Tabinshwehti (, ; 16 April 1516 – 30 April 1550) was king of Burma from 1530 to 1550, and the founder of the First Toungoo Empire. His military campaigns (1534–1549) created the largest kingdom in Burma since the fall of the Pagan Empire in 1287. His administratively fragile kingdom proved to be the impetus for the eventual reunification of the entire country by his successor and brother-in-law Bayinnaung.
Based out of their small landlocked principality in the Sittaung valley, Tabinshwehti and his deputy Bayinnaung began their military campaigns in 1534 against the Hanthawaddy kingdom, and had conquered the wealthier but disunited kingdom by 1541. He then leveraged the coastal kingdom's wealth, manpower and access to Portuguese mercenaries and firearms, and extended his rule to the ancient capital of Pagan (Bagan) in 1544. However, his attempts to build an East-West empire fell short in Arakan (1545–1547) and in Siam (1547–1549). He actively courted the support of ethnic Mons of Lower Burma, many of whom were appointed to the highest positions in his government and armed forces. His chief queen and chief primate were Mons. He moved the capital to Pegu (Bago). The king was assassinated on his 34th birthday on the orders of Smim Sawhtut, one of his close advisers. The kingdom he had built up fell apart right after his death, which Bayinnaung had to restore in the next two years.
His premature death has been called "one of the great turning points of mainland [Southeast Asia's] history". He is one of the most celebrated kings in Burmese history. The Tabinshwehti nat is one of the 37 nats (spirits) worshiped in Myanmar.
Early life Birth Tabinshwehti was born at Toungoo Palace to King Mingyi Nyo of Toungoo and his concubine Khin Oo on 16 April 1516.Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 180 The 56-year-old king, who had desperately wanted a son, named the baby boy "Tabinshwehti"—meaning "Unitary Golden Umbrella", with the golden umbrella being the symbol of Burmese kings—and made him the heir-apparent of his small kingdom. The king also raised the boy's teenage mother to queen with the title of Yaza Dewi.Sein Lwin Lay 2006: 97–99 From his father side, Tabinshwehti was a great-great-great-grandson of King Minkhaung I of Ava, and great-great-grandson of Crown Prince Minye Kyawswa.(Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 171): Mingyi Nyo's maternal grandmother Min Hla Htut, Princess of Pyakaung, was a daughter of Minye Kyawswa. His mother Khin Oo (sometimes reported as Khin Mya) was a commoner, daughter of the village chief of Le Way (today a township in the Naypyidaw Union Territory).Sein Lwin Lay 2006: 85
Childhood and education The young prince was cared for by seven royal servants (two women and five men) throughout his childhood and youth. He grew up playing with children of his servants, including one Ye Htut, the eldest son of Mingyi Swe and his wet nurse Myo Myat. Ye Htut, who was three months older, would become Tabinshwehti's right-hand man.Sein Lwin Lay 2006: 99–100
The young crown prince grew up having to live up to a prophecy at his birth, which claimed that he would grow up to be a great warrior just like Minye Kyawswa.Htin Aung 1967: 105 The prophecy of a Minye Kyawswa reincarnate may have been popular in the superstitious world of Burmese politics since Upper Burma was going through immense political turmoil and decades-long internecine warfare. Since the 1480s, the once dominant power of Upper Burma, Ava, had been unable to prevent its key vassal states from breaking away. His father, who himself had broken away from Ava since 1510, required his son to receive an education in military arts. Tabinshwehiti along with Ye Htut and other young men at the palace received training in martial arts, horseback riding, elephant riding, and military strategy.Sein Lwin Lay 2006: 109
Childhood legend and prophecy According to prophecy, Tabinshwehti was the reincarnation of a prince named Minye Kyawswa who had been put to death by his father King Dhammazedi of Hanthawaddy. The prince supposedly prayed the same prayer as Prince Bawlawkyantaw of Hanthawaddy before the latter was put to death by his father King Razadarit in 1390. As Minye Kyawswa of Ava, who was believed to be the reincarnation of Bawlawkyantaw, grew up to be the nemesis of Hanthawaddy, Tabinshwehti, believed to be the reincarnation of Minye Kyawswa of Hanthawaddy, according to the prophecy, would be the nemesis of Hanthawaddy.Harvey 1925: 342Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 184
Local legends mention that even though Tabinshwehti was born during the nighttime, the swords in the armory shone brightly. This was believed to be an omen that he would be a strong warrior.
