Yazathingyan
Yazathingyan ရာဇသင်္ကြန် | |
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Theravada Buddhism |
Yazathingyan (
Early life
Yazathingyan was born c. 1263 to a prominent family in
Royal service
Yazathingyan entered the royal service of King Narathihapate, following the footsteps of Athinkhaya, and was joined by Thihathu. The three brothers distinguished themselves in the war with the Mongols, which began in 1277. Both Athinkhaya and Hla Myat married into the royal family.[4][5]
In 1285, the three brothers, still in their twenties, came to lead the defense of Central Burma. The army had been defeated in northern Burma by the
Rise to power in Central Burma
Viceroy of Mekkhaya
The country fell into anarchy. The Mongols at Tagaung decided not to get involved, leaving the power vacuum unfilled. In Central Burma, the brothers officially took over the leadership of the army, and consolidated their hold of the
Overthrow of Kyawswa
In the following years, the brothers continued to consolidate power in Central Burma. Their youngest brother Thihathu was the least diplomatic, proclaiming himself hsinbyushin (ဆင်ဖြူရှင်, "Lord of the White Elephant") in 1295 and mingyi (မင်းကြီး, "Great King") in 1296.
Co-regency
Second Mongol invasion
After the overthrow, the brothers braced for a reprisal by the Mongols. But the expected reprisal never came. They became bolder, and allowed Saw Hnit to give his first audience on 8 May 1299. Two days later, they executed Kyawswa and his eldest son Theingapati. Another son of Kyawswa, Kumara Kassapa, escaped to Yunnan in September 1299 to seek the help of the Mongols. In January 1300, the brothers decided to force the issue by attacking and occupying southernmost Mongol garrisons at Singu and Male.[13] The Mongol government at Yunnan could not respond until a year later, sending a 12,000-strong army. The brothers decided to face the Mongols in Central Burma at their heavily fortified city of Myinsaing. The Mongol army began the siege of Myinsaing on 25 January 1301, and launched a major attack on the fort on 28 February 1301. The attack failed. On 12 March 1301, Athinkhaya, with his brothers' support, made an offer to the Mongol command, to give them a bribe in exchange for their withdrawal.[16] The Mongol command agreed. On 6 April 1301, upon receiving a bribe of 800 taels (30 kg) of gold and 2200 taels (83 kg) of silver, the Mongol army began their withdrawal.[16][17] The Yunnan government did not agree with the withdrawal; the two senior Mongol commanders were executed for abandoning the original mission. Nonetheless, the Mongols did not send another expedition, and withdrew altogether from northern Burma two years later.[16][18]
Post-invasion
The Mongols left northern Burma to their nominal vassals, the
Notes
- ^ (Aung-Thwin 1996: 884–885): Arthur Phayre was the first one to make the assertion, based purely on the chronicles' use of sawbwa, equating the office with ethnicity. GE Harvey (Harvey 1925: 76) inserted the word "Shan", in what he claimed was the direct quote from Hmannan, which says no such thing. In all, no historical evidence of any kind (in Burmese, Shan or anything else) that indicates the ethnicity of their father or the three brothers exists.
- sangha.
- ^ Chronicles Zatadawbon Yazawin (Zata 1960: 42) and Maha Yazawin (Maha Yazawin Vol. 1 2006: 258–259) both say that Yazathingyan was the eldest, followed by Athinkhaya, Thihathu and their sister. But Yazawin Thit (Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 156–157) corrects it based on a contemporary inscription. Subsequent chronicles (Hmannan, Dutiya Hmannan) and scholarship accept Athinkhaya as the eldest.
- ^ (Than Tun 1959: 121): The three brothers are mentioned in an inscription dated 13 February 1289 as Athinkhaya, Yazathingyan and Thihathura. Since Kyawswa would not become king until 30 May 1289, they must have been awarded the titles by Narathihapate.
- ^ The main chronicles before Hmannan all say Yazathingyan died in 674 ME (1312/13): see (Zata 1960: 43), (Maha Yazawin Vol. 1 2006: 259) and (Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 156–157). Hmannan (Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 369) in contradiction to the prior chronicles says Yazathingyan died in 665 ME (1303/04) but inscriptional evidence shows it is incorrect.
References
- ^ Coedès 1968: 209
- ^ Phayre 1967: 57
- ^ Harvey 1925: 76
- ^ Than Tun 1964: 277
- ^ Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 402–403
- ^ Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 149, footnote 3
- ^ Aung-Thwin and Hall 2011: 34–35
- ^ a b c Than Tun 1959: 121
- ^ Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 361–362
- ^ Htin Aung 1967: 73
- ^ Htin Aung 1967: 79
- ^ Aung-Thwin 2017: 25
- ^ a b c Than Tun 1959: 122
- ^ a b Htin Aung 1967: 74
- ^ Than Tun 1959: 119, 121–122
- ^ a b c Than Tun 1964: 278
- ^ Harvey 1925: 77
- ^ Harvey 1925: 78
- ^ Harvey 1925: 73
- ^ Than Tun 1959: 123
- ^ Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 370
Bibliography
- Aung-Thwin, Michael A. (November 1996). "The Myth of the "Three Shan Brothers" and the Ava Period in Burmese History". The Journal of Asian Studies. 55 (4). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 881–901. JSTOR 2646527.
- Aung-Thwin, Michael Arthur; Hall, Kenneth R. (2011). New Perspectives on the History and Historiography of Southeast Asia. Routledge. ISBN 9781136819643.
- Aung-Thwin, Michael A. (2017). Myanmar in the Fifteenth Century. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-6783-6.
- ISBN 978-0-8248-0368-1.
- Harvey, G. E. (1925). History of Burma: From the Earliest Times to 10 March 1824. London: Frank Cass & Co. Ltd.
- Htin Aung, Maung (1967). A History of Burma. New York and London: Cambridge University Press.
- Phayre, Lt. Gen. Sir Arthur P. (1883). History of Burma (1967 ed.). London: Susil Gupta.
- Royal Historical Commission of Burma (1832). Hmannan Yazawin (in Burmese). Vol. 1–3 (2003 ed.). Yangon: Ministry of Information, Myanmar.
- Than Tun (December 1959). "History of Burma: A.D. 1300–1400". Journal of Burma Research Society. XLII (II).
- Than Tun (1964). Studies in Burmese History (in Burmese). Vol. 1. Yangon: Maha Dagon.