Saw Beza (, ) was a queen consort of King
Swa Saw Ke
Mingyi Swa Saw Ke (, ; also spelled Minkyiswasawke or Swasawke; 1330–1400) was king of Ava from 1367 to 1400. He reestablished central authority in Upper Myanmar (Burma) for the first time since the fall of the Pagan Empire in the 1280s. He ...
of
Ava. She was the mother of King
Minkhaung I
Minkhaung I of Ava ( ; also spelled Mingaung; 1373–1421) was king of Ava Kingdom, Ava from 1400 to 1421. He is best remembered in History of Myanmar, Burmese history for his epic struggles against King Razadarit of Hanthawaddy Kingdom, Hantha ...
of
Ava, Gov.
Theiddat
Theiddat (, ; 1375/76–1408) was the heir-presumptive of Ava from 1400 to 1406 during the reign of King Minkhaung I of Ava. Theiddat was the key figure in securing his elder brother Minkhaung I's claim on the throne of Ava. In the early days of ...
of
Sagaing
Sagaing (, ) is a town in the Sagaing Region of Myanmar. It is located on the Irrawaddy River, to the south-west of Mandalay on the opposite bank of the river. Sagaing, with its numerous Buddhist monasteries, is an important religious and ...
, and Queen
Thupaba Dewi of
Hanthawaddy Pegu.
[Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 436]
Brief
The future queen was a commoner named
Mi Beza from a small village named Gazun-Neint (ကန်စွန်းနိမ့်) near
Mohnyin
Mohnyin (, ; ) is a town in Kachin State, Myanmar. It is the administrative center for both Mohnyin Township and Mohnyin District
Mohnyin District () is a Districts of Burma, district of the Kachin State in northern Myanmar. The administrative c ...
(in present-day
Kachin State
Kachin State (; Jingpho language, Kachin: ) is the northernmost administrative divisions of Myanmar, state of Myanmar. It is bordered by China to the north and east (Tibet Autonomous Region, Tibet and Yunnan, respectively), Shan State to the sou ...
). King Swa met her at her village in the dry season of 1372–73 while he was on campaign to Mohnyin. The king took her as a concubine during the campaign. After the campaign, he told her to come to
Ava (Inwa) if she gave birth to his son. She gave birth to a son (later King Minkhaung I) on 13 October 1373, after which she went to Ava. The king, as promised, raised her to queen. They had two more children.
[Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 409–410]
References
Bibliography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beza, Saw
Queens consort of Ava
14th-century Burmese women