Mingyinyo
Encyclopedia
Mingyinyo was the founder of Toungoo dynasty
of Burma (Myanmar). Under his 44-year leadership (1486–1530), Toungoo (Taungoo), grew from a remote backwater vassal state of Ava Kingdom
to a small but stable independent kingdom. In 1510, he declared Toungoo's independence from its nominal overlord Ava. He skillfully kept his small kingdom out of the chaotic warfare plaguing Upper Burma. Toungoo's stability continued to attract refugees from Ava fleeing the repeated raids of Ava by the Confederation of Shan States (1490s–1527). Mingyinyo left a stable, confident kingdom that enabled his successor Tabinshwehti
to contemplate taking on larger kingdoms on his way to founding the First Toungoo Empire.
, who himself was a descendant of kings Narathihapate
of Pagan and Thihathu
of Pinya, and Min Hla Nyet, daughter of Sithu Kyawhtin, governor of Toungoo (1470–1481). He was most likely born in Ava
(Inwa) as his maternal grandfather Sithu Kyawhtin did not become governor of Toungoo until 1470, and prior to 1470 served at King Thihathura I's court at Ava.
Maung Nyo was likely about eleven or twelve years old when his entire family moved to Toungoo with Sithu Kyawhtin's appointment as governor. After Sithu Kyawhtin's death in 1481, his eldest son Min Sithu
inherited governorship. (The governorships in that era were hereditary, and were a primary cause of endemic rebellions that plagued Ava. The Restored Toungoo kings (1599–1752) would later eliminate the hereditary rights of local governors.) Maung Nyo wanted to marry his first cousin, Soe Min. But his uncle Min Sithu repeatedly rejected Nyo's numerous requests. In January 1486, he murdered his uncle, took his cousin as wife.
of Ava. In normal times, killing a governor was a serious crime. But Minkhaung II was facing a serious rebellion nearer to Ava (by his brother Minyekyawswa of Yamethin)–Prome farther south had already revolted in 1482–did not want another rebellion. He gave Mingyinyo recognition as governor of Toungoo, and solicited Toungoo's help in the rebellions. Mingyinyo also received recognition from Hanthawaddy
and Lan Na, and received propitiatory tribute from the Karenni
.
Mingyinyo soon tested his power by meddling into the ascension affairs of Hanthawaddy Kingdom
, the much larger kingdom to the south. In 1492, Hanthawaddy's new king Binnya Ran II
came to power by killing off all the royal offspring. Taking advantage of the chaos in the southern kingdom, Mingyinyo sent a probing raid into the territory of Hanthawaddy without Minkhaung II's permission. At Kaungbya, he killed its Shan governor in single combat by jumping on to his elephant and cutting him down. Hanthawaddy's response was swift. Binnya Ran II sent in a retalitory force to lay siege of the new built Dwayawaddy itself. Toungoo barely survived the siege but Mingyinyo would not make war against the larger neighbor for the remainder of his life.
Minkhaung II nonetheless upgraded Mingyinyo's title to Maha Thiri Zeya Thura for surviving the Hanthawaddy attack (although it was Mingyinyo who without his permission provoked the attack). Minkhaung had little choice but to retain Mingyinyo as he was one of the remaining loyal vassals of Ava. In return, Toungoo participated Ava's campaigns against Yamethin and Prome for the remainder of the 1490s.
.
Despite Mingyinyo's thinly veiled insurrection, the new king wanted to retain Toungoo's loyalty as he faced a new even more pressing problem of Shan raids from the north. In 1503, he bribed Mingyinyo by giving him his daughter for marriage and the Kyaukse granary
, the most valuable region in Upper Burma. Mingyinyo accepted the region, and deported much of the population between Kyaukse and Toungoo–Yamethin
, Meiktila
, etc.–to his capital. But not only did he not provide any help to Ava but he actively joined in the rebellions by the princes of Nyaungyan and Prome. Together with the rebel forces, he raided far north as Sale. In 1509, Taungdwingyi
also came under his authority.
When the Confederation finally defeated Ava in 1527, Mingyinyo deliberately devastated the countryside between Ava and Toungoo, filling the wells and breaking down the channels in the hope of making an impassable belt between Toungoo and the Confederation. The Burmese bureaucracy and population at Ava largely fled to Toungoo.
