HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Toungoo–Hanthawaddy War (1534–1541) ( my, တောင်ငူ–ဟံသာဝတီ စစ် (၁၅၃၄–၁၅၄၁)) was a military conflict between the Toungoo Kingdom, and the
Hanthawaddy Kingdom (Mon) ( Burmese) , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Hongsarwatoi (Hanthawaddy) Pegu , common_name = Hongsarwatoi (Hanthawaddy) Kingdom / Ramannya (Ramam) , era = Warring states , status = Kingdom , event_pre ...
and its allies the
Prome Kingdom The Prome Kingdom ( my, ဒုတိယ သရေခေတ္တရာ နေပြည်တော်) was a kingdom that existed for six decades between 1482 and 1542 in present-day central Burma (Myanmar). Based out of the city of Prome ( ...
and the
Confederation of Shan States The Shan States (1885–1948) were a collection of minor Shan kingdoms called ''muang'' whose rulers bore the title ''saopha'' in British Burma. They were analogous to the princely states of British India. The term "Shan States" was first ...
that took place in present-day
Lower Burma Lower Myanmar ( my, အောက်မြန်မာပြည်, also called Lower Burma) is a geographic region of Myanmar and includes the low-lying Irrawaddy Delta ( Ayeyarwady, Bago and Yangon Regions), as well as coastal regions of the c ...
(Myanmar) between 1534 and 1541. In a series of improbable events, the upstart Burmese-speaking kingdom defeated the
Mon Mon, MON or Mon. may refer to: Places * Mon State, a subdivision of Myanmar * Mon, India, a town in Nagaland * Mon district, Nagaland * Mon, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India * Mon, Switzerland, a village in the Canton of Grisons * A ...
-speaking Hanthawaddy, the most prosperous and powerful of all post-
Pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. I ...
kingdoms before the war.Harvey 1925: 153–157 In the following years, Toungoo used the newly acquired kingdom's wealth and manpower to reunify the various petty states that had existed since the fall of
Pagan Empire The Kingdom of Pagan ( my, ပုဂံခေတ်, , ; also known as the Pagan Dynasty and the Pagan Empire; also the Bagan Dynasty or Bagan Empire) was the first Burmese kingdom to unify the regions that would later constitute modern-da ...
in 1287.


