Siamese-Burmese War 1548–1549
Sketch of the course of the war. Red arrow: advance of Tabinshwehti's troops; orange arrow: retreat.
| date | 1548 to 1549 |
|---|---|
| place | Southern Burma and Central Thailand |
| Casus Belli | The Kingdom of Ayutthaya launched a preemptive strike against the expansionist tendencies of Tabinshwehti |
| output | Ayutthaya repulsed subsequent attacks by Tabinshwehti's forces |
| consequences | The kings of the Taungu dynasty continued to seek expansion to the east |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
|
|
Kingdom of Pegu under the Taungu Dynasty (Burma) and mercenaries from Portugal |
| Commander | |
| losses | |
|
an unknown number of soldiers and Queen Suriyothai and her daughter Boromdilok |
|
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The Siamese-Burmese War 1548–1549 ( Thai : สงคราม พม่า - สยามพ.ศ. 2091–2092 , Burmese : မြန်မာ - ယိုးဒယား စစ် (၁၅၄၈) ) was a military conflict between the Siamese Kingdom of Ayutthaya under Maha Chakkraphat and the Burmese Kingdom of Pegu der Taungu dynasty under Tabinshwehti . It led to the death of the Queen of Ayutthaya, Suriyothai , and her daughter Boromdilok. The war is therefore also called "War that led to the loss of Queen Suriyothai" ( สงคราม คราว เสีย สมเด็จ พระ สุริโย ไท ) or "Tabinshwehti's War" ( สงคราม พระเจ้า ตะเบ็ง ช เว ตี้ ) in Thailand .
prehistory
The Kingdom of Ayutthaya in the central Thai basin of the Mae Nam Chao Phraya (Chao Phraya River) developed into an important trading center in Southeast Asia after it was founded around 1350. The Sakdina system of hierarchical and bureaucratic rule over labor (which was probably the most important resource in premodern Southeast Asia), which was introduced under King Trailok in the middle of the 15th century, ensured that its existence was permanent and further expansion was possible. It thus had an advantage over its neighbors, who only had small-scale or short-lived domains. At the end of the 15th century, Ayutthaya brought part of the Malay Peninsula under its control, along which important routes of trade crossed the Indian Ocean.
Tabinshwehti ascended the throne of the small principality of Taungu in the northeast of Unterirma in 1531. During the following years he brought most of the empires on what is now Burma under his control, including in 1539 the Mon Kingdom of Pegu , which is located around the Irrawaddy Delta . He then moved his residence to the prosperous trading metropolis. He hoped to be able to control or conquer important port cities such as Martaban , Tavoy and Mergui (on the Tenasserim coast ) from there. Pegu was also a good starting point for attacks on Siam.
According to Luang Prasoet's Chronicle of Ayutthaya , Tabinshwehti's first campaign on Ayutthaya's area of influence took place as early as 1538. He is said to have occupied the city of Chiang Krai (in today's Mawlamyaing district ), a vassal of Ayutthaya, but was soon repulsed. In the Burmese chronicles Maha Yazawin by U Kala and Hmannan Yazawin ("Glass Palace Chronicle "), however, there is nothing about it. According to them, the first aggression began with the attack by Ayutthaya's troops on Tavoy, then part of Pegu. The governor there was surprised and offered little resistance. Around 1546 Tabinshwehti moved north to conquer Upper Burma from the Shan . When he was able to dispose of the central part of the Irawaddy Valley, he called himself “King of all Burma” and moved against the western kingdom of Arakan , which borders on India.
course
The actions of Tabinshwehti did not go without an impression on Ayutthaya and his king Maha Chakkraphat , who sooner or later expected an invasion of Tabinshwehti into his area of influence. He therefore struck in a preemptive strike against Tavoy , which had previously belonged to Ayutthaya's sphere of influence. Thereupon Tabinshwehti had his troops withdraw from Arakan and thrown against Ayutthaya. Together with Portuguese mercenaries, he pursued the Siamese troops from Tavoy to their capital, which he besieged.
During the siege, the Siamese king found himself in trouble, from which his wife Suriyothai, disguised as a soldier, wanted to rescue him. She succeeded, but gave her life in the process, and her daughter was also killed in the fighting. In addition, Tabinshwehti's troops were able to catch Prince Ramesuan († 1564). Nevertheless, the siege ended unsuccessfully for the army of the Burmese king, as they ran out of supplies. Tabinshwehti had to let his royal hostages go against free withdrawal.
effect
In the film The Legend of Suriyothai (2001) the story of the war is presented.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Damrong Rajanubhab: Rueang thai rop phama khrang krung kao. 1917 (English: Our Wars with the Burmese. Thai-Burmese conflict 1539-1767. Translated and edited by Chris Baker . White Lotus, Bangkok 2001, ISBN 9747534584. , Pp. 14-26.)
- ↑ Sunait Chutintaranond: Cakravartin. 1990, pp. 154-157.
- ↑ Helen James: Burma-Siam Wars. In: Southeast Asia. A Historical Encyclopedia, from Angkor Wat to East Timor. ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara CA 2004, pp. 301-302.
- ↑ Sunait Chutintaranond: Cakravartin. 1990, p. 151.
literature
- Sunait Chutintaranond: Cakravartin. Ideology, Reason and Manifestation of Siamese and Burmese Kings in Traditional Warfare (1548-1605). Dissertation, Cornell University, Ithaca NY 1990.
- GE Harvey: A History of Burma . Longon: Frank Cass 1967.