Myinsaing Kingdom

Kingdom of Myinsaing မြင်စိုင်းခေတ် ရှမ်းညီနောင်သုံးဦးခေတ်
Kingdom
← 1298–1313 →   →
Capital	Myinsaing, Mekkara, Pinle (1298–1313)
Language(s)	Burmese, Shan
Religion	Theravada Buddhism, Mahayana Buddhism, animism
Government	Monarchy
King
- 1298–1305	Athinhkaya, Yazathingyan, Thihathu
- 1305–1310	Athinhkaya, Thihathu
- 1310–1313	Thihathu
History
- Founding of Kingdom	December 1298
- Fall of Pagan	1287
- Forced abdication of Kyawswa	1298
- Mongol invasion	1301
- Founding of Pinya	11 February 1313

The Myinsaing Kingdom (Burmese: မြင်စိုင်းခေတ်, pronounced [mjɪ̀ɴzáiɴ kʰɪʔ]) was a kingdom that ruled central Burma (Myanmar) from 1298 to 1313. Founded by three brothers of Shan and Burman descent, it was one of many petty kingdoms that emerged following the collapse of Pagan Empire in 1287.

The three brothers, Athinhkaya, Yazathingyan and Thihathu, former Pagan military commanders, gained control of the important Kyaukse granary in the early 1290s. In 1298, the brothers formalized their rule of central Burma by forcing the nominal king of Pagan Kyawswa, who had become a Mongol vassal, to abdicate the throne, and ruled as co-regents from their respective palaces in Myinsaing, Mekkara and Pinle. In 1301, the brothers successfully fought off another (and last) invasion by the Mongols who sought to restore Kyawswa. After the Mongols also vacated their Upper Burma base of Tagaung in 1303, all of central Burma came under their rule.^[1] Nonetheless Myinsaing, along with Hanthawaddy and Toungoo kingdoms and various minor Shan States, was still one of many petty kingdoms that sprouted across Burma, after the collapse of Pagan Empire.

The period is commonly referred to in Burmese history as the Age of Three Shan Brothers (ရှမ်းညီနောင်သုံးဦးခေတ်, [ʃáɴ ɲìnàuɴ θóuɴ ʔú kʰɪʔ]), marking the ascent of Shan power in Burmese history. The kingdom devolved into the Pinya Kingdom and the Sagaing Kingdom in 1315.

Origins

The founders of the kingdom were commanders in King Narathihapate's service in the waning days of Pagan. Their father, Theinkhabo, was a younger brother of Shan saopha from the Shan Hills who had taken shelter in Kyaukse as a political refugee in 1260.^[2] Their mother was a daughter of a Burman banker from Myinsaing. The brothers had entered the royal service when they became young men. After a few years of service, they received minor titles of nobility and were appointed joint commanders of the garrison at Myinsaing, their hometown. Their only sister was even married to a son of the king, Prince Thihathu, later governor of Prome (Pyay).^[1]

Post-Pagan (1287–1298)

In 1287, Narathihapate fled Pagan, which subsequently was sacked by the invading Mongol forces. Already experienced commanders, the brothers strengthened their garrison at Myinsaing. After the Mongols left, Kyawswa succeeded his father Narathihapate. But he was just a nominal king of Pagan for he controlled no more than a few miles outside Pagan. Indeed, the Pagan Empire had ceased to exist. Instead, the real power in central Burma rested with the brothers who through their small but well-disciplined army controlled the Kyaukse district, the most important granary of Pagan. Kyawswa had no choice but to recognize them as lords of Kyaukse. Around, 1293, the king appointed the eldest brother as viceroy of Myinsaing, the second brother as viceroy of Mekkara, and the third brother as viceroy of Pinle.^[1]

The brothers already behaved like sovereign kings nonetheless. When King Wareru of Hanthawaddy received recognition as a tributary of the Sukhothai Kingdom in 1294, it was the brothers, not Kyawswa, who sent a force to reclaim the former Pagan territory of Hanthawaddy (Lower Burma). While their attempt to reconquer Hanthawaddy was unsuccessful, it left no doubt as to who held the real power in central Burma.^[3]