Background

Since its founding in 1279 as an outpost of the
Pagan Kingdom The Kingdom of Pagan ( my, ပုဂံခေတ်, , ; also known as the Pagan Dynasty and the Pagan Empire; also the Bagan Dynasty or Bagan Empire) was the first Burmese kingdom to unify the regions that would later constitute modern-da ...
, Toungoo, located in a remote, hard-to-reach corner east of the
Pegu Yoma The Pegu Range ( my, ပဲခူးရိုးမ; Pegu Yoma or Bago Yoma) is a range of low mountains or hillsSeekins, Donald M. (2006) ''Historical dictionary of Burma (Myanmar)'' Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Marylandpage 357 and uplands between ...
(Bago Yoma) range, had always been a troublesome province for its overlord. During the Ava period, its governors and viceroys raised multiple rebellions (1427–1428, 1437–1442, 1451–1458, and 1468–1470), each time with clandestine or open help from Hanthawaddy, which wanted to keep Ava unstable. Ironically, Toungoo would repay by attacking Hanthawaddy itself. Circa 1494, Toungoo, then still a vassal of Ava, raided Hanthawaddy's territory, taking advantage of the larger kingdom's succession crisis. But Hanthawaddy's new king
Binnya Ran II Binnya Ran II ( my, ဒုတိယ ဗညားရံ, ; Mon: ဗညားရာံ; 1469–1526) the 17th king of the Kingdom of Hanthawaddy in Burma from 1492 to 1526. He was revered for his gentleness although his first act as king was to enf ...
retaliated by laying siege to Toungoo in 1495–1496.Sein Lwin Lay 2006: 59–60 Toungoo barely survived the siege; Mingyi Nyo, viceroy of Toungoo, would not provoke the larger neighbor for the remainder of his life.Harvey 1925: 124–125 After he declared independence from Ava in 1510, Mingyi Nyo largely stayed out of the fighting raging between Ava and the
Confederation of Shan States The Shan States (1885–1948) were a collection of minor Shan kingdoms called ''muang'' whose rulers bore the title ''saopha'' in British Burma. They were analogous to the princely states of British India. The term "Shan States" was first ...
. When Ava fell to the combined forces of the Confederation and Prome in 1527, many people fled to Toungoo, the only region in Upper Burma at peace. But Toungoo could not stay out of the warfare forever. War arrived uncomfortably close to Toungoo in 1532–1533 when 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 range, was an "obvious next target."Fernquest 2005: 356 Fortunately for Toungoo, the Confederation was distracted by the leadership change after its principal leader
Sawlon Sawlon of Mohnyin ( my, မိုးညှင်းစလုံ ; 1486–1533) was saopha of the Shan state of Mohnyin in the early the 16th century. He is best remembered in Burmese history as the conqueror of Ava Kingdom. Sawlon led a confeder ...
of
Mohnyin Mohnyin ( my, မိုးညှင်း, ; Shan:မိူင်းယၢင်း) is a town in Kachin State, Myanmar. It is the administrative center for both Mohnyin Township and Mohnyin District and it has a population of 33,290. History ...
was assassinated in 1533. Moreover, Toungoo's remote hard-to-reach location proved an asset. Unlike Prome, which sits on the Irrawaddy river, Toungoo was tucked away behind the Pegu Yoma range and was not connected to Upper Burma by any major water way, presenting a difficult logistical challenge for potential invaders. Meanwhile, refugees continued to flee to Toungoo, still the only kingdom unaffected by war. The little principality now commanded considerably more manpower than its traditional base allowed for, and it would soon punch above its weight.Harvey 1925: 153 The Toungoo leadership decided that their kingdom "had to act quickly if it wished to avoid being swallowed up" by the confederation. Tabinshwehti and his court selected Hanthawaddy as their first target because its king
Takayutpi Thushin Takayutpi (, , or Taka Yut Pi or Taka Rat Pi; 1511–1539) was king of Hanthawaddy Pegu from 1526 to 1539. At his accession, the 15-year-old inherited the most prosperous and powerful kingdom of all post-Pagan kingdoms. But he never had ...
was a weak leader who did not command respect of his vassals. Takayutpi's brother-in-law
Saw Binnya Saw Binnya ( my, စောဗညား, ; died 1541) was viceroy of Martaban (Mottama) from c. 1510s to 1539, and the self-proclaimed king of the rump Hanthawaddy Kingdom from 1539 to 1541. First appointed viceroy of Martaban, one of the three ...
practically ruled
Martaban Mottama ( my, မုတ္တမမြို့, ; Muttama mnw, မုဟ်တၟံ, ; formerly Martaban) is a town in the Thaton District of Mon State, Myanmar. Located on the west bank of the Thanlwin river (Salween), on the opposite sid ...
region like a sovereign, and scarcely acknowledged the high king at
Pegu Bago (formerly spelt Pegu; , ), formerly known as Hanthawaddy, is a city and the capital of the Bago Region in Myanmar. It is located north-east of Yangon. Etymology The Burmese name Bago (ပဲခူး) is likely derived from the Mon langua ...
(Bago). Takayutpi in turned made an alliance with the
Prome Kingdom The Prome Kingdom ( my, ဒုတိယ သရေခေတ္တရာ နေပြည်တော်) was a kingdom that existed for six decades between 1482 and 1542 in present-day central Burma (Myanmar). Based out of the city of Prome ( ...
, a vassal of the Confederation.


