Mohnyin Thado (, ; , Mongyang That Oo; 1379–1439) was king of Ava from 1426 to 1439. He is also known in Burmese history as Mohnyin Min Taya (မိုးညှင်း မင်းတရား, , "Righteous Lord of Mohnyin") after his longtime tenure as the sawbwa of Mohnyin, a Shan-speaking frontier state (in present-day Kachin State, Myanmar). He founded the royal house (or dynasty) of Mohnyin (မိုးညှင်း ဆက်) that would rule the kingdom until 1527.
Born into minor nobility, Thado began his career as a royal army commander in 1401 during the Forty Years' War against Hanthawaddy Pegu. After making his name under the command of Crown Prince Minye Kyawswa, including the 1406 conquest of Arakan, Thado was appointed sawbwa of Mohnyin in 1410 by King Minkhaung I. After surviving the Chinese incursions of 1412–1415, the sawbwa's influence in the northern Shan states grew over the next decade. He remained loyal to Minkhaung's successor King Thihathu, serving as a co-commander-in-chief alongside Prince Min Nyo of Kale in the successful final campaign of the Forty Years' War in 1422–1423. When Nyo seized the Ava throne with the help of Queen Shin Bo-Me in 1425, Thado was the only vassal to openly challenge the usurping couple; he drove them out of Ava (Inwa) in 1426.
However, Thado himself was viewed as a usurper by many vassals, and could not find any support outside the Irrawaddy valley. He faced a pesky rebellion by Prince Minye Kyawhtin of the previous dynasty from the outset, and by 1427, multiple rebellions had sprung up in the peripheral regions, including his home base, Mohnyin. By 1429, he had largely given up on the reunification project, and began spending much of the royal treasury on a series of constructions of religious buildings. He was unprepared when his internal and external rivals took advantage of his inward-looking policy. He lost the irrigated Yamethin region to the rebel state of Toungoo (Taungoo) in 1429–1430; was forced to cede Tharrawaddy and Paungde to King Binnya Ran I of Hanthawaddy in 1431 after a brief war; and did nothing when Ran seized control of Toungoo in 1436. He grew increasingly eccentric in his last years, and despite the advice of his court, reset the Burmese calendar to year 2 in 1438.
Although he never had any control over the peripheral regions, he did leave his successors with the most productive regions of the kingdom. His immediate successors—Minye Kyawswa I and Narapati I—would use the resources of the core regions to successfully reunify the kingdom in the following decade. His line would lead Ava to its "apogee" in the second half of the 15th century.
Early life
The future king was born Min Nansi (မင်း နံစီ) Per the Horoscopes section of the Zatadawbon Yazawin (Zata 1960: 75): Sunday, nine nekkhats in the 8th month in 741 ME—Sunday, 12th waxing of Tazaungmon 741 ME (23 October 1379). in Nyaungyan, a small town south of Ava (Inwa), to a distant branch of the royal family. Both his parents—Saw Diga of Mye-Ne and Saw Pale of Nyaungyan—were descended from King Kyawswa I of Pinya (r. 1344–1350), and ultimately from the Pagan and Pinya royal lines, as did the then reigning monarch Swa Saw Ke of Ava.Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 75–76 Nansi had two younger siblings, a brother and a sister.Maha Yazawin Vol. 2 2006: 62Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 62
His family apparently had close enough ties with King Swa. The king gave Nansi Inbe, a village 80km northwest of Ava, as an appanage along with the title of Udein (ဥဒိန်, Pali: Udinna). According to the chronicles Maha Yazawin and Hmannan Yazawin, when he was a young boy, Udein briefly served as a page of the king's younger sons, Min Swe and Theiddat, during the princes' years-long tour around the kingdom but left the job shortly after as he could not handle the life on the road.Maha Yazawin Vol. 1 2006: 306Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 439–440 The Yazawin Thit chronicle dismisses the story, pointing out that he was still too young to have been a page during the period (1381–1385) when the princes toured the country.Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 210
Udein was nonetheless one of Min Swe's loyalists in 1400 when the prince ascended the throne with the regnal title of Minkhaung. The new king, who faced several challenges to his rule at the start of his reign, appointed Udein governor of Myohla (present-day Shwebo), near Inbe, with an upgraded title of Thado.
Early career
Thado was one of the few loyal vassals the king could count on when King Razadarit of Hanthawaddy Pegu invaded Ava in 1401. He made his name as a royal army commander in 1402 by leading a successful mission to supply the besieged city of Prome (Pyay). His regiment guarding a convoy of 2000 pack ponies, each carrying two tins (~82 litres, ~2.25 bushels) of rice, successfully broke through the Hanthawaddy lines to supply the starving city, helping Prome hold out.Harvey 1925: 97
His career continued to rise in the following years. In 1406, he was the second-in-command (sitke) of the Ava invasion army (10,000 men, 500 cavalry, 40 elephants) led by Minkhaung's eldest son Prince Minye Kyawswa that captured the western kingdom of Arakan (present-day Rakhine State). In 1408, after Hanthawaddy had renewed the Forty Years' War, Thado was a member of the senior Ava delegation that tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a truce.Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 484–485(Pan Hla 2005: 254–255): The first and only meeting of the negotiation failed after the Hanthawaddy commander Lagun Ein replied honestly to a routine question by Thado if Pegu was negotiating in good faith. Lagun Ein reportedly replied: "Fool, this is war. You'll kill me if you can. I'll kill you if I can. How can you trust anyone?"