The third brother, Thihathu, was the most ambitious, and not satisfied with a mere viceroy title. He assumed the royal titles of Lord of the White Elephant, and the Great Lord in 1295 and 1296 respectively. Alarmed by these obvious displays of power by Thihathu, Kyawswa in January 1297 sent his son the crown prince to the Mongols at Tagaung, offering submission and asking for recognition. In March 1298, the Mongol Emperor recognized Kyawswa as King of Burma and conferred Chinese titles on the brothers.^[1]

The brothers resented the new arrangement as a Mongol vassalage as it directly reduced their power. In December 1298, they invited the king to Myinsaing, their capital to take part in the dedication ceremony of a monastery built by them. The king believing that he was untouchable because of the Mongol backing foolishly went to Myinsaing, and led the dedication ceremony. But as soon as the ceremony was over, he was arrested, dethroned, and forced to become a monk at the very monastery he had dedicated.^[1][4]

Mongol invasion (1301)

In Pagan, Kyawswa's son Sawhnit was elected king by the dowager Queen Saw but soon became a governor under the authority of Myinsaing. Another of Kyawswa's sons, Kumara Kassapa, escaped to China, and came back with a Mongol army in 1300 to restore Kyawswa. With the Mongol army returning, the brothers executed Kyawswa.^[1][4]

The Mongols declared Kumara Kassapa as the new king of Burma, and invaded central Burma in January 1301. The Mongols suffered heavy losses from Burmese guerrilla attacks and from disease but managed to reach Myinsaing and lay siege to the fort. But Myinsaing's defenses held, and the Mongols were persuaded to call off the attack on receipt of a considerable bribe, which the Mongols took as tribute. Kumara Kassapa retreated back to Tagaung with the Mongols. The Yunnan government, which sent in the invasion, dissatisfied with the conduct of the campaign executed all the leaders on their return but sent in no further expeditions.^[2] In 1303, the Mongols abolished the province of Chiang-Mien based in Tagaung in northern Burma, and withdrew entirely from Upper Burma.^[1]

Geographical extent

After the Mongols' withdrawal from their erstwhile base at Tagaung, Myinsaing became the dominant power in central Burma. By Pagan and later standards, the area Myinsaing controlled was rather small, covering just the central dry zone of Burma. In the south, Hanthawaddy and Toungoo were independent with their own kings. In the west, Arakan was also independent. The entire northwestern-to-eastern arc of the kingdom was surrounded by the Shan States.^[4] The Shans, unlike the Mongols, did not leave and would become major players in Burmese (and South-East Asian) history.^[5]

End of Myinsaing

Thihathu, the youngest brother, did not want to share power, even with his own brothers. In 1309, he blatantly crowned himself king.^[1] After the middle brother died, Thihathu poisoned the eldest brother, and took over as the king of Upper Burma. In February 1313, following the advice of court astrologers, Thihathu moved his capital to a new city of Pinya by the Irrawaddy river, and founded the Pinya Kingdom.^[4][6]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Maung Htin Aung (1967). A History of Burma. New York and London: Cambridge University Press. pp. 65–71. 
2. ^ ^{a b} DGE Hall. Burma (2008 ed.). READ BOOKS. p. 28. ISBN 1443725412, 9781443725415. 
3. ^ Maung Htin Aung (1967). A History of Burma. New York and London: Cambridge University Press. p. 81. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d} Lt. Gen. Sir Arthur P. Phayre (1883). History of Burma (1967 ed.). London: Susil Gupta. pp. 58–59. 
5. ^ GE Harvey (1925). History of Burma (2000 ed.). Asian Educational Services. pp. 73–74. ISBN 8120613651, 9788120613652. 
6. ^ GE Harvey (1925). History of Burma (2000 ed.). Asian Educational Services. p. 78. ISBN 8120613651, 9788120613652.