Nawrahta Minsaw (, ; formally, Anawrahta Minsaw; also known as Nawrahta Saw and Tharrawaddy Min; 1551/52–1607/08) known in Lan Na as Sawatthinaratthamangkhoi () was king of Lan Na from 1579 to 1607/08 and the first Burmese-born vassal king of Lan Na.Wyatt 2003: 104–105, 310 He was also an accomplished poet.
Appointed to the Lan Na throne by his father King Bayinnaung of Burma, Nawrahta dutifully contributed to his half-brother King Nanda's debilitating war effort against Siam (1584–95). He declared independence in 1597 after having defeated a 1595–96 invasion by Lan Xang on his own. From 1599 onward, he was forced to deal with a Lan Xang backed rebellion in Nan and a Siam-backed rebellion in Chiang Rai and Chiang Saen. He defeated the Chiang Rai rebellion in 1601–02 but was eventually forced to submit to Siam soon after. He defeated an invasion by Lan Xang in 1602–03, regaining Nan in the process.
Early life The future ruler of Lan Na was born Min Tha Sit (, or ) in 1551/52.Zinme 2003: 69 His parents were King Bayinnaung of Toungoo and Htwe Hla, then a minor queen. His mother was descended from the Ava royal line, and was a niece of King Narapati II (r. 1501–1527) of Ava. He had two younger full siblings: Yaza Datu Kalaya and Thiri Thudhamma Yaza.Hmannan Vol. 3 2003: 68 The three children grew up at the Kanbawzathadi Palace in Pegu, and they officially became part of the most senior royalty in March 1563 when their mother was elevated to the king's third (and last) principal queen with the style of Yaza Dewi.Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 344
Educated at the palace, the prince grew to love literature and poetry.Ni Ni Myint 2004: 21–22 He was married to his first cousin Hsinbyushin Medaw, daughter of his uncle Thado Dhamma Yaza II of Prome, by Bayinnaung himself on 27 February 1574.(Maha Yazawin Vol. 3 2006: 37): Wednesday, 7th waxing of Tabaung 935 ME = Saturday, 27 February 1574 Sit found a kindred spirit in his bride, who also loved literature and poetry and had studied poetry under the great poet Nawaday.Ni Ni Myint 2004: 16–17 The couple moved to Tharrawaddy (Thayawadi), a small town in present-day Bago Region, where Sit had been made governor.Maha Yazawin Vol. 3 2006: 62
Governor of Tharrawaddy Now known as Tharrawaddy Min (, ; "Lord of Tharrawaddy"), the prince made his mark in a 1576–1577 military campaign that would push him to the forefront of the most powerful princes at the Pegu court. On 26 November 1576,Maha Yazawin (Maha Yazawin Vol. 3 2006: 59) gives Saturday, 5th waxing of Nadaw 938 ME, which translates to Monday, 26 November 1576. Hmannan Yazawin (Hmannan Vol. 3 2003: 40) drops the Saturday but retains 5th waxing of Nadaw 938 ME. the prince received a seemingly futile assignment to lead a search operation of a fugitive chief of Mogaung in the northern Kachin Hills.The track record of Toungoo armies searching for a small band of rebels in remote hill regions was extremely poor. See futile search operations that decimated the ranks of the searchers in: (1) Lan Xang (1565, 1569–1570) per (Maha Yazawin Vol. 2 2006: 285–292) and (Maha Yazawin Vol. 2 2006: 328–331); Mohnyin and Mogaung (1571–1572) per (Maha Yazawin Vol. 2 2006: 336–338). For the first eight months, the campaign was on track to be yet another futile operation. His army (16,000 troops, 1300 horses, 130 elephants), made up of conscripts from Upper Burma and Shan States, had fruitlessly combed the remote northern hills at the foot of the Himalayas.Maha Yazawin Vol. 3 2006: 59–62 But he did not give up even when the rainy season of 1577 came. His persistence paid off. One of his battalions finally caught the top commanders of the fugitive chief, and the captured men gave up the location where the chief was hiding. The prince brought the fugitive chief before the king on 30 September 1577.(Maha Yazawin Vol. 3 2003: 62) & (Hmannan Vol. 3 2003: 43): Tuesday, 3rd waning of Thadingyut 939 ME, which translates to Monday, 30 September 1577.