Mingyinyo died in October 1530, and was succeeded by his son Tabinshweti.
to imagine an offensive war against larger kingdoms. Tabinshwehti's improbable victory over Hanthawaddy had its beginnings in Mingyinyo's long stable rule.
Toungoo Dynasty
The Toungoo Dynasty was the ruling dynasty of Burma from the mid-16th century to 1752. Its early kings Tabinshwehti and Bayinnaung succeeded in reunifying the Pagan Empire for the first time since 1287, and in incorporating the Shan States for the first time...
of Burma (Myanmar). Under his 44-year leadership (1486–1530), Toungoo (Taungoo), grew from a remote backwater vassal state of Ava Kingdom
Ava Kingdom
The Ava Kingdom was the dominant kingdom that ruled upper Burma from 1364 to 1555. Founded in 1364, the kingdom was the successor state to the petty kingdoms that had ruled central Burma since the collapse of Pagan Empire in the late 13th century...
to a small but stable independent kingdom. In 1510, he declared Toungoo's independence from its nominal overlord Ava. He skillfully kept his small kingdom out of the chaotic warfare plaguing Upper Burma. Toungoo's stability continued to attract refugees from Ava fleeing the repeated raids of Ava by the Confederation of Shan States (1490s–1527). Mingyinyo left a stable, confident kingdom that enabled his successor Tabinshwehti
Tabinshwehti
Tabinshwehti was a king who unified Burma in 1539 and known as the founder of the Second Burmese Empire.Tabinshwehti succeeded his father Mingyinyo as ruler of the Toungoo dynasty in 1530...
to contemplate taking on larger kingdoms on his way to founding the First Toungoo Empire.
Early history
Mingyinyo was born Maung Nyo to Maha Thinkhaya, descendant of Kyawswa I of PinyaKyawswa I of Pinya
Kyawswa I of Pinya or Ngarsishin Kyawswa was the third king of Pinya Kingdom from 1343 to 1350. Kyawswa, who descended from both Pagan and Myinsaing dynasties, ascended the throne of Pinya in 1343 after his half-brother Uzana I abdicated the throne...
, who himself was a descendant of kings Narathihapate
Narathihapate
Narathihapate was the last king of Pagan dynasty of Burma from 1254 to 1287. The king is unkindly remembered for two things: his gluttonous appetite which supposedly required all his dinners to have 300 varieties of dishes; and his panic flight from Mongol invasions. He is forever remembered as ...
of Pagan and Thihathu
Thihathu
Thihathu was a co-founder of Myinsaing Kingdom, and the founder of the Pinya Kingdom in today's central Burma . A former commander in Pagan Empire's military, Thihathu was the youngest and most ambitious of the Three Shan Brothers that founded Myinsaing Kingdom, which filled the void in central...
of Pinya, and Min Hla Nyet, daughter of Sithu Kyawhtin, governor of Toungoo (1470–1481). He was most likely born in Ava
Ava
Innwa is a city in the Mandalay Division of Burma , situated just to the south of Amarapura on the Ayeyarwady River. Its formal title is Ratanapura , which means City of Gems in Pali. The name Innwa means mouth of the lake, which comes from in , meaning lake, and wa , which means mouth...
(Inwa) as his maternal grandfather Sithu Kyawhtin did not become governor of Toungoo until 1470, and prior to 1470 served at King Thihathura I's court at Ava.
Maung Nyo was likely about eleven or twelve years old when his entire family moved to Toungoo with Sithu Kyawhtin's appointment as governor. After Sithu Kyawhtin's death in 1481, his eldest son Min Sithu
Min Sithu of Toungoo
Min Sithu was the governor of Toungoo from 1481 to 1486. He inherited the governorship from his father Sithu Kyawhtin of Toungoo was killed in battle in 1481. He was killed by his nephew Mingyinyo. The governor had repeatedly refused the nephew's requests to marry his daughter Soe Min .-References:...
inherited governorship. (The governorships in that era were hereditary, and were a primary cause of endemic rebellions that plagued Ava. The Restored Toungoo kings (1599–1752) would later eliminate the hereditary rights of local governors.) Maung Nyo wanted to marry his first cousin, Soe Min. But his uncle Min Sithu repeatedly rejected Nyo's numerous requests. In January 1486, he murdered his uncle, took his cousin as wife.
