Siamese-Burmese War 1584–1593

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Siamese-Burmese War
Elephant duel between Mingyi Swa and Naresuan in the battle of Nong Sarai (Maurice Collis, 1943, based on a Siamese painting from the 17th / 18th century)
Elephant duel between Mingyi Swa and Naresuan in the battle of Nong Sarai ( Maurice Collis , 1943, based on a Siamese painting from the 17th / 18th century)
date 1584 to January 15, 1593
place Siam , Thailand
Casus Belli Ayutthaya turned against the suzerainty of Pegus, which had ruled for 15 years
output Ayutthaya became independent again
Parties to the conflict

Kingdom of Ayutthaya (Siam)

Kingdom of Pegu under the Taungu Dynasty (Burma)

Commander

Viceroy (until 1590) or King Naresuan

King Nandabayin

losses

The Crown Prince of Pegu and an unknown number of Burmese soldiers

In the count of Prince Damrong Rajanubhab to the Siamese-Burmese Wars, this is number 5

The Siamese-Burmese War 1584–1593 was a military conflict between the Burmese Empire of Pegu and the Kingdom of Ayutthaya .

prehistory

After the defeat of Ayutthaya in 1569, the charismatic Burmese King Bayinnaung (r. 1550–1581) ruled most of the Southeast Asian mainland. Ayutthaya had the status of a vassal kingdom. Bayinnaung's constant campaigns, however, had brought his empire to the brink of economic collapse. After Bayinnaung's death in 1581, his son Nandabayin (1535–1600) ascended the throne of Pegu. In Siam, Prince Naresuan (1555–1605), son of King Maha Thammaracha and viceroy of the northern provinces, had gradually taken over the leadership from 1581 . There is said to have been a personal rivalry between Naresuan and Nandabayin, because the former proved to be more capable than the latter in a joint campaign.

There was increasing tension between Ayutthaya and Pegu. In 1584 Naresuan Nandabayin refused military success. He had been told that he had only been called to Burma so that he could be ambushed and killed on the way. By refusing to obey the order from Pegu, he broke the vassal's oath. From the point of view of later Thai historians, he "declared the independence" of Siam.

course

Statue showing King Naresuan on his elephant (Sukhothai)

Nandabayin let his troops advance against Siam from two sides in 1584, but both armies were repulsed. After the end of the rainy season in 1586, he himself returned with three armies that were supposed to gather in front of the capital of Siam, Ayutthaya , and lay siege to it. During the first five months of 1587 the Burmese bombed the city, but they had to withdraw again - on the one hand because of the emergence of diseases, on the other hand because of the slow resistance of the Siamese under Naresuan. He was forced to withdraw, was persecuted by the Siamese and driven out of the country.

In 1590 Nandabayin invaded Siam again, and again Naresuan, who had now ascended the throne of Ayutthaya, was able to repel the Burmese. Now Nandabayin called together a huge army, which in 1592 set out again for Ayutthaya under the command of his son Minkyizwa . The Siamese under Naresuan took up the open field battle against this army on January 15, 1593 near Nong Sarai (today possibly in Amphoe Don Chedi , northwest of Suphanburi ). To decide the battle, Naresuan challenged Minkyizwa to a direct duel on the backs of her war elephants. Naresuan killed Minkyizwa, whose troops got into disarray and retreated to Kanchanaburi . Ayutthaya's army pursued them and caused considerable losses.

Effects

The Siamese Empire Ayutthaya was able to shake off the supremacy of the Burmese, secure its independence and was spared Burmese incursions for a long time. On the contrary: Naresuan led several campaigns against Pegu in the following years . For this, King Naresuan received the epithet "the great".

According to a legend widespread in Thailand, the Burmese King Nandabayin killed his pregnant concubine (and Naresuan's sister) Princess Suphankanlaya when he learned of the defeat.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 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. 65-93.)
  2. ↑ Jim Taylor: History, Simulacrum and the real. The making of a Thai princess. In: From Fact to Fiction. History of Thai-Myanmar Relations in Cultural Context. Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 2001, p. 6.

literature

  • Charles Phillips and Alan Axelrod: Encyclopedia of Wars . 3 Vols. New York: Facts on File 2004. ISBN 9780816028511 .