Initial raids (1534–1537)

The war began in late 1534Chronicles (Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 185) simply say that the war began in 896 ME (30 March 1534 – 29 March 1535). The war likely began in November 1534 since Burmese kings almost always fought in the dry season (November to May). when a landlocked Toungoo led by
Tabinshwehti Tabinshwehti ( my, တပင်‌ရွှေထီး, ; 16 April 1516 – 30 April 1550) was king of Burma (Myanmar) from 1530 to 1550, and the founder of the First Toungoo Empire. His military campaigns (1534–1549) created the largest ki ...
and his deputy
Bayinnaung , image = File:Bayinnaung.JPG , caption = Statue of Bayinnaung in front of the National Museum of Myanmar , reign = 30 April 1550 – 10 October 1581 , coronation = 11 January 1551 at Tou ...
, tried to break out of its increasingly narrow zone by launching a
preemptive war A preemptive war is a war that is commenced in an attempt to repel or defeat a perceived imminent offensive or invasion, or to gain a strategic advantage in an impending (allegedly unavoidable) war ''shortly before'' that attack materializes. I ...
against a weakly led Hanthawaddy. In the beginning, Toungoo's maneuvers amounted to mere raids of Hanthawaddy territory, and 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 had only 6000 to 7000 men, a few hundred cavalry, and a few dozen war elephants and did not yet have access to foreign troops or firearms.Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 185–187 Unlike his father Binnya Ran II, King
Takayutpi Thushin Takayutpi (, , or Taka Yut Pi or Taka Rat Pi; 1511–1539) was king of Hanthawaddy Pegu from 1526 to 1539. At his accession, the 15-year-old inherited the most prosperous and powerful kingdom of all post-Pagan kingdoms. But he never had ...
of Hanthawaddy could not organize any retaliatory action. His nominal subordinates in the
Irrawaddy delta The Irrawaddy Delta or Ayeyarwady Delta lies in the Irrawaddy Division, the lowest expanse of land in Myanmar that fans out from the limit of tidal influence at Myan Aung to the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea, to the south at the mouth of the ...
and Martaban did not send any help. Nonetheless, Pegu's defenses led by two leading ministers of the court,
Binnya Law Binnya Law ( my, ဗညားလော, ; died 1538) was a senior minister at the court of King Takayutpi of Hanthawaddy. He and Binnya Kyan, another senior minister, organized and led the coastal kingdom's defenses, which successfully repuls ...
and Binnya Kyan, withstood the raids.


Coup de grace (1538–1539)


Pegu

Toungoo used a
stratagem Stratagem, Stratagems, or Strategema may refer to: Books * ''Strategemata'', or ''Stratagems'', a first-century book by Frontinus * ''Stratagems'' (Polyaenus), or ''Strategemata'', a second-century book by Polyaenus Media * "Stratagem" (''Star ...
to create a split in the Hanthawaddy camp, providing misinformation about the loyalty of the ministers. Surprisingly, Takayutpi believed Toungoo's misinformation, and executed the ministers who had been his tutors since childhood and were absolutely devoted to him.Htin Aung 1967: 106–109 Then when Toungoo launched another invasion in late 1538, with 7000 troops, Takayutpi was helpless, and decided to evacuate his capital rather than fight. Toungoo forces took Pegu without firing a shot. The most telling part of the state of disarray of the once powerful kingdom was that Takayutpi and his armies chose to retreat to Prome, another kingdom, rather than to their own territory of Martaban whose ruler Takayutpi simply did not trust.Htin Aung 1967: 109 The course of retreat was through the Irrawaddy delta. The direct route from Pegu to Prome, though much shorter, involved crossing the Bago Yoma range, and was not practical for large armies. Takayutpi divided the retreating Hanthawaddy forces into two. Five divisions of the army marched by land. Takayutpi and the remaining troops sailed by river in 700 boats.Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 188–192


Battle of Naungyo

At Pegu, Tabinshwehti and his deputy Bayinnaung well understood that they had gained Pegu only through a ruse, and that Hanthawaddy's military had not been defeated yet. Their top priority was to meet and defeat the Hanthawaddy army before they got inside the fortified walls of Prome. They knew that a large body of enemy inside walls with better leadership would pose a major problem for their tenuous hold on Lower Burma. Tabinshwehti sent Bayinnaung with a small army to chase the retreating army while he sailed up to Prome with his flotilla of war boats to chase Takayutpi's flotilla.Htin Aung 1967: 106–109 Bayinnaung's light troops caught up with the main Hanthawaddy armies led by Gen. Binnya Dala and Gen. Minye Aung Naing near Naungyo in the Irrawaddy delta. Bayinnaung nonetheless defeated the numerically superior and better armed force. Only a small portion of the Hanthawaddy forces made it to Prome. A decimated Hanthawaddy was no longer in a position to retake the lost territories from Toungoo.Harvey 1925: 154


