Battle of Pagan

Last updated
Battle of Pagan
Part of Mongol invasion of Burma
Mongol dominions1.jpg
Mongol Empire's largest extent outlined in red; Timur-i-Lenk's empire is shaded.
DateDecember 1287
Location
Result

See aftermath

  • Collapse of the Pagan Empire
Belligerents
Pagan Empire Yuan dynasty
Commanders and leaders
Athinkhaya
Yazathingyan
Thihathu
Temür Khan
Strength
5,000–7,000 7,000–30,000
Casualties and losses
Moderate Heavy

The Battle of Pagan was fought in 1287 between the Yuan dynasty of China and the Pagan Kingdom of Burma. The invasion ended the Pagan Kingdom, which disintegrated into several small kingdoms.

Contents

Overview

The battle was initiated by the Yuan dynasty, which sensed an opportunity in the political turmoil caused by their successful 1283 invasion of the Pagan Empire in the Battle of Bhamo. After Bhamo, the Yuan army penetrated the Irrawaddy River valley and established garrisons there. The political turmoil of these events tempted Kublai Khan's grandson Esen-Temür, who was stationed in Yunnan, into action. Temür led a large army down the Irrawaddy river valley and attempted to capture Pagan city.

The Burmese king Narathihapate fled Pagan to Lower Burma leaving the Burmese defenses under the three brother commanders of Myinsaing, Athinkhaya, Yazathingyan, and Thihathu. The king is remembered in Burmese history as Tayokpyemin (lit. "the king who ran away from the Chinese"). According to mainstream traditional (colonial-era) scholarship, the Mongol army ignored the imperial orders to evacuate; fought its way down to Pagan with the loss of 7000 men; occupied the city; and sent out detachments to receive homage, one of which reached south of Prome. [1] But not all colonial period scholars agreed with the assessment as none of the contemporary Mongol/Chinese records specifically mentioned the conquest of Pagan or the temporary completeness of the conquest. [2]

Recent research shows that the Mongol forces most probably never reached Pagan. [3] [4] They were held at bay by the Burmese defenses led by commanders Athinkhaya, Yazathingyan and Thihathu, and probably never got closer than 160 km north of Pagan. [5] [3] (An inscription dated 16 February 1293 by the three brothers claimed that they defeated the Mongol army. [6] [7] ) Even if the Mongols did reach Pagan, the damage they inflicted was probably minimal. [8] At any rate, the Mongol army suffered heavy casualties, and retreated north to Tagaung. They remained there as the treaty was now void. [9]

Aftermath

In Lower Burma, the king was promptly assassinated by one of his sons, Thihathu of Prome. The 250-year-old Pagan Empire now disintegrated. The kingdom was fractured into several small power centers as the Yuan dynasty did not fill the power vacuum in the searing Irrawaddy valley. The Yuan army instead stayed farther north in Tagaung (present-day northern Mandalay Region).

In central Burma, another son of Narathihapate, Kyawswa, was installed as king by dowager queen Saw. But Kyawswa controlled only the immediate surrounding area of Pagan. Even in central Burma, the real power rested with three Pagan military commanders who through their small but well-disciplined army controlled the Kyaukse district, the most important granary of Pagan. Kyawswa had no choice but to recognize them as lords of Kyaukse. The brothers increasingly acted like sovereigns. Nearly ten years after the fall of Pagan, Kyawswa decided to become a Yuan vassal in January 1297. He received official recognition from the Yuan dynasty as the ruler of Burma in March 1298. Unsatisfied with their reduced status, the brothers dethroned Kyawswa in December 1298, and founded the Myinsaing Kingdom, officially ending the Pagan Kingdom. The Mongol army's effort to install their new nominee, one of Kyawswa's sons, to the Pagan throne in 1301 was unsuccessful. Two years later, in 1303, the Yuan court decided to withdraw completely from Upper Burma, and the Yuan army left Tagaung. [10]

Notes

  1. Harvey 1925: 69
  2. Yule 1874: 95
  3. 1 2 Aung-Thwin and Hall 2011: 34–35
  4. Lieberman 2003: 121
  5. Stuart-Fox 2001: 88–90
  6. Htin Aung 1967: 72
  7. Than Tun 1959: 121
  8. Lieberman 2003: 119
  9. Than Tun 1964: 137
  10. Htin Aung, pp. 65-81

Related Research Articles

Narathihapate was the last king of the Pagan Empire who reigned from 1256 to 1287. The king is known in Burmese history as the "Taruk-Pyay Min" for his flight from Pagan (Bagan) to Lower Burma in 1285 during the first Mongol invasion (1277–87) of the kingdom. He eventually submitted to Kublai Khan, founder of the Yuan dynasty in January 1287 in exchange for a Mongol withdrawal from northern Burma. But when the king was assassinated six months later by his son Thihathu, the Viceroy of Prome, the 250-year-old Pagan Empire broke apart into multiple petty states. The political fragmentation of the Irrawaddy valley and its periphery would last for another 250 years until the mid-16th century.