Reign
After assassinating his uncle and seizing the governorship, Mingyinyo sent a present of two young elephants to King Minkhaung IIMinkhaung II
Minkhaung II was the twelfth king of Ava who reigned from 1481 to 1502. His 20-year reign was the beginning of the decline of Ava's hold on Upper Burma. Yamethin, a region to the east of Ava, revolted upon Minkhaung's ascension to the Ava throne and stayed independent throughout Minkhaung's reign...
of Ava. In normal times, killing a governor was a serious crime. But Minkhaung II was facing a serious rebellion nearer to Ava (by his brother Minyekyawswa of Yamethin)–Prome farther south had already revolted in 1482–did not want another rebellion. He gave Mingyinyo recognition as governor of Toungoo, and solicited Toungoo's help in the rebellions. Mingyinyo also received recognition from Hanthawaddy
Hanthawaddy Kingdom
The Hanthawaddy Kingdom was the dominant kingdom that ruled lower Burma from 1287 to 1539. The Mon-speaking kingdom was founded as Ramannadesa by King Wareru following the collapse of the Pagan Empire in 1287 as a nominal vassal state of Sukhothai Kingdom, and of the Mongol Yuan dynasty...
and Lan Na, and received propitiatory tribute from the Karenni
Karenni
Red Karen also known as Karenni, is a subgroup of the Karen people, a Sino-Tibetan people living mostly in Kayah State of Burma....
.
Loyal vassal of Ava (1486–1502)
Mingyinyo, now styled as Thiri Zeya Thura, eagerly assisted Ava in its fight against Yamethin. (His grandfather Sithu Kyawhtin died in 1481 fighting against the Yamethin rebels.) Even with Toungoo's help, the Yamethin rebellion was intractable and remained a stalemate. (It would remain so until Minyekyawswa's death in August 1501). With Ava chiefly preoccupied by Yamethin, Mingyinyo grew more confident and in 1491 built a new fortified city called Dwayawaddy (still near Toungoo), at the estuary of the rivers Kabaung and Paunglaung.Mingyinyo soon tested his power by meddling into the ascension affairs of Hanthawaddy Kingdom
Hanthawaddy Kingdom
The Hanthawaddy Kingdom was the dominant kingdom that ruled lower Burma from 1287 to 1539. The Mon-speaking kingdom was founded as Ramannadesa by King Wareru following the collapse of the Pagan Empire in 1287 as a nominal vassal state of Sukhothai Kingdom, and of the Mongol Yuan dynasty...
, the much larger kingdom to the south. In 1492, Hanthawaddy's new king Binnya Ran II
Binnya Ran II
Binnya Ran II was the 17th king of Hanthawaddy for 34 years from 1492 to 1526. He was revered for his gentleness although his first act as king was to enforce the massacre of the kinsmen, putting all the royal offspring to death....
came to power by killing off all the royal offspring. Taking advantage of the chaos in the southern kingdom, Mingyinyo sent a probing raid into the territory of Hanthawaddy without Minkhaung II's permission. At Kaungbya, he killed its Shan governor in single combat by jumping on to his elephant and cutting him down. Hanthawaddy's response was swift. Binnya Ran II sent in a retalitory force to lay siege of the new built Dwayawaddy itself. Toungoo barely survived the siege but Mingyinyo would not make war against the larger neighbor for the remainder of his life.
Minkhaung II nonetheless upgraded Mingyinyo's title to Maha Thiri Zeya Thura for surviving the Hanthawaddy attack (although it was Mingyinyo who without his permission provoked the attack). Minkhaung had little choice but to retain Mingyinyo as he was one of the remaining loyal vassals of Ava. In return, Toungoo participated Ava's campaigns against Yamethin and Prome for the remainder of the 1490s.