The success of the operation won the young prince plaudits from the king. He was given an upgraded title of Anawrahta Minsaw (). From then on, he would be known by abridged versions of the title: either as Nawrahta Minsaw or Nawrahta Saw.See (Maha Yazawin Vol. 3 2006: 65–67) for interchanging use of Nawrahta Minsaw and Nawrahta Saw when he was first referred to as such in the chronicles. See the obituary section of King Bayinnaung (Maha Yazawin Vol. 3 2006: 77) for the prince's formal title of Anawrahta Minsaw.
King of Lan Na
Accession and early reign
His star continued to rise. On 28 January 1579,Date given as 2nd waxing of Tabaung 940 ME. Hmannan (Hmannan Vol. 3 2003: 48) gives Wednesday, 5th waxing of Tabaung 940 ME but 5th waxing is a typographical error as it translates to Saturday, 31 January 1579. The date is probably 2nd waxing of Tabaung 940 ME (28 January 1579), which was a Wednesday. he was appointed the next viceroy of Lan Na to succeed Queen Visuddhadevi, who had died a month earlier.Hmannan Vol. 3 2003: 48Maha Yazawin Vol. 3 2006: 64–65 The appointment certainly was a significant matter. The king regarded Lan Na as the most important of all his vassal states,Harvey 1925: 171 and selected Nawrahta from a list of candidates after careful deliberation with his court.Maha Yazawin Vol. 3 2006: 65–66 The king impressed upon Nawrahta the importance of the appointment, highlighting that Lan Na was larger than Ava, Toungoo, and Prome; that it was strategically located among mainland Burma, the Shan states, Siam, Lan Xang and Annam; that it had a large population and plenty of natural resources; and that he was to obey Nanda, the heir-apparent.
Nawrahta Minsaw and Hsinbyushin Medaw ascended to the Lan Na throne at Chiang Mai on 2 July 1579.(Maha Yazawin Vol. 3 2006: 67): Thursday, 10th waxing of 2nd Waso 941 ME = 2 July 1579 Although he was the first Burmese-born ruler on the Chiang Mai throne, he did not face any serious issues governing the Tai Yuan-speaking former sovereign kingdom. The royal couple, at least according to reporting in the chronicle Zinme Yazawin, was accepted by the local populace.(Ni Ni Myint 2004: 20): According to surviving yadu poems by Hsinbyushin Medaw in Zinme, his chief queen regularly went on pilgrimages to the famous Buddhist shrines of Lan Na, in particular Phra Kaew (which at the time housed the Emerald Buddha), Phra Singh, and Phra Suthep. She also used her pilgrimages as opportunities to see the Lan Na countryside, and to be outside the walled city of Chiang Mai.
Military assistance to Nanda The initial tranquility, however, was to give way to increasingly more turbulent times after King Bayinnaung's death in October 1581. Nawrahta pledged loyalty to the new king. Nawrahta, like other vassal rulers, who governed what used to be sovereign states as recently as only a few decades ago, adopted a "wait-and-see attitude" with Nanda, an experienced military commander in his own right.Aung-Thwin & Aung-Thwin 2012: 137Harvey 1925: 181
Sanda (1582–1583) In the following years, he would be repeatedly asked to contribute to Nanda's manic efforts to maintain the extremely overextended empire intact. The first major assignment came in September 1582.(Maha Yazawin Vol. 2 2006: 78): Thadingyut 944 ME = 21 August 1582 to 19 September 1582 NS) Two small northernmost Shan states (in present-day Dehong and Baoshan prefectures in Yunnan, China) never sent obligatory tribute to the new king. Nanda ordered Nawrahta and Thado Dhamma Yaza II to lead a two-pronged invasion. The combined army of 16000 men, 1600 horses, and 100 elephants spent five months at Sanda before finally taking the town. The two commanders brought the rebel chief before the king on 9 April 1583.Maha Yazawin Vol. 2 2006: 78(Ni Ni Myint 2004: 16–17): Hsinbyushiin Medaw wrote her most famous yadu poem, called "Victory Land of Golden Yun" while awaiting Nawrahta's return from the Sanda campaign.