Battle of Prome

After Pegu's improbable fall, the Shan Confederation, which ruled the former
Ava Kingdom The Kingdom of Ava ( my, အင်းဝခေတ်, ) was the dominant kingdom that ruled upper Burma (Myanmar) from 1364 to 1555. Founded in 1365, the kingdom was the successor state to the petty kingdoms of Myinsaing, Pinya and Sagai ...
, finally took notice. When Toungoo's armies later attacked its vassal Prome, the Confederation sent in troops and broke the siege. Toungoo retreated but soon gained the allegiance of many
Mon Mon, MON or Mon. may refer to: Places * Mon State, a subdivision of Myanmar * Mon, India, a town in Nagaland * Mon district, Nagaland * Mon, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India * Mon, Switzerland, a village in the Canton of Grisons * A ...
lords, and manpower after Hanthawaddy's king
Takayutpi Thushin Takayutpi (, , or Taka Yut Pi or Taka Rat Pi; 1511–1539) was king of Hanthawaddy Pegu from 1526 to 1539. At his accession, the 15-year-old inherited the most prosperous and powerful kingdom of all post-Pagan kingdoms. But he never had ...
died a few months later.


Martaban (1540–1541)


Preparations

Toungoo now held two out of the three Hanthawaddy provinces (the Irrawaddy delta and Pegu) but Martaban remained independent. The viceroy of Martaban, who had always acted like a sovereign, had declared himself king of Hanthawaddy since the death of Takayutpi. Tabinshwehti sent an ultimatum to Martaban and its vassals to submit in exchange for amnesty but Saw Binnya refused. He had fortified the wealthy port, and enlisted Portuguese mercenaries and seven warships led by
Paulo de Seixas Paulo de Seixas was a 16th-century Portuguese mercenary in the service of Saw Binnya, the viceroy of Martaban (Mottama). He is known for his leadership of Martaban's musket and artillery corps at the battle of Martaban (1540–41) against Toung ...
, guarded the harbor.Harvey 1925: 155 Martaban's vassals wavered. The governor of Moulmein did not submit to Tabinshwehti but agreed not to provide any help to Martaban.Sein Lwin Lay 2006: 179–181


Siege

In November 1540, 13,000-strong Toungoo land and naval forces attacked the city.Sein Lwin Lay 2006: 178 Toungoo forces now included 700 Portuguese mercenaries led by
João Caeiro João Caeiro (also spelled as João Cayeyro,Pinto and Catz 1989: 601 Joano Cayeyro,Harvey 1925: 155–156 John CayeroRyley 1899: 139) was a 16th-century Portuguese mercenary in the service of King Tabinshwehti of the Toungoo Dynasty, rulers in mo ...
(Joano Cayeyro) who brought light artillery and muskets. However, the wealthy port's strong fortifications backed by Portuguese artillery and musket fire kept besiegers at bay. Toungoo's light Portuguese artillery proved "useless against ramparts backed by earthwork," and its "navy" of small war boats could not impose a complete blockade on the seven Portuguese ships guarding the harbor. The Toungoo command tried to complete the blockade about a month into the siege by sending in 300 war boats to storm the harbor but the venture ended badly, with most boats destroyed by the guns of the Portuguese ships.Sein Lwin Lay 2006: 179 For the next few months, Toungoo forces continued the siege from afar but the Toungoo command was concerned by the fast approaching rainy season. Even though the first naval attack failed, Adm. Smim Payu convinced Tabinshwehti, who was personally leading the siege, that their best chance for a breakthrough still lay in another naval attack. The king accepted the plan. The admiral went up the
Salween river , ''Mae Nam Salawin'' ( , name_etymology = , image = Sweet_View_of_Salween_River_in_Tang_Yan_Township,_Shan_State,_Myanmar.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = Salween River in Shan State, Myanmar , map ...
with thousands of men, and built two types of rafts. One type contained bamboo towers higher than the walls of the port. The others were fire-rafts.Harvey 1925: 156–157 While Toungoo forces prepared for the final assault, the city was starving. Saw Binnya finally offered to surrender provided that he be allowed to remain viceroy in exchange for an annual tribute of 30,000
viss The traditional Burmese units of measurement were a system of measurement used in Myanmar (also known as Burma). According to the 2010 CIA Factbook, Myanmar is one of three countries that have not adopted the International System of Units (SI) ...
(48,987.9 kg) of silver bullion and other valuable presents. Tabinshwehti rejected the offer, demanding an unconditional surrender instead. Saw Binnya then asked for safe-conduct out of the city for himself and his entire family, together with his treasures. It too was rejected by the Burmese king. In desperation, Saw Binnya appealed to the Portuguese viceroy at Goa for assistance, offering to become a vassal of Goa, in addition to an outright gift of half the amount of his treasure. The Portuguese were interested. A Portuguese captain listed the treasure as consisting of two shiploads of gold and silver, and 26 chests of precious stones. In addition, gold to be looted from the city's pagodas would fill 4 ships. But the Portuguese also feared the vengeance of Tabinshwehti, the new power in Lower Burma, and "wavered between greed and prudence".Htin Aung 1967: 110 At the same time, Saw Binnya offered a large bribe to Caeiro to help him and his family escape. Caeiro seriously considered the overly generous offer but ultimately declined the offer as his deputies found out the proposal and threatened to report the matter to Tabinshwehti.