Nominal vassal of Ava (1502–1510)
By the turn of the 16th century, Mingyinyo's Toungoo was equally powerful as its nominal overlord Ava. Mingyinyo, though still loyal to Minkhaung, nonetheless accepted about a thousand Yamethin rebels, who fled to Toungoo after their leader died in August 1501. When Minkhaung II also died in April 1502, Mingyinyo was ready to assert his independence. He readily gave shelter to those who attempted on the life of the new king ShwenankyawshinShwenankyawshin
Shwenankyawshin Narapati was the last sovereign king of Ava who reigned 25 tumultuous years between 1502 and 1527. A confederation of Shan states led by Mohnyin continued their relentless attacks, and gradually absorbed Avan territory from the north, while their ally Prome took Avan territory in...
.
Despite Mingyinyo's thinly veiled insurrection, the new king wanted to retain Toungoo's loyalty as he faced a new even more pressing problem of Shan raids from the north. In 1503, he bribed Mingyinyo by giving him his daughter for marriage and the Kyaukse granary
Kyaukse Township
Kyaukse Township is a township of Kyaukse District in the Mandalay Division of Burma. It makes up the area including the town of Kyaukse. Yeywa Dam is located there....
, the most valuable region in Upper Burma. Mingyinyo accepted the region, and deported much of the population between Kyaukse and Toungoo–Yamethin
Yamethin
Yamethin is a town in central Burma in Yamethin District, Mandalay Region. Yamethin provides a market and processing for local agriculture production of rice and beans, as well having a small textile industry, and serving as a railroad shipping point on the Rangoon – Mandalay...
, Meiktila
Meiktila
Meiktila is a city in central Myanmar, located on the banks of Lake Meiktila in Mandalay Division, at the junctions of the Bagan-Taunggyi, Yangon-Mandalay and Meiktila-Myingyan highways. Because of its strategic position, Meiktila is home to Myanmar Air Force's central command and Meiktila Air...
, etc.–to his capital. But not only did he not provide any help to Ava but he actively joined in the rebellions by the princes of Nyaungyan and Prome. Together with the rebel forces, he raided far north as Sale. In 1509, Taungdwingyi
Taungdwingyi
Taungdwingyi is a town of Taungdwingyi Township in Magway District in the Magway Division of Myanmar. People inhabited this area since thousands of years ago and one of the earliest civilization of Myanmar, Beikthano Ancient Pyu City, is located near the town. Territorial area is plane and rice,...
also came under his authority.
Independence from Ava (1510–1530)
In 1510, he founded Ketumati, the present-day Toungoo, complete with fortified walls. On 16 October 1510 (the full moon day of Tazaungmon, 872 ME), Mingyinyo formally announced Toungoo's independence. Ava was in no position to contest the decision, as it had more pressing problems with the Shan raids from the north. At any rate, the announcement was a mere formality. Toungoo had been de facto independent since 1502. After the formal declaration of independence, Mingyinyo largely stayed out of the endemic warfare between Ava and the Confederation of Shan States that consumed much of Upper Burma between 1502 and 1527. Aside from Ava's brief siege of Toungoo in 1525, the kingdom was largely peaceful.When the Confederation finally defeated Ava in 1527, Mingyinyo deliberately devastated the countryside between Ava and Toungoo, filling the wells and breaking down the channels in the hope of making an impassable belt between Toungoo and the Confederation. The Burmese bureaucracy and population at Ava largely fled to Toungoo.
Mingyinyo died in October 1530, and was succeeded by his son Tabinshweti.
Legacy
Mingyinyo's 44-year reign was one of the few stable regimes in Upper Burma in the era. Toungoo's remote location (nestled between the Bago Yoma mountain range and the Karen Hill country, and cut off from the main Irrawaddy river valley) proved a vital advantage. It took effort to march to Toungoo. The stability of his kingdom attracted many refugees, and the flow of refugees accelerated after Ava's fall. The increased manpower allowed Tabinshwehti and his deputy BayinnaungBayinnaung
Bayinnaung Kyawhtin Nawrahta was the third king of the Toungoo dynasty of Burma . During his 30-year reign, which has been called the "greatest explosion of human energy ever seen in Burma", Bayinnaung assembled the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia, which included much of modern day...
to imagine an offensive war against larger kingdoms. Tabinshwehti's improbable victory over Hanthawaddy had its beginnings in Mingyinyo's long stable rule.