Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Remembered as
tayokpyay min,
or 'the king who ran away from the Chinese', Narathi-
hapate was also known for his gluttonous appetite, demanding 300 varieties of dishes at
his banquets.
The Second Burmese Empire
It would be another 200 years before the Bamar were able to regroup to found their
second empire. During this time a settlement of Bamar refugees in central Taungoo sur-
vived between the Mon to the south and the Shan to the north and east, by playing the
larger forces off against each other.
In the 16th century a series of Taungoo kings extended their power north, nearly to the
Shan's capital at Inwa, then south, taking the Mon kingdom and shifting their own capital
to Bago. In 1550 Bayinnaung came to the throne, reunified all of Burma and defeated the
neighbouring Siamese so convincingly that it was many years before the long-running
friction between the two nations resurfaced.
Following Bayinnaung's death in 1581 the Bamar's power again declined. The capital
was shifted north to Inwa in 1636. Its isolation from the sea - effectively cutting off com-
munication around the kingdom - ultimately contributed to Myanmar's defeat by the
British.
Published in 1925, GE Harvey's
History of Burma
gives a chronological rundown of My-
anmar's kingdoms from the Pyu era until 1824, faithfully recounting many fanciful le-
gends along the way.
The Third Burmese Empire
With all the subtlety of a kick to the groin, King Alaungpaya launched the third and final
Burmese dynasty by contesting the Mon when the latter took over Inwa in 1752. Some
say Alaungpaya's sense of invincibility deluded the Burmese into thinking they could
resist the British later on.
Thant Myint-U's
River of Lost Footsteps
is a must-read historical review that recounts
kings' blunders and successes, while adding occasional family anecdotes of Burma's
early days of independence.
