Toungoo–Hanthawaddy War: the beginning of Burma’s unification
Tabinshwehti, the young ruler of the small Burmese principality of Toungoo, and his general Bayinnaung conquered the rich Mon kingdom of Hanthawaddy in Lower Burma over seven years, beginning the second unification of the country.
- Date
- 1534 – May 1541start: year known; end: month known · duration: ≈ 7 years
- Place
- Pegutoday: Bago, Myanmar · Southeast Asia and Oceania
- Participants
- Tabinshwehti, Bayinnaung, Toungoo dynasty, Hanthawaddy Kingdom
- Threads
- Asia and Africa in the 15th and 16th centuries
- Also known as
- Объединение Бирмы; Табиншветхи
Toungoo’s first campaigns against Pegu in 1534–1537 foundered on fortifications defended by mercenaries with firearms. Tabinshwehti then used a ruse to turn King Takayutpi of Hanthawaddy against his loyal ministers, and the king had them executed; in late 1538 or early 1539 the Toungoo army entered Pegu, abandoned by its king, without a fight. Victory in the Battle of Naungyo over a vastly larger enemy earned Tabinshwehti’s general the title Bayinnaung, “the king’s elder brother”.
The rich port of Martaban, fortified by Portuguese mercenaries, held out the longest: it fell in May 1541 after a seven-month siege. Tabinshwehti now commanded the manpower and trade revenues of Lower Burma and could hire Portuguese soldiers with their firearms, which allowed him to continue his conquests in Upper Burma.
Connections
Related events
- Capture of Malacca25 July – between 10 August and 24 August 1511 · Southeast Asia and Oceaniathe Portuguese, established at Malacca, became a force in Burma as well: their mercenaries with firearms fought on both sides
Adjacent events in the thread
- Ethiopian–Adal WarMarch 1529 – 21 February 1543 · Africa
- Altan Khan’s raid on Beijing1550 · East Asia
Meanwhile in the world
Other regions, within 5 years of this event
Western and Central Europe
- Publication of Copernicus’s De revolutionibus1543
- Siege of Vienna (1529)27 September – 15 October 1529
Middle East and Egypt
- Capture of Baghdad by Suleiman Ibetween November and December 1534
Africa
- Ethiopian–Adal WarMarch 1529 – 21 February 1543
East Asia
North America
- Jacques Cartier’s second voyage — up the Saint Lawrence River19 May 1535 – 16 July 1536
- Hernando de Soto’s expedition into the interior of North America30 May 1539 – September 1543
Latin America
- Battle of Cajamarca16 November 1532
The same period
Sources
- Wikipedia (English): Toungoo–Hanthawaddy War
- Wikipedia (English): Tabinshwehti
- Wikipedia (Russian): Табиншветхи
- Wikipedia (Russian): Таунгу (династия)
- Lieberman V. Strange Parallels: Southeast Asia in Global Context, c. 800–1830. Vol. 1: Integration on the Mainland. — Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
- Wikidata: Q7828916