Balamindin was a general

General

A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....

 in the Burmese army of the Konbaung Dynasty

Konbaung dynasty

The Konbaung Dynasty was the last dynasty that ruled Burma from 1752 to 1885. The dynasty created the second largest empire in Burmese history, and continued the administrative reforms begun by the Toungoo dynasty, laying the foundations of modern state of Burma...

. He is best known in Burmese history for his spirited defense Fort Kaungton

Kaungton

Kaungton is a village in Bhamo Township in Bhamo District in the Kachin State of north-eastern Burma..-External links:*...

 against repeated attacks by numerically superior Chinese

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

 invasion forces in the Sino-Burmese War (1765–1769). From 1766 to 1769, Balamindin commanded the fort. The determined resistance by the Burmese at Kaungton proved critical in stopping the last three Chinese invasions. After the war, he was made governor of Kaungton.

Background

Balamindin was born Maung Lwin in the Moksobo

Shwebo

Shwebo is a city in Sagaing Division, Myanmar, located 113 km northwest of Mandalay between the Irrawaddy and the Mu rivers. The city, also called Ratanasingha , was the capital of Myanmar from 1752 to 1760 during the Konbaung period....

 region (present-day Shwebo District) in Upper Burma. He joined Alaungpaya

Alaungpaya

Alaungpaya was king of Burma from 1752 to 1760, and the founder of the Konbaung Dynasty. By his death in 1760, the former chief of a small village in Upper Burma had reunified all of Burma, subdued Manipur, recovered Lan Na, and driven out the French and the English who had given help to the...

's resistance forces to the Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom

Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom

The Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom was the kingdom that ruled Lower Burma and parts of Upper Burma from 1740 to 1757. The kingdom grew out of a rebellion by the Mon people, who then formed the majority in Lower Burma, against the Burman Toungoo Dynasty of Ava in Upper Burma...

's invasion forces in 1752. Lwin was selected as one of 68 elite commanders that would become the core leadership of Konbaung armies for the next thirty years. He served with distinction in Alaungpaya's reunification campaigns

Konbaung-Hanthawaddy War

The Konbaung-Hanthawaddy War was the war fought between the Konbaung Dynasty and the Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom of Burma from 1752 to 1757...

, first achieving the title Ye Kyaw Thura, and then Balamindin.

After Alaungpaya's death in 1760, Balamindin became allied with Alaungpaya's brother Thado Thinkhathu, governor of Toungoo (Taungoo). In 1762, Thinkhathu revolted against King Naungdawgyi

Naungdawgyi

Naungdawgyi was king of Konbaung Dynasty of Burma from 1760 to 1763. He was a top military commander in his father Alaungpaya's reunification campaigns of the country. As king, he spent much of his short reign suppressing multiple rebellions across the newly founded kingdom from Ava and Toungoo ...

, and Balamindin supported the rebellion. Naungdawgyi's forces laid siege to Toungoo, and recaptured the city. Naungdawgyi pardoned his uncle Thinkhathu and Thinkhathu's deputies, including Balamindin.