In March 1410,(Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 236) and (Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 81): the appointment and the marriage took place after an unsuccessful five-month campaign in 771 ME (30 March 1409–29 March 1410). Since the dry season campaigns typically began after the Buddhist Lent (which ended on 23 September 1409), the appointment most probably took place in March. The 771 ME date of marriage is corroborated by a contemporary fresco writing at the Shwe Kyaung Monastery (Golden Monastery) at Pagan donated by Queen Shin Myat Hla herself. The frescos state that Thado was in his 31st year (30 years old), and Myat Hla in her 23rd (22 years old), at the time of their marriage. The earliest national chronicle Maha Yazawin (Maha Yazawin Vol. 1 2006: 327) incorrectly states that Thado was appointed governor of Mohnyin and given Myat Hla in marriage in 768 ME (1406/07). Here, the Hmannan Yazawin chronicle is inconsistent. (Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 467) following (Maha Yazawin Vol. 1 2006: 327) gives 768 ME (1406/07) while (Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 81) following (Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 236) accepts 771 ME (1409/1410), citing the fresco writings at the Golden Monastery in Pagan. King Minkhaung appointed Thado sawbwa (governor general) of Mohnyin, a major Shan-speaking state (in present-day central Kachin State) near the Chinese border. The appointment came after Minkhaung's lengthy deliberation with his Chief Minister Min Yaza as to how best to deal with the kingdom's rapidly deteriorating relations with China. As a parting gift, the king also gave one of his queens, Shin Myat Hla, in marriage to Thado. For his part, Thado recognized the significance of, and the risk associated with the appointment; he sought out governing advice from Min Yaza before departing for the northern state.Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 467
Sawbwa of Mohnyin Thado would spend the next 16 years in Mohnyin, and use his northern base to take over the Ava throne itself in 1426.Aung-Thwin 2017: 82–84Harvey 1925: 96–97 His successful rule at Mohnyin earned him the monikers Mohnyin Thado (lit. "Thado of Mohnyin"), and Mohnyin Min Taya (lit. "Righteous Lord of Mohnyin") the names by which he is best known in Burmese history.Chronicles refer to him as Mohnyin Thado or Mohnyin Min Taya. For example, see (Maha Yazawin Vol. 2 2006: 61), (Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 61) for Mohnyin Min Taya; See (Maha Yazawin Vol. 2 2006: 58) and (Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 56) for Mohnyin Thado. As for academic sources, (Harvey 1925: 96–99) and (Htin Aung 1967: 337): Mohnyinthado; (Aung-Thwin 2017: 84–89) "Mohnyin Min"; (Fernquest 2006: 51) for both.
Chinese incursions (1412–1415)
Thado's main assignment was to serve as Ava's defence in the north. From the outset, he faced two problems: China, and the restive frontier province itself. Consisted of 19 maings (districts),(Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 225): Mohnyin proper comprised 19 maings (districts) at the time of Ava conquest in 1406. It at times controlled or attempted to control the Kale (Kalay) state, with nine maings. The Ava court decided to administer the two states separately. Mohnyin was historically the most powerful of the Shan states that ringed the entire northern-to-eastern arc of the Ava Kingdom. At times, it even controlled other Shan states including Mogaung and Kale (Kalay), and had periodically raided the lowland states (Ava and its predecessors Sagaing and Pinya) since the 1350s.Than Tun 1964: 278Than Tun 1959: 129 It was only in 1406 that the powerful state fell under Ava's control.Chronicles (Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 224–225) and (Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 445–446, 467) Nyaungshwe and Mohnyin submitted in 767 ME (1405/06) and 768 ME (1406/07) respectively. (Fernquest Autumn 2006: 51): According to the Ming Shilu, Ava had acquired Mohnyin, Bhamo and Kale by 25 August 1406; in Mohnyin's case, Ava gained control of Mohnyin after a battle that killed the sawbwa of Mohnyin and his son. While keeping order in Mohnyin was a challenge in its own right, a more immediate, pressing problem for Ava was China. Claiming that the Shan states which Ava took over in 1405–1406 were its tributaries, the Ming court had demanded Ava to end its "aggression" in the Shan states since 1406, and had considered military action against Ava since 1409.Fernquest autumn 2006: 51–52 It had also sided with Hanthawaddy, recognizing the Mon-speaking kingdom as its tributary.Harvey 1925: 115
Yet Ava did not fully appreciate the extent of the worsening situation. Aside from posting Thado at Mohnyin, the Ava court continued to prioritize the ongoing war effort against Hanthawaddy in the south, sending down conscripts from Chinese border states like Onbaung and Nyaungshwe as late as 1410–1412.Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 4, 6–7 It turned out that Thado's regiment at Mohnyin was not enough to defend other northern and eastern districts. When the Chinese vassal Hsenwi invaded northeastern districts of Ava in 1412, Thado and other northern sawbwas had to hunker down until Minye Kyawswa arrived from the Arakan theatre with an army. Thado's Mohnyin regiment was part of Minye Kyawswa's 7000-strong army that stopped the Hsenwi army at Wetwin (present-day Pyin Oo Lwin). Minye Kyawswa, Prince Min Nyo and Gov. Thado fought the top Hsenwi commanders—the sawbwa of Hsenwi, alongside his son and son-in-law—on their respective war elephants, and Hsenwi forces retreated after their sawbwa was killed in combat.Ferquest Autumn 2006: 53–54Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 9 The Ava army went on to lay siege to Hsenwi for the next five months, and after the rainy season, defeated a Chinese relief force (20,000 men and 2000 cavalry) outside Hsenwi.Goh 2009: 24 According to the historian G.E. Harvey, Thado was one of Minye Kyawswa's "best captains".Harvey 1925: 96–97