Description:
Conclusion:
"The main purpose of this paper has been to provide a narrative
history charting the forces at work behind state expansion in the
early Toungoo period. Both the reign of Min-gyi-nyo and the Shan
invasions of Ava played important roles in this expansion. From the
very beginning of Min-gyi-nyo?s reign, after seizing the throne of
Toungoo in 1486, Min-gyi-nyo built an ever widening sphere of
influence in Upper Burma. After conquering the Pyinmana area near
Toungoo, during the 1490s Min-gyi-nyo attacked the rebellious
vassal Yamethin on behalf of his overlord the king of Ava and made
exploratory military probes along the frontier of Mon Ramanya to the
south. In 1501-03, there was a succession struggle at Ava as well as
an invasion and occupation of the northern part of the Mu River
valley, an important part of Ava?s food supply. In the wake of these
events, the new king of Ava attempted to draw Min-gyi-nyo closer to
him through a marriage alliance and a gift of strategically important
territory near Kyaukse, another important part of Ava?s food supply.
Min-gyi-nyo entered into a state of rebellion for the first time,
spurned Ava?s gift and depopulated the territory. Ava sent a military
expedition against Toungoo in retaliation, but Min-gyi-nyo
intercepted it ahead of time and defeated it. Shortly afterwards, in
1505, Toungoo joined with Prome and attacked towns in the
Myingyan area near Pagan. Toungoo was defeated and humbled by a joint military expedition sent by Ava and Hsipaw. In 1505, three
princes rebelled and seized the town of Pakan-gyi at the confluence
of the Irrawaddy and Chindwin rivers. Instead of making an
immediate move to help the rebels, Toungoo and Prome bided their
time with expeditions against settlements like Magwe to the south.
Their caution was vindicated when the princes were defeated and
executed. During his trips from Toungoo to and from these
campaigns, Min-gyi-nyo attacked and raided settlements along the
way, in some instances establishing marriage alliances. In 1510, the
king of Ava built a new capital and palace and Min-gyi-nyo followed
his example. After 1510, while Ava was burdened by Shan raids of
increasing intensity, Toungoo settled back to a period of peace. Only
in 1523 did Min-gyi-nyo venture out of Toungoo again in a military
expedition. During the Shan invasions of Ava (1524-27), he gained
many loyal vassals in the area south of Ava. Min-gyi-nyo died in
1531. The new Shan state at Ava invaded Prome in 1532 and in
1535 Toungoo under a new king Tabinshweihti started a series of
attacks against Pegu, the capital of Mon Ramanya, that led to
Toungoo?s conquest and control over the southern Ramanya region
and its lucrative maritime trade.
Several demographic factors that played a role in state
formation together with a model of state formation have been
assessed for their relevance to early Toungoo state expansion
(1486-1539). Although many might regard the lack of primary
sources for the First Toungoo Dynasty as limiting research
possibilities, it is hoped that shining the light of disciplines such as
historical demography, political anthropology, the anthropology of
war, as well as economic theory (Schmid, 2004; Van Tuyll and
Brauer, 2004) on the evidence combined with a continued search for
new primary sources will allow new advances to be made in this
important but understudied period of Burmese history. Perhaps
archaeological evidence will also one day supplement the evidence
that is now almost entirely textual."
Source/publisher:
SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 3, No. 2, Autumn 2005,
Date of Publication:
2005-09-00
Date of entry:
2010-10-03
Grouping:
- Individual Documents
Category:
Language:
English