Final assault

While Saw Binnya was exhausting all his options, the Toungoo command was determined to sack the city before the rainy season. In May 1541, seven months into the siege, Smim Payu launched the second attack on the harbor. Several fire-rafts "with flames higher than a toddy tree" came floating down the river toward the Portuguese ships. Three of the seven Portuguese ships fled to the sea. The remaining four ships were either burned or captured. Then the rafts with mounted bamboo towers, crammed with troops and musketeers, slipped past the wreckage, and made it to the wall by the harbor. The Toungoo troops, who were exchanging musket fire with the defenders on the wall, then jumped over the wall and soon won a foothold. A section of the wall was mined and brought down. Inside the city, the defenders fought on, with Saw Binnya personally leading the fight on his war elephant.Sein Lwin Lay 2006: 182–184 But they were soon overwhelmed. The sack raged for three days. Tabinshwehti ordered the execution of the viceroy, his family, and all the "gallant" defenders for they had refused his prior offer of amnesty. The mass execution had the desired effect. The governors of
Moulmein Mawlamyine (also spelled Mawlamyaing; , ; th, เมาะลำเลิง ; mnw, မတ်မလီု, ), formerly Moulmein, is the fourth-largest city in Myanmar (Burma), ''World Gazetteer'' south east of Yangon and south of Thaton, at th ...
(Mawlaymyaing) and southern territories (present-day
Mon State Mon State ( my, မွန်ပြည်နယ်, ; mnw, တွဵုရးဍုင်မန်, italics=no) is an administrative division of Myanmar. It lies between Kayin State to the east, the Andaman Sea to the west, Bago Region to th ...
), abutting then Siamese frontier submitted.


Significance

The war was a crucial turning point in the history of Myanmar as well as in the history of mainland Southeast Asia. Toungoo's victory gave the upstart kingdom complete control of coastal Lower Burma's manpower, access to foreign firearms and maritime wealth to pay for them.Lieberman 2003: 151Harvey 1925: 154–155 Toungoo kings would leverage these newfound assets for further expansions in the remainder of the century, and build the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia. Moreover, Toungoo's success in breaking out of an increasingly narrow dry zone not only saved the only remaining ethnic Burman-led kingdom from extinction but also ensured the continued rise of Burman culture and Burmese language in the Irrawaddy valley.Lieberman 2003: 155–164


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Toungoo-Hanthawaddy War (1534-41) Wars involving Myanmar 1530s conflicts Conflicts in 1540 Conflicts in 1541 1534 in Asia 1540 in Asia 1541 in Asia First Toungoo Empire