Wareru (, , ; also known as Wagaru; 20 March 1253 – ), personal name Magadu (Mon: သၟိၚ်မဂဒူ ), was the founder of the Martaban Kingdom, located in present-day Myanmar (Burma). By using both diplomatic and military skills, he successfully carved out a Mon-speaking polity in Lower Burma, during the collapse of the Pagan Empire (Bagan Empire) in the 1280s. Wareru was assassinated in 1307 but his line ruled the kingdom until its fall in the mid-16th century.
Wareru, a commoner, seized the governorship of Martaban (Mottama) in 1285, and after receiving the backing of the Sukhothai Kingdom, he went on to declare independence from Pagan in 1287. In 1295–1296, he and his ally Tarabya, the self-proclaimed king of Pegu (Bago), decisively defeated a major invasion by Pagan. Wareru eliminated Tarabya soon after, and emerged as the sole ruler of three Mon-speaking provinces of Bassein, Pegu and Martaban 1296. With his domain now much enlarged, Wareru sought and received recognition by Yuan China in 1298.
Although he may have been of ethnic Mon or Shan background, Wareru's greatest legacy was the establishment of the only Mon-speaking polity left standing after the 1290s. The success of the kingdom helped foster the emergence of the Mon people as a coherent ethnicity in the 14th and 15th centuries. Furthermore, the legal code he commissioned—the Wareru Dhammathat—is one of the oldest extant dhammathats (legal treatises) of Myanmar, and greatly influenced the legal codes of Burma and Siam down to the 19th century.
Early life The future king was born Ma Gadu (; , )(Pan Hla 2005: 6, footnote 1 and 8, footnote 1): "Ma" is an honorific for males that means "male or lineage", and roughly equivalent to Burmese "Nga" or "Maung". Gadu in Mon means long conical hat (ခမောက်ရှည် in Burmese). on 20 March 1253 in the village of Tagaw Wun (near present-day Thaton in Mon State), to poor peasants.Pan Hla 2005: 15 His ethnic background was Mon, Shan or mixed Mon and Shan.Major Mon chronicles do not highlight his ethnicity except for his ethnic Mon name of Ma Gadu although the 16th century chronicle Razadarit Ayedawbon (Pan Hla 2005: 16) mentions him an ethnic Mon in passing when he was in the service of King Ram Khamhaeng's service. (Aung-Thwin 2017: 239): In Thai sources, "his ethnic background is more ambiguous: he is sometimes Shan, and sometimes Mon." However, British colonial period scholars—(Phayre 1967: 65) (Harvey 1925: 110) and (Hall 1960: 146)—asserted that Gadu was Shan. Htin Aung (Htin Aung 1967: 78) as well as the 1972 edition of the Burmese encyclopedia (MSK Vol. 12 1972: 333), were equivocal, saying Gadu was of mixed Shan-Mon background. Modern scholars (Michael Aung-Thwin and Matrii Aung-Thwin 2012: 128) say he was either of Mon or Shan background. (Aung-Thwin 2017: 239): "There may have been good political reasons for claiming that he was Shan by T'ai speakers, and equally good reasons for the Yazadarit Ayedawpon making him Mon." He had a younger brother Ma Gada and a younger sister Hnin U Yaing. They grew up in their native village, located about 100 km north of the provincial capital of Martaban (present-day Mottama in Mon State), then part of the Pagan Empire.Pan Hla 2005: 16
Sukhothai years When he was about 19,(Shwe Naw 1922: 32) and (MSK Vol. 12 1972: 333): In his 20th year = age 19 1272, Gadu took over his father's side business of trading goods with the Siamese kingdom of Sukhothai to the east. He joined a convoy of about 30 merchants, and began traveling to the royal city of Sukhothai. After a short stint, he took a job at the royal elephant stables in Sukhothai, and rose through the ranks to become the Captain of the Stables by the beginning of King Ram Khamhaeng's reign, 1279. Impressed by the commoner, the new king awarded Gadu the title of Saw Di-Dan-Ri (စောဋိဋံရည်), or Saw Li-Lat-She (စောလီလပ်ရှဲ).(MSK Vol. 12 1972: 334): The title has been reported as စောဋိဋံရည် (Saw Di-Dan-Ri), စောလီလပ်ရှဲ (Saw Li-Lat-She) in Mon language chronicles. befitting an officer in his Household Corps.MSK Vol. 12 1972: 334
