Narapati of Ava
Encyclopedia
Narapati of Ava was the tenth king of Ava
who reigned from 1443 to 1468. In the early years of his reign, this former viceroy of Prome (Pyay) was forced to deal with raids from the Shan State
of Mogaung
as well as the Ming Chinese
intrusions into Avan territory (1444–1446). In the wake of renewed Chinese determination to pacify the Yunnan
frontier region, Narapati was able to maintain Ava's control of northern Shan States of Kale and Mohnyin
, and gained allegiance of Thibaw
. However, he continued to have trouble with Toungoo which was in revolt between 1451 and 1458. One of his grandsons attempted on his life in 1468. The king fled Ava for Prome and died there shortly after in 1469.
, the capital of the Shan State of Mogaung. When the king died, the ministers at Ava first chose Minyekyawswa's son-in-law Thihapate who was at the front at Mogaung. Thihapate was recalled to Ava by ministers to assume the throne, but he declined the offer, declaring that he was neither a son nor a brother of the deceased king. He suggested they recall the king’s brother Thihathu from Prome. The ministers then invited Thihathu who ascended to the throne with the reign name of Narapati. Thihapate, having refused the throne, went back to the front, and captured Mogaung the very day the new king ascended the throne. Their leader Thonganbwa was captured, and brought back to Ava.
(Thibaw) in the northeast. He made Thihapate the new saopha of Mohnyin, and his son-in-law the new saopha of Kale. Despite his success in peripheral regions, Narapati continued to have problems with regions much closer to Ava. In late 1443, he sent his armies to Yamethin
and Pinle
, both of which had been in revolt since the start of his brother's reign in 1441. While his armies were laying siege to Pinle, the new king was forced to deal with a far larger threat from the north: China
.
Chinese had conquered Yunnan
after their campaigns of 1380–1388, but never completely controlled the frontier which was still occupied by several Shan States. The Chinese were forced to send troops back to the region due to the constant Shan raids into Yunnan by Thonganbwa, the saopha of Mogaung. In 1443, Zhengtong Emperor
sent yet another expeditionary force (third campaign since 1436) to punish the pesky Shan raiders. After learning that Ava had already defeated and captured Thonganbwa at Mogaung, the Chinese forces, encamped at the frontier, demanded that Ava surrender Thonganbwa, and send a payment of tribute, or it would face attack.
Narapati refused the Chinese demand. In 1444, Ava forces marched north to meet the Chinese. The Burmese Chronicles report that the Chinese forces numbered three million, and that the Ava forces numbered 200,000. The numbers clearly were an exaggeration but an exaggeration that does indicate a grave threat. (Noted historian of Burmese history, GE Harvey, believes that the military numbers reported during the Ava-Pegu era were an order of magnitude higher.) Chinese troops descended on Bhamo
, and war broke out. The Burmese met the invaders at Kaungton
near Bhamo and held their ground. The Chinese soon faced a food supply problem, and retreated to Mong Wan (Mo Wun). Narapati appointed the saophas of Mogaung and Mong Nai
(Mone) to watch over Bhamo and returned to Ava.
The Chinese forces, having regrouped, invaded again in the following year. On 16 November 1445 (3rd waxing of Natdaw 807), the Chinese forces surrounded the fortified city of Ava, and threatened to attack if Thonganbwa was not handed over to them. Narapati negotiated a deal to hand over Thonganbwa if the Chinese helped him subdue Yamethin first. The Chinese agreed, and together with a contingent of troops from Ava, conquered Yamethin. Thonganbwa, rather than being handed over to the Chinese, committed suicide. His dead body was handed over to the Chinese in early 1446. Narapati maintained that he did not accept Chinese suzerainty. But the Chinese considered the handover of the body as Ava's recognition of Chinese suzerainty.
In 1450, the Burman saopha of Mohnyin, Thihapate, died. Thihapate's son Min U Ti in alliance with Maw Shan raiders Thokyeinbwa and Thopawbwa (Si Bu-fa) raised a rebellion. Narapati sent an army under the command of the crown prince to Mohnyin. The rebel leader Min U Ti was executed. The two Shan leaders then surrendered and took an oath of allegiance. Narapati made a son of Thopawbwa the new saopha of Mohnyin. He kept Thokyeinbwa and Thopawbwa at Ava. In 1454, Narapati handed over Thokyeinbwa over six people including Thokyeinbwa and his family at a village on the Irrawaddy in exchange for China's explicit recognition of Ava's control of Mohnyin. (Mohnyin had been under Ava's control since 1406. The Nanzhao Chronicle of Yunnan claims that the Ming recognized Mohnyin as Avan territory in 1452, not 1454.) Thokyeinbwa arrived at Beijing
in a cage on 30 August 1454 and was executed on 2 September 1454.
as an appanage to rule Toungoo.
was governor. He died there a year later, 25 July 1468.
