Bayinnaung

Statue of Bayinnaung in front of the National Museum in Yangon

Bayinnaung (Bayin-naung; Burmese ဘုရ င့ ် နောင် , IPA [ bayìnnaʊ̀n ], literally older brother of the king ; in Portuguese Braginoco, in Thai พระเจ้าบุ เร ง น อง , Burengnong; * January 16, 1516 ; † October 10, 1581 ) was from 1550 until 1581 king of the Taungu dynasty in today's Burma . Bayinnaung is still widely revered in the country today for the creation of a unified rule and far-reaching conquests in the Shan states , Manipur , Lan Na, Siam and Lan Xang (Laos).

Reconquest of Burma

Conquest of Bayinnaung between 1550 and 1565

Bayinnaung got its name from King Tabinshwehti , the founder of the Second Burmese Empire, which was resurrected under Kublai Khan nearly three centuries after the fall of Bagan in 1287 by the Mongols . Tabinshwehti gave his loyal general Bayinnaung his sister to wife and appointed him ein-shei-min , i.e. his future successor. After Tabinshwehti was murdered by members of the Mon in Pegu in 1550 , Bayinnaung fought to reestablish Tabinshwehti's empire by conquering Taungu and Prome (1551), Pedu, Martaban and Bassein (1552) and finally Ava (1555).

Shan States and Chiang Mai (1557–1558)

After a year of rest, Bayinnaung went north in 1557 and led a military operation against the Shan . He took Mong With, Hsipaw , Yawnghwe , Mong Yang and Mogaung . He then went to Mong Nai and in 1558 conquered the capital of the kingdom of Lan Na , Chiang Mai ( Zin Mé ).

Ayutthaya (1564–1569)

Largest extent of Bayinnaung's domain (at the time of his death)

After conquering the Chinese Shan around Mong Mao in 1563 , Bayinnaung prepared a major operation against the Kingdom of Ayutthaya , whose capital he was able to capture in 1569 despite stubborn resistance. Subsequently, Siam became a vassal state of Taunggu. Thousands of Siamese were deported to Burma as prisoners of war and hostages , including members of the royal houses of Ayutthaya and Phitsanulok in the north of what is now Thailand. The future King Naresuan received his military training here in Burma, which he was later able to use to liberate Ayutthaya from Burma.

In the late 1560s, numerous Europeans came to Southeast Asia bringing detailed reports from the Kingdom of Bayinnaung to Europe. Among them were Cesar Fedrici and Gaspero Balbi .

Lan Xang (around 1575)

In the 1570s, Bayinnaung launched another campaign, this time against the Kingdom of Lan Xang ( Lin Zin ) in what is now Laos . The king Sai Setthathirath I and many residents of Vientiane ( Vieng Chan ) fled to the surrounding jungles, where they resisted the invasion. Bayinnaung could pursue them but could not bring them to fight. So he could not establish decisive control over the country; therefore he returned to Burma.

Network of loyalties

Statue of King Bayinnaung in front of the Military Academy in Pyin U Lwin

Like his predecessor Tabinshwehti, Bayinnaung had no experience ruling such a large empire as their military successes had brought them. They did not have an administrative system, but relied on a "network of loyalties".

Bayinnaung made his brothers and sons-in-law "governors" of the traditional kingdoms of Prome, Taungu, Martaban and Ava. In Burmese they had the title bayin , which roughly means “prince” or “sovereign”. They had extensive autonomy in internal affairs and had their own courts. It was only because of their personal dependence on the "high king" Bayinnaung in Pegu that they owed him loyalty, provided troops for his campaigns and served as generals in his army. He also pushed the sawbwa (princes) of the Shan, who had previously ruled as independent kings in the north, and the Mon princes, who ruled on the Tenasserim coast in the south, from their thrones and replaced them with bayin, who were loyal to him .

In his later conquests, Manipur, Yunnan, Lan Xang, Chiang Mai and Ayutthaya, he left local rulers on the throne as his vassals. But he had their sons brought to his court in Pegu, as hostages of the nobility, so to speak. There they served as pages, guaranteed the loyalty of their tributary fathers, but also received an education that corresponded to that of the Burmese princes. The most famous of these hostages was the prince and later king of Ayutthaya Naresuan , who is now known as "the great" in Thailand. The vassal kings also had to provide troops.

With each conquest, Bayinnaung's army grew. At its peak it numbered at least 100,000 men. According to the account of the history of Burma by the British colonial official Sir Arthur P. Phayre, who relies on the Burmese Hmannan Mahayazawin-dawgyi ("Glass Palace Chronicle"), there were 200,000. The contemporary Venetian traveler Cesar Fedrici (Anglicised Caesar Fredericke) even gave them 1,400,000 men. That was probably far exaggerated, but it shows how impressive the army was on contemporary witnesses. Fedrici claimed that it was the largest in the world. The decisive factor for Bayinnaung's success was not only the sheer size of his army, but also the use of European mercenaries and modern firearms.

Bayinnaung's end

Around 1581, Bayinnaung prepared an attack on the kingdom of Arakan . He died before he could carry out the attack plans. He was succeeded by his son, Nandabayin .

Since Bayinnaung's reign was entirely focused on his person, based on a network of personal relationships of dependency and fidelity, it did not survive his death. Nandabayin quickly lost control of the conquered vassal kingdoms. Even the Burmese areas came under different rulers again.

literature

• Sunait Chutintaranond: Cakravartin. Ideology, Reason and Manifestation of Siamese and Burmese Kings in Traditional Warfare (1548–1605). Dissertation, Cornell University, Ithaca NY 1990.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Sunait Chutintaranond: Cakravartin. 1990, p. 145.
2. ↑ Sunait Chutintaranond: Cakravartin. 1990, pp. 145-147.
3. ↑ Sunait Chutintaranond: Cakravartin. 1990, pp. 147-148.
4. ↑ Sunait Chutintaranond: Cakravartin. 1990, pp. 140-141.