According to Mon and Thai chronicles, Gadu repaid by eloping with the king's daughter. By 1281/82, he had become romantically involved with Princess May Hnin Thwe-Da, (Me Nang Soy-Dao; , ; "Lady Soidao").South 2003: 69 So when the king was far away on a military expedition in the south, the couple, with a load of gold and silver, and about 270 of their retainers and troops fled to Tagaw Wun.Aung-Thwin 2017: 238 (According to George Cœdès, this was a legend.Coedes 1968: 205 Michael Aung-Thwin states that the elopement story is probably "a trope" to link the early kings of Martaban and those of Siam, and may not be historical.Aung-Thwin 2017: 237–238)
Chris Baker and Pasuk Phongpaichit read the story as one about the closeness of trade and rule. On their account the Sukhothai king was not angered by the elopement but welcomed the connection with a wealthy and dutiful colleague, sending regalia and a golden inscription that conferred the title chao fa ruea, prince of ships.
Rise to power
Chief of Donwun (1281–1285) Back at Tagaw Wun, Gadu with his troops became the chief of the village. Over the next few years, he enlarged the village into a small town named Donwun, and built up defenses around it.Pan Hla 2005: 20 (His manpower may have been swelled by Mon-speaking refugees from Haribhunjaya, driven out by Tai king Mangrai.) By 1284/85,Chronicles report the date of assassination of Aleimma as either 643 ME (1281/82) or 646 ME (1284/85). The 16th century chronicle Razadarit Ayedawbon suggests that Wareru came to power in 646 ME (1284/85) by stating he died in 668 ME (1306/07) after having ruled for 22 years. The Maha Yazawin (1724) says he seized Martaban in 643 ME (1281/82). The Yazawin Thit chronicle (1798) gives 646 ME (1284/85). But the Hmannan Yazawin (1832) reverts to Maha Yazawin's 643 ME (1281/82).
However, the Maha Yazawin also states that King Narathihapate died in 646 ME (1284/85), about three years after Wareru seized Martaban. Since, King Narathihapate actually died in 649 ME (on 1 July 1287), Maha Yazawin's dates are off by about 3 years, and its reported date of Wareru's seizure of Martaban should be reset by three years to 646 ME (1284/85) as well.
Most scholars (Phayre 1967) (Harvey 1925) (Hall 1960) (Htin Aung 1967) simply follow the Maha Yazawin/Hmannan Yazawin date of 643 ME (1281/82), abbreviating the date as "1281". But (Aung-Thwin 2017: 238) prefers the Yazawin Thit date of 646 ME (1284/85)—it is far more probable for Pagan to be preoccupied by the Mongol invasions in 1284–85 for the first Mongol invasion into northern Burma only began in 1283. the commoner had set his sights on the governorship at Martaban itself. That a small-time chief like him would contemplate such a move is a testament to the rapidly dissipating authority of Pagan. At the time, Pagan's forces were faring badly against the Mongol invaders, and vassal rulers throughout the country had become increasingly restless. At Martaban, Gov. Aleimma himself had begun planning for a rebellion.Pan Hla 2005: 20–21
Aleimma's rebellion turned out to be Gadu's opening. When the governor asked his vassals for support, Gadu readily obliged, offering his services and his men to the governor as well as a marriage alliance between the governor and his younger sister, with the wedding to be held at Donwun. It was merely a ploy to get the governor out of Martaban. Surprisingly, Aleimma took the bait, and made a fateful trip to Donwun with a contingent of troops. On the night of the wedding, while Aleimma's guards were drunk, Gadu's men killed them, and assassinated the governor.Pan Hla 2005: 21–22 It was 11 January 1285.Furthermore, the Mon Yazawin chronicle (Shwe Naw 1922: 39) states that the marriage took place on Thursday, 6th waxing of Tabodwe 1064 ME (Wednesday, 6 January 1703), which is a typographical error. If the year were 646 ME, Thursday, 6th waxing of Tabodwe 646 ME = 11 January 1285.