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...
who reigned from 1443 to 1468. In the early years of his reign, this former viceroy of Prome (Pyay) was forced to deal with raids from the Shan State
Shan States
The Shan States were the princely states that ruled large areas of today's Burma , Yunnan Province in China, Laos and Thailand from the late 13th century until mid-20th century...
of Mogaung
Mogaung
Mogaung is a town in Kachin State, Myanmar. It is situated on the Mandalay-Myitkyina railway line.-External links:* Falling Rain Genomics, Inc.* Maplandia.com...
as well as the Ming Chinese
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
intrusions into Avan territory (1444–1446). In the wake of renewed Chinese determination to pacify the Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
frontier region, Narapati was able to maintain Ava's control of northern Shan States of Kale and Mohnyin
Mohnyin
Mohnyin is a town in Kachin State, Myanmar. It is the administrative center for both Mohnyin Township and Mohnyin District.Shells of different sizes were found in mass on 19 September. Those were found in apple-pie order while rooting up a tree between MohnyinDistrict Court and the Township...
, and gained allegiance of Thibaw
Hsipaw
Hsipaw , is a town in Shan State, Myanmar on the riverbank of Myitnge River. It is 200 km northeast of Mandalay.-Shan Saopha:Hsipaw is perhaps one of the most well known and powerful saopha states of Shan State...
. However, he continued to have trouble with Toungoo which was in revolt between 1451 and 1458. One of his grandsons attempted on his life in 1468. The king fled Ava for Prome and died there shortly after in 1469.
Ascension to throne
Narapati was the governor of Prome, the southernmost Avan territory, under his elder brother King Minyekyawswa of Ava. He ascended to the throne after his brother the king suddenly died in January 1441. At that time, Ava's forces had been laying siege to MogaungMogaung
Mogaung is a town in Kachin State, Myanmar. It is situated on the Mandalay-Myitkyina railway line.-External links:* Falling Rain Genomics, Inc.* Maplandia.com...
, the capital of the Shan State of Mogaung. When the king died, the ministers at Ava first chose Minyekyawswa's son-in-law Thihapate who was at the front at Mogaung. Thihapate was recalled to Ava by ministers to assume the throne, but he declined the offer, declaring that he was neither a son nor a brother of the deceased king. He suggested they recall the king’s brother Thihathu from Prome. The ministers then invited Thihathu who ascended to the throne with the reign name of Narapati. Thihapate, having refused the throne, went back to the front, and captured Mogaung the very day the new king ascended the throne. Their leader Thonganbwa was captured, and brought back to Ava.
Reign
As customary with all Ava kings, Narapati after becoming king, first had to assert his rule over the kingdom. With Mogaung defeated, Narapati gained the allegiance of the saopha of Onpaung HsipawHsipaw
Hsipaw , is a town in Shan State, Myanmar on the riverbank of Myitnge River. It is 200 km northeast of Mandalay.-Shan Saopha:Hsipaw is perhaps one of the most well known and powerful saopha states of Shan State...
(Thibaw) in the northeast. He made Thihapate the new saopha of Mohnyin, and his son-in-law the new saopha of Kale. Despite his success in peripheral regions, Narapati continued to have problems with regions much closer to Ava. In late 1443, he sent his armies to 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...
and Pinle
Pinle
Pinle is an archaeological excavation site, located in Myittha Township, Mandalay Division, Myanmar. Pinle was a capital of the Myinsaing Kingdom from 1298 to 1312....
, both of which had been in revolt since the start of his brother's reign in 1441. While his armies were laying siege to Pinle, the new king was forced to deal with a far larger threat from the north: China
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
.
Ming invasions
The MingMing Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
Chinese had conquered Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
after their campaigns of 1380–1388, but never completely controlled the frontier which was still occupied by several Shan States. The Chinese were forced to send troops back to the region due to the constant Shan raids into Yunnan by Thonganbwa, the saopha of Mogaung. In 1443, Zhengtong Emperor
Zhengtong Emperor
Zhu Qizhen was an emperor of the Ming Dynasty. He ruled as the Zhengtong Emperor from 1435 to 1449, and as the Tianshun Emperor from 1457 to 1464....
sent yet another expeditionary force (third campaign since 1436) to punish the pesky Shan raiders. After learning that Ava had already defeated and captured Thonganbwa at Mogaung, the Chinese forces, encamped at the frontier, demanded that Ava surrender Thonganbwa, and send a payment of tribute, or it would face attack.
