraza Dipati was taken as captive down to Pegu.Hmannan Vol. 3 2003: 392–395 Mahadhammaraza Dipati had survived for another two years before being executed in 1754 due to a suspected rebellion.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mahadhammaraza Dipadi Rulers of Toungoo 1714 births 1754 deaths 18th-century Burmese monarchs