Rebel ruler of Martaban (1285–1287) Gadu went on to seize Martaban, and consolidate his control of the Martaban province. His insurrection was one of several revolts around the country against King Narathihapate of Pagan. The king had already lost the support of his key vassals, including his own sons, who ruled key Lower Burma ports (Prome, Dala and Bassein).Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 148 Without the full support of his sons, the king did not have enough troops to quell rebellions everywhere. In the south, the king's army never got past Pegu (Bago), which was headed by another warlord Akhamaman, and failed both times to take the town in 1285–86.Pan Hla 2005: 28–29
Meanwhile, Gadu consolidated his control of the Martaban province. He first rebuilt the fortifications of Martaban,Pan Hla 2005: 23 and then conquered Kampalani, (believed to be a small Shan state in present-day Kayin State) whose chief had refused to submit.Pan Hla 2005: 26–27 After Kampalani, all other chiefs fell in line. Gadu was still concerned about Pagan, and sought the backing of his father-in-law. By 1287, a diplomatic mission led by his minister Laik-Gi had successfully secured Ram Khamhaeng's support.Pan Hla 2005: 24–25 The king of Sukhothai acknowledged Gadu as a vassal king, and awarded the royal title of "Chao Fa Rua" (, "Lord Fa Rua", ))Coedes 1968: 206 also reported in Mon and Burmese as "Binnya Waru" (, ))Pan Hla 2005: 24 and Smim Warow ().Schmidt 1906: 114
On 30 January 1287,Accession date by scholarship (Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 148, footnote 8): Thursday, Full moon of Tabodwe 648 ME = 30 January 1287 Gadu declared himself king of Martaban.The kingdom he founded would later be known as Hanthawaddy Kingdom after the capital was moved to Hanthawaddy Pegu in 1369/70. In 1287, he did not yet control Pegu, and his realm was technically the Martaban Kingdom. He held the coronation ceremony 5 April 1287.Pan Hla 2005: 25 His royal style later became known in Mon as Wareru.Pan Hla 2005: 26 The declaration did not elicit any action by Pagan, which was amidst its death throes. The empire formally fell on 1 July 1287 when the king was assassinated by one of his sons Prince Thihathu of Prome.Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 149, footnote 3 Two years of interregnum followed.Htin Aung 1967: 74
King of Martaban Early reign (1287–1293) In the beginning, Wareru was just one of several petty strongmen that had sprouted across the former empire. His realm covered approximately modern day Mon State and southern Kayin State. To his east was his overlord Sukhothai. To his south lay the Pagan province of Tavoy (Dawei), which too was in revolt.Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 359 To his north were Pegu, and Dala, ruled by Akhamaman and Prince Kyawswa respectively.
Situated on the upper Tenasserim coast, Martaban was an island of stability during the interregnum. The multi-party war among the sons of the fallen king in Lower Burma never reached Martaban. The closest it came to was in 1287–1288 when Prince Thihathu the patricide laid siege to Pegu. Even when Prince Kyawswa eventually emerged as king of Pagan on 30 May 1289,Than Tun 1959: 119 the new king had no real army, and posed no threat to Pegu or Martaban. Indeed, Wareru's immediate concern was not Kyawswa but Tarabya, who had gained control of both Pegu and Dala and their surrounding districts.Royal chronicles (Maha Yazawin Vol. 1 2006: 253) and (Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 359) say that Tarabya was in charge of all 32 districts of Pegu at Kyawswa's accession.