Uzana I of Pinya
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, image = , caption = , reign = February 1325 – 1 September 1340 , coronation = , succession = King of Pinya , predecessor =
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 ...
, successor = Sithu , suc-type = Successor , reg-type = Chief Minister , regent = Ananda Pyissi , spouse = Atula Maha Dhamma Dewi , issue = Sithu Min Oo
Thihapate
Saw Pa Oh
Mway Medaw , issue-link = , full name = Anawrahta Maha Dipati , house =
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 ( ...
, father =
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 ...
, mother =
Mi Saw U , image = , caption = , reign = 7 February 1313 – February 1325 , coronation = , succession = Chief queen consort of Pinya , predecessor = new office , successor ...
, birth_date = June 1298
Tuesday,
Waso Waso ( my, ဝါဆို; formerly Nweta () or Myayta (Old Burmese: မ္လယ်တာ (မြေတာ)) is the fourth month of the traditional Burmese calendar. Festivals and observances * Dhammacakka Day () - full moon of Waso *Beginning ...
660 ME , birth_place =
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 ...
, Myinsaing Regency , death_date = 1356/1357 (aged 58)
718 ME , death_place =
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 ...
,
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 ...
, date of burial = , place of burial = , religion =
Theravada Buddhism ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
, signature = Uzana I of Pinya ( my, ပင်းယ ဥဇနာ, ; 1298 – 1356/1357) was king 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 ...
from 1325 to 1340. Of Pagan royalty, Uzana inherited a disunited kingdom, which fell apart right after his predecessor
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 ...
's death. Not only could he not retake the northern
Sagaing Kingdom The Sagaing Kingdom ( my, စစ်ကိုင်း နေပြည်တော်, ) was a small kingdom ruled by a junior branch of the Myinsaing dynasty from 1315 to 1365. Originally the northern province of Sagaing of the Pinya Kingdom, ...
but he also had little control over his southern vassals. Even in his core power base in present-day 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 speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
(Burma), Uzana faced a serious rival in his half-brother Kyawswa. He ultimately lost the power struggle, and abdicated the throne in 1340 to a regent. He lived out his last years as a monk in
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 ...
.


Early life

Born in June 1298,(Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 379): His mother was three months pregnant when his father was overthrown. Per (Than Tun 1959: 119), Kyawswa was dethroned on 17 December 1297. Uzana was the biological child 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 ...
(r. 1289–97) and Queen
Mi Saw U , image = , caption = , reign = 7 February 1313 – February 1325 , coronation = , succession = Chief queen consort of Pinya , predecessor = new office , successor ...
. By his birth, his father had been dethroned for six months, and his mother had been taken by
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 ...
, one of the three brothers and former Pagan generals who overthrew Kyawswa.Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 379 Adopted at birth by Thihathu, co-regent of the newly founded
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 ...
, Uzana never knew his biological father who was executed on the orders of the three regents in 1299.Than Tun 1959: 121 The young prince grew up 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 ...
with Thihathu's children: his two maternal half-siblings Kyawswa and Nawrahta as well as his step-siblings
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 and Kir ...
,
Saw Yun , image = , caption = , reign = 15 May 1315 – 5 February 1327 , coronation = , succession = King of Sagaing , predecessor = Thihathu , successor = Tar ...
and Saw Pale.Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 371 Perhaps because of his Pagan royal descent, Uzana grew up being a key scion of the Myinsaing ruling house. His stepfather Thihathu, who consolidated power in the following decade, was eager to be seen as a legitimate successor to the Pagan line.Htin Aung 1967: 76–77 On 7 February 1313 at the newly built capital at
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 ...
, Thihathu proclaimed himself the rightful successor of the Pagan Dynasty, with 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 ...
of Pagan presenting him the golden belt and the golden tray of the 11th century King
Anawrahta Anawrahta Minsaw ( my, အနော်ရထာ မင်းစော, ; 11 May 1014 – 11 April 1077) was the founder of the Pagan Empire. Considered the father of the Burmese nation, Anawrahta turned a small principality in the dry zone ...
. In the same coronation ceremony, he also pronounced Mi Saw U, daughter 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 ...
, his chief queen consort, and Uzana his
heir-apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...
. He also appointed Kyawswa, his eldest son by Mi Saw U, governor of Pinle.Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 370–371