Narapati refused the Chinese demand. In 1444, Ava forces marched north to meet the Chinese. The Burmese Chronicles report that the Chinese forces numbered three million, and that the Ava forces numbered 200,000. The numbers clearly were an exaggeration but an exaggeration that does indicate a grave threat. (Noted historian of Burmese history, GE Harvey, believes that the military numbers reported during the Ava-Pegu era were an order of magnitude higher.) Chinese troops descended on Bhamo
Bhamo
Bhamo is a city of Kachin State in northernmost part of Myanmar, located 186 km south from the capital city of Myitkyina. It is on the Ayeyarwady River. It lies within 65 km of the border with Yunnan Province, China. The population consists of Chinese and Shan, with Kachin peoples in...
, and war broke out. The Burmese met the invaders at Kaungton
Kaungton
Kaungton is a village in Bhamo Township in Bhamo District in the Kachin State of north-eastern Burma..-External links:*...
near Bhamo and held their ground. The Chinese soon faced a food supply problem, and retreated to Mong Wan (Mo Wun). Narapati appointed the saophas of Mogaung and Mong Nai
Mong Nai
Mong Nai is a town in Mong Nai Township in the Shan State of Burma.-References:...
(Mone) to watch over Bhamo and returned to Ava.
The Chinese forces, having regrouped, invaded again in the following year. On 16 November 1445 (3rd waxing of Natdaw 807), the Chinese forces surrounded the fortified city of Ava, and threatened to attack if Thonganbwa was not handed over to them. Narapati negotiated a deal to hand over Thonganbwa if the Chinese helped him subdue Yamethin first. The Chinese agreed, and together with a contingent of troops from Ava, conquered Yamethin. Thonganbwa, rather than being handed over to the Chinese, committed suicide. His dead body was handed over to the Chinese in early 1446. Narapati maintained that he did not accept Chinese suzerainty. But the Chinese considered the handover of the body as Ava's recognition of Chinese suzerainty.
Mohnyin rebellion (1450)
The death of Thonganbwa did not solve the problem of Shan raids for the Chinese. The Maw Shans, now under the leadership of Thokyeinbwa (Chinese: Si Ji-fa), son of Thonganbwa, moved to the region west of Mogaung, and continued the raids into both Ava and Yunnan territories. In 1448, the Chinese chased them to near Bhamo but were defeated by the Shans.In 1450, the Burman saopha of Mohnyin, Thihapate, died. Thihapate's son Min U Ti in alliance with Maw Shan raiders Thokyeinbwa and Thopawbwa (Si Bu-fa) raised a rebellion. Narapati sent an army under the command of the crown prince to Mohnyin. The rebel leader Min U Ti was executed. The two Shan leaders then surrendered and took an oath of allegiance. Narapati made a son of Thopawbwa the new saopha of Mohnyin. He kept Thokyeinbwa and Thopawbwa at Ava. In 1454, Narapati handed over Thokyeinbwa over six people including Thokyeinbwa and his family at a village on the Irrawaddy in exchange for China's explicit recognition of Ava's control of Mohnyin. (Mohnyin had been under Ava's control since 1406. The Nanzhao Chronicle of Yunnan claims that the Ming recognized Mohnyin as Avan territory in 1452, not 1454.) Thokyeinbwa arrived at Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
in a cage on 30 August 1454 and was executed on 2 September 1454.
Toungoo rebellion (1451–1458)
In 1451, the governor of Toungoo was assassinated, and the town entered a state of rebellion against Ava. Narapati tried in vain to recover the territory but could not. Fortunately for Narapati, the rebellious Toungoo king was assassinated by his servant in 1458/59 (820 ME). Ava regained nominal control. Narapati gave his brother-in-law who already had TaungdwingyiTaungdwingyi
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,...
as an appanage to rule Toungoo.
Death
On 13 June 1467 (12th waxing of Waso 829), Narapati was stabbed by his grandson whom he had reproved for a love intrigue with his cousin; the wound was not mortal. The king fled to Prome in where his son Mingyi SwaMingyi Swa of Prome
Mingyi Swa of Prome was viceroy of Prome of Ava Kingdom from 1446 to 1482. He was made governor of Prome in 1446 by his father Narapati of Ava. He raised a rebellion when his eldest brother Thihathura I succeeded the Ava throne in 1469. But Thihathura laid siege on Prome, and Mingyi Swa submitted...
was governor. He died there a year later, 25 July 1468.