Ava (1584) But the calm was temporary. About three months later, Viceroy Thado Minsaw of Ava sent secret embassies to Prome, Toungoo, and Chiang Mai to raise simultaneous rebellions. Nawrahta, like the viceroys of Toungoo and Prome, sided with Nanda and secretly forwarded the news to Nanda.Maha Yazawin Vol. 3 2006: 79Htin Aung 1967: 129 In March 1584, as ordered by Nanda, Nawrahta marched with an army from Lan Na to Ava. But his army did not see any combat as Nanda defeated Thado Minsaw in single combat on 24 April 1584.(Maha Yazawin Vol. 2 2006: 80): Tuesday, 1st waning of Kason 946 ME = 24 April 1584
Siam (1584–1595) The peace was shorter still. Nine days later, on 3 May 1584, Siam revolted. In the next nine years, Nanda would launch five disastrous campaigns against the "proud kingdom" of Siam, which had been preparing for the eventual showdown with Pegu since Bayinnaung's death.Lieberman 2003: 155–156
Though he never went on campaign himself, Nawrahta dutifully contributed manpower to the war effort.
CampaignDuration# of Lan Na regiments of the totalTotal strength of RBANotes 1st invasion of Siam 1584 none 11,000 Hastily planned invasion from Lower Burma 2nd invasion 1586 7 out of 19Maha Yazawin Vol. 3 2006: 84 12,000 Invasion from Lan Na to northern Siam 3rd invasion 1586–1587 4 out of 24Maha Yazawin Vol. 3 2006: 86 25,000 Two-pronged invasion from Lower Burma and Lan Na 4th invasion 1590–1591 3 out of 19Maha Yazawin Vol. 3 2006: 90 20,000 Invasion from Lan Na to northern Siam 5th invasion 1592–1593 4 out of 29Maha Yazawin Vol. 3 2006: 93 24,000 Two-pronged invasion from Lower Burma and Lan Na 1st Siamese invasion of Burma 1594–1595 unspecifiedMaha Yazawin Vol. 3 2006: 95 8000 Sent troops to break the Siamese siege of Pegu
The declining share of Lan Na manpower may have been a sign of his increasing disillusionment with the war, and/or his increasing inability to control his own vassal states. At least to 1592–1593, his vassals in Nan, Phrae and Chiang Rai were still loyal to Nawrahta. Indeed, the vassal rulers were the ones who went to the front.See the commander lists of the five campaigns in (Maha Yazawin Vol. 3 2006: 84–93). After the 1592–1593 invasion, Nanda's position with the vassal rulers rapidly deteriorated, as did Nawrahta's position with his own vassals. When Nanda asked for help to break the Siamese siege of Pegu in December 1594, Nawrahta faced great difficulty in rounding up the troops. It was only in April 1595 that troops from Toungoo and Lan Na arrived and broke the siege.Maha Yazawin Vol. 3 2006: 95–96
War with Lan Xang (1595–1596) By then, the once mighty Toungoo Empire was in a free fall. Nokeo Koumane, the ruler of Lan Xang, revolted.Fernquest 2005: 47 The rebellion was more of a problem for Chiang Mai than for Pegu. Whereas Nanda had all but given up defending the empire, Nawrahta had to deal with an aggressive Nokeo who had designs on Lan Na itself. Nokeo quickly gained the allegiance of the ruler of Nan, Cao Cetabut, who joined him in rebellion.Ratchasomphan 1994: 67 In response, Nawrahta marched to Nan, where he was met by combined Lan Xang–Nan forces at the mouth of the Ngao River near the city of Nan. There, on 25 November 1595, Nawrahta defeated the enemy, driving back Cetabut and Nokeo to Lan Xang. Fortunately for Nawrahta, Nokeo died shortly after, and Lan Xang's threat to Lan Na's eastern frontier ended for the time being. Nawrahta appointed Pana Khaek as the new governor of Nan.
Independent reign