Heir-apparent

Uzana's appointment was resented by Thihathu's biological sons. In particular,
Saw Yun , image = , caption = , reign = 15 May 1315 – 5 February 1327 , coronation = , succession = King of Sagaing , predecessor = Thihathu , successor = Tar ...
, whose mother was a commoner, resented being treated as a second-class royal, not only behind his stepbrother Uzana but also behind his half-brother Kyawswa. He constantly agitated his father for more power.Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 374 Thihathu appointed Saw Yun governor 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 m ...
, across the Irrawaddy, in 1314.Harvey 1925: 79 Even then, Saw Yun still resented that he was not allowed to command as large a force as Uzana or Kyawswa, and that he had to constantly beg for cavalry and war elephants from his brothers. On 15 May 1315, after another disagreement with his father, Saw Yun walked out of the Pinya Palace, never to return. At first, Thihathu dismissed his teenage son's insubordination. But Saw Yun spent the next year consolidating his support around Sagaing and in the north, and went on to upgrade Sagaing's timber walls with a brick wall by March 1316.Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 161, fn-3 Uzana now faced a test. Thihathu now asked Uzana to retake Sagaing, saying it was as a test to prove the latter's worth as crown prince. But Thihathu order seemed halfhearted. Because the king never mobilized all his forces, Uzana had to use the small army under his command (about 1000 men, 80 horses, 10 elephants).Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 373 Uzana's expedition never made it to Sagaing as they were driven back at the Irrawaddy crossing. Back at the Pinya Palace, Thihathu treated a defeated Uzana with contempt, saying he had failed the test. The king now ordered Kyawswa to lead another expedition, also presenting it as a test. The second expedition by Kyawswa also failed.Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 375–376 Uzana and Kyawswa were to get a chance to redeem themselves. The Sagaing rebellion in the north begot instabilities in the south in Taungdwin 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 industry ...
(Taungoo). Taungdwin submitted but Toungoo required an expedition. In 1317–18, Uzana and Kyawswa with a combined force marched to Toungoo, and got its ruler
Thawun Nge , image = , caption = , reign = 23 June 1317 – 1324 , coronation = , succession = Governor of Toungoo , predecessor = Thawun Gyi , successor = Saw Hnit ...
to submit.Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 160, fn#1Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 372 The Sagaing affair remained unresolved. It is unclear if Sagaing could have been taken if Thihathu ordered a larger expedition as he did with Toungoo. But the king accepted Saw Yun's nominal submission, and did not again order another attack. Though Uzana remained the official crown prince, Saw Yun was already the de facto ruler of the northern country. Thihathu was resigned to the fact that his kingdom would be split into two after his death.


Reign


Rivalry with Kyawswa

The Pinya kingdom formally separated into two at Thihathu's death in 1325. Uzana succeeded as king with the title of Anawrahta Maha Dipati, with his half-sister Atula Maha Dhamma Dewi as chief queen consort.Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 377 Uzana's rump Pinya Kingdom ruled the eastern and southern Central Burma while Saw Yun's
Sagaing Kingdom The Sagaing Kingdom ( my, စစ်ကိုင်း နေပြည်တော်, ) was a small kingdom ruled by a junior branch of the Myinsaing dynasty from 1315 to 1365. Originally the northern province of Sagaing of the Pinya Kingdom, ...
ruled the northern and western parts. Uzana's Pinya should be the stronger of the two since it still controlled two out of the three main irrigated regions,
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 ...
and
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 high ...
, whereas Sagaing controlled only the Mu valley. But in reality, Uzana never had much control of his remaining vassals. Indeed, his main rival was not Saw Yun but his half-brother Kyawswa, who openly held court at Pinle, just a few miles away from Pinya and also in the all important Kyaukse region. Kyawswa still controlled his own army, and conducted his own policy.Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 378 It was Kyawswa, not Uzana, who famously ordered his commander
Khin Nyo Nga Khin Nyo ( my, ငခင်ညို, ) was a Royal Pinya Army commander. He is known in Burmese history for his refusal to assassinate King Saw Yun of Sagaing after having eaten a bowl of rice that belonged to Saw Yun. His lord Prince Ky ...
to assassinate Saw Yun.Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 383 According to the chronicles, Uzana formed the following special military units, that responded only to him. The list shows that Uzana's core power base extended no more than 150 km from Pinya. His power base overlapped with that of Kyawswa, who had his own specialized military units.