Siege of Toungoo His first experience with warfare came in 1525 when Ava's forces led by King Narapati II unsuccessfully laid siege to Toungoo from April to May.The siege lasted from April to May 1525 for the following reasons. First, the chronicle Toungoo Yazawin (Sein Lwin Lay 2006: 105–106) says the siege by Avan forces came after the city of Ava fell to the Confederation forces on Saturday, 14th waning of Tabaung 886 ME. However, 14th waning of Tabaung 886 ME translates to Wednesday (not Saturday), 22 March 1525. Secondly, Hmannan Yazawin (Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 134) says the siege was called off after a month before the rainy season began. In the following years, his father's little principality gained more manpower as refugees from Upper Burma in search of a safe haven streamed in. The influx accelerated after Ava finally fell for good to the forces of Confederation of Shan States on 25 March 1527.Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 137Fernquest 2005: 337
Early reign Accession Mingyi Nyo died on 24 November 1530, and the 14-year-old prince ascended to the throne at once.Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 183 He rewarded all his childhood staff by handing out royal titles, and by marrying two of their daughters—Khin Hpone Soe, daughter of Mingyi Swe and sister of Ye Htut, and Khin Myat, daughter of Shin Nita. He also installed his young friends, including Ye Htut, as confidants.Sein Lwin Lay 2006: 126–127
Thakin Gyi and Ye Htut The young king's first important decision came c. April 1534,The Hmannan Yazawin chronicle (Hmannan Vol. 3 2003: 61) only gives 896 ME (29 March 1534 to 29 March 1535) for the date of the marriage between Bayinnaung and Thakin Gyi (Atula Thiri). But they must have got married in early 896 ME around April 1534 since the couple had their second child, Nanda Bayin, in November 1535. when the affair between his half-sister Thakin Gyi and his right-hand man Ye Htut was discovered. The affair under Burmese law constituted an act of treason. Ye Htut, for his part, spurned suggestions of mutiny and submitted to arrest. Tabinshwehti deliberated at length with his ministers, and finally came to the conclusion that Ye Htut should be given his sister in marriage, and a princely title of Kyawhtin Nawrahta. With this decision, Tabinshwehti won the loyalty of his brother-in-law "without parallel in Burmese history".Htin Aung 1967: 106
Choosing war Meanwhile, war had arrived uncomfortably close to his realm. In late 1532, the Confederation of Shan States, already ruling much of Upper Burma, attacked its erstwhile ally Prome, and sacked the city.Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 215 Although the Confederation was content to keep Prome as a vassal, the Toungoo leadership was concerned that their city east of Prome on the same latitude, separated only by the Pegu Yoma (Bago Yoma) range, was an "obvious next target."Fernquest 2005: 356 To be sure, Toungoo did have some advantages. Tucked away behind the Pegu Yoma range, the city was not easy to march from Ava in contrast to Prome on the Irrawaddy, which was easily accessible from Ava. Moreover, swelled by refugees, the principality now commanded considerably more manpower than its traditional base would have allowed for.Harvey 1925: 153 Nevertheless, the Toungoo leadership decided that their kingdom "had to act quickly if it wished to avoid being swallowed up" by the Confederation.
In late 1534, in a complete break from his father's longstanding policy, Tabinshwehti decided to break out of his increasingly narrow realm by attacking the Hanthawaddy kingdom to the south. Though the Burmese chronicles attribute the audacious decision to the king alone, the 18-year-old king was more probably persuaded by older more experienced ministers at the court, who may have also played a major role in the initial campaigns.Fernquest 2005: 357 In the next 16 years, Tabinshwehti along with his deputy Kyawhtin Nawrahta (later Bayinnaung) would go on to unite many of the petty kingdoms that had existed since the fall of the Pagan Empire in 1287.
Founding of Toungoo Empire Lower Burma (1534–1541)
The king and his court chose Hanthawaddy, which on paper was the strongest kingdom of all post-Pagan kingdoms, as their first target because its inexperienced ruler King Takayutpi did not command the loyalty of his vassals in Martaban (Mottama) and the Irrawaddy delta. Moreover, Hanthawaddy's trade wealth and maritime markets made the coastal kingdom an attractive military target. Perhaps most importantly, the Toungoo court was reasonably certain that Takayutpi would not counterattack. Indeed, about two and half years earlier,(Sein Lwin Lay 2006: 129): Tabinshwehti marched to Pegu for reaching his 17th year (having turned 16). He turned 16 on 20 April 1532 (1st waning of Kason 894 ME). He likely went to Pegu in April/May 1532 before the rainy season began. Tabinshwehti and his chosen men (eight ponnas, 40 ministers, and a company of 500 most-skillful horsemen led by Kyawhtin Nawrahta) had made an uninvited foray into the Shwemawdaw Pagoda at the outskirts of Pegu, the capital of Hanthawaddy, ostensibly for the king's ear-piercing ceremony. The audacious intrusion went unpunished.Htin Aung 1967: 105–106 Unlike his father Binnya Ran II, whose strong 1495–96 counterattack on Toungoo taught Mingyi Nyo never to raid Hanthawaddy again,Sein Lwin Lay 2006 59–60 Takayutpi could not organize his kingdom's superior resources and counterattack.
Pegu, Irrawaddy delta and Prome (1534–1539) In the beginning, Toungoo's military maneuvers amounted to a mere raids of Hanthawaddy territory. Its initial dry-season raids in 1534–1535, 1535–1536, and 1536–1537 all failed against Pegu's fortified defenses aided by foreign mercenaries and firearms. In each campaign, Toungoo armies numbered no more than 6000 to 7000 men, a few hundred cavalry and a few dozen war elephants. More importantly, they did not yet have access to foreign troops and firearms. As expected, Takayutpi could not organize any retaliatory action. His nominal subordinates in the delta and Martaban did not send any help. Nonetheless, Pegu's defenses led by two leading ministers of the court withstood the raids.Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 185–187