Kyawswa was king of the Pagan dynasty of Burma (Myanmar) from 1289 to 1297. Son of the last sovereign king of Pagan Narathihapate, Kyawswa was one of many "kings" that emerged after the collapse of the Pagan Empire in 1287. Though still styled as King of Pagan, Kyawswa's effective rule amounted to just the area around Pagan city. Felt threatened by the three brothers of Myinsaing, who were nominally his viceroys, Kyawswa decided to become a vassal of the Yuan dynasty, and received such recognition from the Yuan in March 1297. He was ousted by the brothers in December 1297 and killed, along with his son, Theingapati, on 10 May 1299.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myinsaing Kingdom</span> Kingdom that ruled central Burma (Myanmar) from 1297 to 1313

The Myinsaing Kingdom was the kingdom that ruled central Burma (Myanmar) from 1297 to 1313. It was founded by three brothers—Athinkhaya, Yazathingyan and Thihathu from Myinsaing— and was one of many small kingdoms that emerged following the collapse of the Pagan Empire in 1287. Myinsaing successfully fended off the second Mongol invasion in 1300–1301, and went on to unify central Burma from Tagaung in the north to Prome (Pyay) in the south. The brothers' co-rule ended between 1310 and 1313, with the death of the two elder brothers Athinkhaya and Yazathingyan. In 1315, the central Burmese state split into two rival states of Pinya and Sagaing. Central Burma would not be reunified until the rise of Ava five decades later.

Thihathu was a co-founder of the Myinsaing Kingdom, and the founder of the Pinya Kingdom in today's central Burma (Myanmar). Thihathu was the youngest and most ambitious of the three brothers that successfully defended central Burma from Mongol invasions in 1287 and in 1300–01. He and his brothers toppled the regime at Pagan in 1297, and co-ruled central Burma. After his eldest brother Athinkhaya's death in 1310, Thihathu pushed aside the middle brother Yazathingyan, and took over as the sole ruler of central Burma. His decision to designate his adopted son Uzana I heir-apparent caused his eldest biological son, Saw Yun to set up a rival power center in Sagaing in 1315. Although Saw Yun nominally remained loyal to his father, after Thihathu's death in 1325, the two houses of Myinsaing officially became rival kingdoms in central Burma.

Athinkhaya was a co-founder of Myinsaing Kingdom in present-day Central Burma (Myanmar). As a senior commander in the Royal Army of the Pagan Empire, he, along with his two younger brothers Yazathingyan and Thihathu, led Pagan's successful defense of central Burma against the Mongol invasions in 1287. Following the collapse of the Pagan Empire, the brothers became rivals of King Kyawswa of Pagan in central Burma, and overthrew him in December 1297, nine months after Kyawswa became a Mongol vassal. They successfully defended the second Mongol invasion (1300–01), and emerged the sole rulers of central Burma.

Yazathingyan was a co-founder of Myinsaing Kingdom in present-day Central Burma (Myanmar). As a senior commander in the Royal Army of the Pagan Empire, he, along with his two brothers Athinkhaya and Thihathu, led Pagan's successful defense of central Burma against the Mongol invasions in 1287. Following the collapse of the Pagan Empire, the brothers became rivals of King Kyawswa of Pagan in central Burma, and overthrew him in December 1297, nine months after Kyawswa became a Mongol vassal. They successfully defended the second Mongol invasion (1300–01), and emerged the sole rulers of central Burma.

Uzana I of Pinya was king of Pinya from 1325 to 1340. Of Pagan royalty, Uzana inherited a disunited kingdom, which fell apart right after his predecessor Thihathu's death. Not only could he not retake the northern Sagaing Kingdom but he also had little control over his southern vassals. Even in his core power base in present-day central Myanmar (Burma), Uzana faced a serious rival in his half-brother Kyawswa. He ultimately lost the power struggle, and abdicated the throne in 1340 to a regent. He lived out his last years as a monk in Mekkhaya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pinya Kingdom</span> Kingdom in present-day Myanmar (1313–1365)

