Page 364 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

362 CONTEXTS History
other Shan states including Mohnyin (Mong Yang) and Mogaung (Mong Kawng) in
present-day Kachin State, along with Thibaw (Hsipaw), Theinni (Hsenwi), Momeik
(Mong Mit) and Kyaingtong (Kengtung) in what is now Myanmar’s northern Shan State.
Hanthawaddy
Meanwhile in the south, the Mon territories had reasserted their independence
immediately after the fall of Bagan, establishing the Hanthawaddy Kingdom (aka
“Hanthawaddy Bago” or “Ramannadesa”), a loose confederation of three semi-
independent statelets – Bago, Mottama (formerly known as Martaban), near present-
day Mawlamyine, and the Ayeyarwady Delta. The kingdom’s first capital was at
Mottama, but was moved to Bago in 1369. After repulsing Ava in the Forty Years’ War,
the Hanthawaddy enjoyed a miniature golden age, growing rich from trade with India
and becoming a major centre of Mon language and literature, and also Theravada
Buddhism – as witnessed by the numerous pagodas which still dot Bago to this day.

Arakan
In the far west of the Myanmar, the kingdom of Arakan (modern-day Rakhine State)
had already been in existence for centuries (see box, p.120), squeezed between the
Bagan Empire on one side and the Bengal Sultans on the other. Arakan suffered
repeated attacks by the rulers of Ava following the collapse of Bagan, finally repulsing
them only during the reign of King Narameikhla (aka Min Saw Mon; ruled 1429–33),
who established a new Arakanese capital at Mrauk U in 1430 with military assistance
from the Sultanate of Bengal. Indian influence was strong: in return for their help,
Narameikhla recognized Bengali sovereignty over the kingdom and also ceded territory
to the sultan. Close links with Bengal also led to the arrival of many Indian Muslims,
perhaps the ancestors of the modern Rohingya (see box, p.121).

The first Taungoo empire
In the end, the second great pan-Burmese empire came from an unexpected direction.
The kingdom of Ava was gradually crumbling in the face of repeated Shan attacks, and
in 1510 the minor statelet of Taungoo (often spelled “Toungoo”) in the far south of the
Ava kingdom rebelled against its Ava rulers under the leadership of King Mingyinyo
(ruled 1510–30), inaugurating the first Taungoo dynasty. Following the Shan conquest
of Ava in 1527, many ethnic Bamar fled to Taungoo, now the only independent
kingdom under Bamar rule, but menaced by much larger and more powerful states
– Shan, Arakanese and Mon – on all sides.
Nothing daunted, Taungoo ruler King Tabinshwehti (ruled 1530–50) set out to
expand his territories, taking on and eventually defeating his southern neighbours in
the Taungoo–Hanthawaddy War (1535–41) and subsequently moving his capital to
newly conquered Bago in 1539. By 1544 Taungoo forces had taken control of the
country as far north as Bagan, but failed in later campaigns against Arakan and the
Thai city of Ayutthaya, leading to Tabinshwehti’s assassination in 1550.
It was left to Tabinshwehti’s former military commander and successor, the legendary
King Bayinnaung (ruled 1550–81), to restore the fortunes of the struggling kingdom.
Born (it’s said) the son of a lowly toddy-tapper, Bayinnaung succeeded by force of

1430 1510 1527 1531–54
Foundation of Foundation of the first Shan forces capture the city The Kingdom of Mrauk U
the kingdom of Taungoo dynasty of Ava reaches its apogee under
Mrauk U King Minbin

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