Nominal vassals

The rivalry greatly limited Pinya's power. Its southernmost vassals were practically independent, and had to fend for themselves. Pinya took no action with the 1325 assassination of Saw Hnit, the Pinya-recognized ruler of Toungoo, and had to be satisfied with the usurper
Kayin Ba Kayin Ba ( my, ကရင်ဘ, ; 1253–1342) was governor of Toungoo (Taungoo) from 1325 to 1342. Prior to his governorship, the commoner had served all the rulers of the frontier state since its creation in 1279, eventually rising to mayor o ...
's nominal submission.Sein Lwin Lay 2006: 21 Nor did it command any respect from its neighbors, which regularly breached its borders. Pinya took no action when Ramanya attacked
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 ...
(Pyay) in 1330,Phayre 1967: 66 or when
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 ...
attacked
Thayet Thayet (; pronounced ) is a capital city in Thayet District of Magway Region in central Myanmar. It is a port on the right (western) bank of the Irrawaddy River, across and just south of Allanmyo, between Pyay (Prome) and Magway. Thayet is th ...
in 1334.Sandamala Linkara Vol. 1 1997: 180 At any rate, Uzana's main concern remained Kyawswa. In the 1330s, Kyawswa consolidated power, and increasingly acted as a sovereign. The inevitable confrontation came to a head when Kyawswa found five rare
white elephant A white elephant is a possession that its owner cannot dispose of, and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness. In modern usage, it is a metaphor used to describe an object, construction project, sch ...
s, which were symbols of monarchs. When Uzana asked for them twice, Kyawswa openly refused both times.Maha Yazawin Vol. 1 2006: 265Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 379


Abdication

The refusals signaled war but Uzana ultimately backed down, and decided to abdicate. Most chronicles say that he abdicated the throne to Kyawswa in 1342/43 after a period of 4 years.''Yazawin Thit'' (Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 166) gives a year earlier, 703 ME (1341/42). Inscriptional evidence shows that Uzana first handed power to Gov. Sithu 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 ( ...
, uncle and father-in-law of Kyawswa, on 1 September 1340.Than Tun 1959: 124 Uzana became a monk at
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 ...
. Sithu's regency may have been a face-saving measure for Uzana but Kyawswa apparently did not recognize Sithu either. According to an inscription donated on 17 June 1342 by Kyawswa's chief queen consort Atula Sanda Dewi, Kyawswa had already claimed himself king.Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 166 Inscriptions show that Sithu officially handed over the reins to Kyawswa on 29 March 1344. Uzana remained a monk at Mekkhaya, and died at age 58.Zata 1960: 43Maha Yazawin Vol. 1 2006: 350


Family

Uzana had at least two sons, Sithu Min Oo and Thihapate, and two daughters, Saw Pa OhThan Tun 1959: 127 and Mway Medaw of Lanbu, who according to the chronicle ''
Alaungpaya Ayedawbon ''Alaungpaya Ayedawbon'' ( my, အလောင်းဘုရား အရေးတော်ပုံ), also known as ''Alaung Mintayagyi Ayedawbon'' ( my, အလောင်း မင်းတရားကြီး အရေးတော်ပု ...
'' was an ancestor of 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 Lo ...
and the Konbaung kings.Alaungpaya Ayedawbon 1961: 12 Thihapate was a powerful governor of Yamethin in the 1340s, and contemplated a rebellion against Kyawswa I.Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 382 Saw Pa Oh became queen of King
Kyaswa of Sagaing , image = , caption = , reign = August 1339 – March 1349 , coronation = , succession = King of Sagaing , predecessor = Anawrahta I , successor = Anawr ...
.


Chronicle reporting differences

The royal chronicles do not necessarily agree on his birth, death or reign dates. None of the major chronicles mentions Sithu's regency although they do recognize that Uzana became a hermit for about 4 years. Chronicles count Uzana's reign to the handover to Kyawswa, 20 or 22 years. Inscriptions show that Uzana's reign would have been 19 years if it is counted to Kyawswa's undisputed takeover in 1344.


Ancestry


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Uzana 01 Of Pinya Myinsaing dynasty Pinya dynasty 1298 births 1350s deaths 14th-century Burmese monarchs