Burmese Civil Wars of 1368–1599
The Burmese Civil Wars of 1368–1599 were a series of conflicts that arose from the struggle for power among various states in the region, particularly between the kingdoms of Ava and Pegu. The turmoil began after the establishment of Ava as a capital by Shan chieftain Thadominbya, who sought to unify Burma but died shortly after initiating his campaigns. His successor, Mingyi Swasawke, continued efforts to dominate the Mon kingdom of Pegu, resulting in a prolonged war that lasted from 1385 to 1423. This conflict saw fluctuating power dynamics, with Ava and Pegu engaged in a stalemate, while internal strife persisted due to rebellious local lords and Shan alliances.
As the wars progressed, the Toungoo dynasty emerged as a significant power under Minkyinyo, who expanded territory by capitalizing on Ava's weakened state. His son, Tabinshwehti, ultimately conquered Pegu in 1539 but struggled to maintain stability, leading to his assassination. Bayinnaung, Tabinshwehti’s brother-in-law, took control, expanding the Toungoo kingdom even further, including a conquest of Ava in 1555. The last phase of the wars culminated in 1599 when widespread revolts and an invasion by the Siamese disintegrated the unified kingdom, leading to the collapse of central authority in Burma. The aftermath left the region fragmented and marked the end of a significant era in Burmese history.
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Burmese Civil Wars of 1368–1599
At issue: Provincial supremacy of Burma
Date: 1368–1599
Location: Burma
Combatants: Shan kings of Ava vs. the Toungoo vs. the Mons
Principal commanders:Shan King, Mingyi Swasawke; Mon Chief, Razadarit (d. 1423); Toungoo Chief, Minkyinyo (d. 1531), Tabinshwehti (1512–1550), Bayinnaung (d. 1581), Nanda Bayin (1581–1599)
Principal battles: Pegu, Martaban, Prome
Result: Burma was united in 1555
Background
The land that was Burma in the fourteenth century was plagued with revolt and disorder. In 1364, in an effort to consolidate Shan domination, Shan chieftain Thadominbya eliminated the separate states of Pinya and Sagaing and selected Ava at the confluence of the Myitngé and the Irrawaddy as the site of his capital. The southern region of his kingdom, largely unaffected by Shan inroads, was in revolt and his first responsibility was to restore authority. While campaigning in Sagu in 1368, however, he died of smallpox. His successor, Mingyi Swasawke, continued Thadominbya’s quest to federate Burma, and under his rule, Ava rose in prestige until it surpassed Toungoo, a southern stronghold on the Sittang that opposed the Shan. The kingdom of Pegu became the name for the Mon state in the south, and the kingdom of Ava signified Burma proper, the land of the Burmese.
Action
Ava adopted the traditional policy of attempting to subjugate the Mons. Swasawke aimed at controlling the Irrawaddy waterway down to the sea, and by 1385, he challenged the independence of the Mon kingdom ruled by Razadarit of Pegu. A long war ensued (1385–1423), outlasting the Shan leader’s reign. Year after year, Burmese and Shan forces tried to fight their way down the Irrawaddy and the Sittang, as Toungoo also joined the struggle. Minhkaung, who ruled after Swasawke, continued the struggle against Razadarit and almost succeeded. Razadarit, however, widened the scope of the war and obtained the help of adjacent Arakan and induced discord between Ava and the other Shan states. The Mons narrowly escaped defeat. Razadarit subsequently gained back territory, only to be forced to retreat once again because of his own struggles with the Siamese states. Although the war was a perpetual stalemate, with the deaths of the rival kings, Minhkaung in 1422 and Razadarit in the following year, a temporary lull ensued.
As the fifteenth century progressed, the rulers of Ava became too absorbed with their own internal vassals to continue to engage the Mons. Shan states such as Onbaung, Yawnghwe, and Mohnyin up in the mountains made common cause with rebellious Burmese local lords, and the land was in a chronic state of unrest. The Mons, in contrast, were more cohesive and enjoyed a long period of peace and prosperity after the death of Razadarit. Under the rule of King Dammazedi in the late fifteenth century, many foreign traders were attracted to Pegu, and the Mon kingdom possessed two great pagodas of special sanctity, one of which was at the small stockade fishing town of Dagon (later Rangoon). The country’s peace and prosperity provides a sharp contrast to the savage disorder that characterized the Ava kingdom.
In the long wars between Ava and Pegu, the Toungoo rulers were sometimes ranged with Ava in its onslaught against the Mons. Also, from time to time, attempts were made by both Ava and Pegu to squelch the independence of Toungoo. The end of Toungoo’s instability came with the reign of Minkyinyo, beginning in 1486. Profiting by the chaos then reigning in the Ava kingdom, Minkyinyo acquired much additional territory, including the Kyauksé irrigation area. In 1527, many Burmese chiefs fled the Shans in Ava to take service with him, and he became the most powerful ruler in Burma. Although he died in 1531, his son, Tabinshwehti, successfully carried on his father’s project of the conquest of Pegu. The delta was easily conquered, but Pegu itself, however, was far more difficult. For four years, it resisted attack and was finally taken in 1539. Although Tabinshwehti’s subsequent attack on Prome failed because of relief from the Burmese forces of Ava, the death of the king of Pegu resulted in a large portion of the Mons chiefs pledging allegiance to Tabinshwehti, viewing him as the only leader capable of giving their land settled government. The Toungoo leader next turned his attention to the port of Martaban, which he took by storm in 1541. Looting followed and, as many of the men were mercenaries, uncontrollable massacre also took place, and the rest of the frightened Mons submitted. In the following year, the attack on Prome was renewed and, although both Arakan and Ava tried to relieve it, it fell after five months of siege. This victory and the growing power of the Toungoo king caused the quarreling Shans of the north to join forces. The effort was in vain, however, and Tabinshwehti easily defeated them and was crowned king of Burma at Pegu in 1546. He made no attempt to carry his conquest farther north by an attack on Ava.
After a failed expedition against Siam (1547–1548), Tabinshwehti, though still a young man, lost his morale and became a drunkard. His brother-in-law, Bayinnaung, took control as regent, but the Mons immediately rebelled and, after killing Tabinshwehti, seized the throne of Pegu. Fear of returning instability then became prominent. With the help of a Portuguese mercenary leader, Bayinnaung took Toungoo, and there was crowned Tabinshwehti’s successor (1551). He then carried out a lightning campaign and took central Burma, Prome, and finally Pegu. His greatest feat was the conquest of Ava in 1555. Although there were constant revolts, most of the Shan states were forced to accept his reign.
In 1581, Bayinnaung was succeeded by his son, Nanda Bayin. Rebellions were ubiquitous, but the new king repressed them all with ferocity. He then launched an invasion of Siam in 1584 that would be a series of disastrous wars for the new king. Most of the people renounced him as a result. The climax came in 1599. With Toungoo, Chiengmai, and Prome in revolt, the Siamese invaded. On another more important front, however, a powerful Arakanese fleet seized the port of Syriam and joined forces with the rebel chief of Toungoo and seized Pegu and Bayinnaung, who was later killed in Toungoo.
Aftermath
The Siamese army arrived to find Pegu in ruins. They therefore marched against Toungoo but failed to take it. The united kingdom of Burma and Pegu was, for the time, destroyed and divided.
Bibliography
Donnison, F. S. V. Burma. London: Ernest Benn, 1970.
Hall, D. G. E. Burma. London: Hutchinson’s University Library, 1956.
Harvey, G. E. History of Burma from the Earliest Times to the Beginnings of the English Conquest. 1925. Reprint. New York: Octagon Books, 1983.