The Kingdom of Pinya, also known as the Vijaia State (၀ိဇယတိုင်း), was the kingdom that ruled Central Myanmar (Burma) from 1313 to 1365. It was the successor state of Myinsaing, the polity that controlled much of Upper Burma between 1297 and 1313. Founded as the de jure successor state of the Pagan Empire by Thihathu, Pinya faced internal divisions from the start. The northern province of Sagaing led by Thihathu's eldest son Saw Yun successfully fought for autonomy in 1315−17, and formally seceded in 1325 after Thihathu's death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sagaing Kingdom</span> Short-lived kingdom in present-day Myanmar (1315–1365)

The Sagaing Kingdom was a small kingdom ruled by a junior branch of the Myinsaing dynasty from 1315 to 1365. Originally the northern province of Sagaing of the Pinya Kingdom, it became de facto independent after Prince Saw Yun successfully fought for autonomy from his father King Thihathu in 1315–17. Sagaing formally seceded from Pinya in 1325 after Thihathu's death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wareru</span> Founding King of Martaban (r. 1287–1307)

Wareru was the founder of the Martaban Kingdom, located in present-day Myanmar (Burma). By using both diplomatic and military skills, he successfully carved out a Mon-speaking polity in Lower Burma, during the collapse of the Pagan Empire in the 1280s. Wareru was assassinated in 1307 but his line ruled the kingdom until its fall in the mid-16th century.

Myinsaing is a historical site, located in Kyaukse Township, Mandalay Region, Myanmar. It was one of the three de facto capitals of Myanmar from 1297 to 1310 during the Myinsaing period. In the present day, the historical capital area is known as the Myinsaing Old Town. To its north lies a settlement known colloquially as "Myinsaing Village".

Saw Omma was the chief queen consort of four consecutive kings of Pinya and Ava Kingdoms from 1350 to 1367. Descended from Pagan and Myinsaing–Pinya royal lines, the queen was well known for her beauty, and was selected as the chief queen of the last three kings of Pinya: Kyawswa II, Narathu and Uzana II. After the death of her fourth husband King Thado Minbya of Ava in 1367, she and her fifth husband Nga Nu unsuccessfully tried to seize the Ava throne. Her brother King Swa Saw Ke, who succeeded Thado Minbya, pardoned her but also married her off to the commander who captured her.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Mongol invasion of Burma</span> Historical conquest (1277–1287)

The first Mongol invasions of Burma were a series of military conflicts between Kublai Khan's Yuan dynasty, a division of the Mongol Empire, and the Pagan Empire that took place between 1277 and 1287. The invasions toppled the 250-year-old Pagan Empire, and the Mongol army seized Pagan territories in present-day Dehong, Yunnan and northern Burma to Tagaung. The invasions ushered in 250 years of political fragmentation in Burma and the rise of ethnic Tai-Shan states throughout mainland Southeast Asia.

The second Mongol invasion of Burma by the Yuan dynasty under Temür Khan was repulsed by the Burmese Myinsaing Kingdom in 1301.

Yazathingyan was the chief minister of kings Kyaswa, Uzana, and Narathihapate of the Pagan dynasty of Burma (Myanmar). He was also the commander-in-chief of the Royal Burmese Army from 1258 until his death in 1260. Ava kings from Swa Saw Ke to Narapati II and all Konbaung kings were descended from him.

Pwa Saw was a chief queen consort of King Narathihapate of the Pagan Dynasty of Burma (Myanmar). She is remembered as witty, wise, and beautiful, and as someone who exercised political influence for four decades during one of the most difficult periods in the country's history. Historians are divided as to whether the chronicle narratives contain more myth than fact.

Ananda Pyissi was a chief minister in the service of King Narathihapate of the Pagan Dynasty of Burma (Myanmar). He was also the commander-in-chief of the Royal Burmese Army, and fought unsuccessfully against the first two Mongol invasions of Burma (1277–85). He led the initial ceasefire negotiations with the Mongols (1285–86). He reportedly was killed alongside the king in 1287 by Thihathu of Prome.

Theingapati was heir-apparent of the Pagan Dynasty of Burma (Myanmar) from 1289 to 1297. The crown prince is known for his mission to Beijing in which he sought and received the Mongol Empire's recognition of his father, Kyawswa, as King of Pagan in March 1297. The prince was arrested after his father was overthrown in December 1297 by the three brothers of Myinsaing. The brothers branded the father-son duo as traitors and executed them in May 1299.

Tarabya of Pegu was the self-proclaimed king of Pegu from c. 1287 to c. 1296. He was one of several regional strongmen who emerged after the fall of the Pagan Empire in 1287.

References