Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
pre-eminenceoveraperiodofalmostthreecenturiesbeforetheriseofthenextgreatBurmese
dynasty, the kingdom of Taungoo.
Ava
The remains of Bagan itself mutated, via the Myinsaing Kingdom and other local fiefdoms
(including the Pinya and Sagaing statelets, which had emerged following the collapse of
Bagan), into the
Kingdom of Ava
, the dominant power in Upper Burma for almost two cen-
turies. Based in the city of Ava (at
Inwa
, near Mandalay), the dynasty was founded by King
Thadominbya, an ethnic Shan, in 1364. Despite their non-Bamar origins, Thadominbya and
his successors regarded themselves as descendants and rightful heirs to the kings of Bagan
and fought a series of wars in an attempt to reconquer former Bagan territories, although
with only partial success. Long battles against the Mon, in particular, exhausted and impov-
erished the kingdom. The
Forty Years' War
(1385-1424) against the southern kingdom of
Hanthawaddy
took a particular toll, as did attacks on Ava by the Shan States, which suc-
ceeded in conquering Ava itself in 1527. The enfeebled kingdom never recovered, and in
1555 was toppled once again by the armies of the emerging Taungoo dynasty.
The Shan States
Yet another people from Yunnan in southern China, the
Shan
had been moving down into
northern Myanmar from at least the tenth century, establishing a series of minor kingdoms,
at first under the authority of Bagan, and then, following the Mongol invasion of 1287, in-
dependently. Shan rulers gained increasing power during the two centuries after the fall of
Bagan, establishing the Kingdom of
Ava
as well as a series of other Shan states including
Mohnyin (Mong Yang) and Mogaung (Mong Kawng) in present-day Kachin State, along
with Thibaw (Hsipaw), Theinni (Hsenwi), Momeik (Mong Mit) and Kyaingtong (Kengtung)
in what is now Myanmar's northern Shan State.
Hanthawaddy
Meanwhile in the south, the Mon territories had reasserted their independence immediately
after the fall of Bagan, establishing the
HanthawaddyKingdom
(aka “Hanthawaddy Bago”
or“Ramannadesa”),alooseconfederationofthreesemi-independentstatelets-
Bago
(Bago),
Mottama
(formerly known as Martaban), near present-day Mawlamyine, and the
Ayeyar-
wadyDelta
. The kingdom's first capital was at Mottama, but it was moved to Bago in 1369.
After repulsing Ava in the Forty Years' War, the Hanthawaddy enjoyed a miniature gold age,
growing rich from trade with India and becoming a major centre of Mon language and liter-
ature, and also Theravada Buddhism - as witnessed by the numerous pagodas which still dot
Bago to this day.
Arakan
In the far west of the Myanmar, the kingdom of
Arakan
(modern-day Rakhine State) had
already been in existence for centuries, squeezed between the Bagan Empire on one side and
