Konbaung dynasty
The Konbaung dynasty ( Burmese : ကုန်းဘောင်ခေတ် , pronunciation: [kóuɴbàuɴ kʰɪʔ]) was the last dynasty of the Burmese Empire , reached the second largest expansion of the Burmese sphere of influence in Southeast Asia and ruled between 1752 and 1885. The Konbaung dynasty came from the small town of Moksobo , today's Shwebo in Oberbirma. It was founded by the regional prince Aung Zeya, later King Alaungpaya , after the Taungu dynasty lost control of Burma and the re-established kingdom of Hanthawaddy ( Pegu ) tried to expand northwards in 1740 .
The Konbaung king Alaungpaya unified Burma after the destruction of Pegus in 1758. Alaungpaya's successors resided from 1760 to 1765 in the old Upper Burmese royal city of Sagaing , from 1765 in Ava (today's Inwa ). Their dynasty built a highly militarized society that would create the largest Burmese empire after that of Taungu under King Bayinnaung . In addition to Siam and Lan Na , areas in the west ( Arakan in 1784 , Manipur in 1813 and Assam in 1817 ) were also taken. The latter belonged to the sphere of influence of the British, who were able to prevail a little later in the First Anglo-Burmese War against the Burmese. All areas in the west conquered by King Bodawpaya were given up, as well as Tenasserim in the southeast. In 1852 the British took the lower part of Burma as a result of the Second Anglo-Burmese War . King Mindon Min tried to reform the country, but it came too late to oppose the complete takeover by the British, who feared for their influence in rear India as a result of the formation of French Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia) .
The Konbaung dynasty ended on November 29, 1885 after the rest of the empire was fully integrated into the British colonial empire as a result of the Third Anglo-Burmese War .
literature
- Michael W. Charney: Powerful Learning. Buddhist Literati and the throne in Burma's last dynasty, 1752-1885. Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies, University of Michigan, 2006
- William J. Koenig: The Burmese polity, 1752-1819. Politics, administration, and social organization in the early Kon-baung period. Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies, University of Michigan, 1990.