When did the Myinsaing Kingdom exist?

The Myinsaing Kingdom existed 1297–1313. On this map it is drawn 1294–1313.

Southeast Asia · Tai kingdoms and Majapahit

Myinsaing Kingdom

Kingdom / regency · 1297–1313

Type: Kingdom / regency (central Burma; capitals Myinsaing, Mekkhaya, Pinle)
Existed: 1297–1313
Shown on the map: 1294–1313
Peak area: ~195,000 km² (dataset)
Region: Southeast Asia

Origins & foundation

The Myinsaing Kingdom (Myinsaing Regency) was founded by three brothers — Athinkhaya, Yazathingyan and Thihathu — from the town of Myinsaing in the Kyaukse district. They rose as commanders defending central Burma during the Mongol invasions that destroyed the Pagan Empire (1277–1287). After King Narathihapate's assassination in 1287 the country fragmented; the brothers' small, disciplined army drove back Mongol incursions and made them the de facto power in central Burma. King Kyawswa of Pagan appointed them viceroys of Myinsaing, Mekkhaya and Pinle, but they openly claimed equality with him, and when Kyawswa submitted to the Mongols in 1297 the brothers, with the dowager queen Pwa Saw, overthrew him on 17 December 1297 — the regency's founding date.

Political history & notable rulers

The brothers ruled as a triumvirate behind the puppet king Saw Hnit, executing Kyawswa in 1299. They provoked and then survived the second Mongol invasion: a 12,000-strong Yuan army besieged Myinsaing in early 1301 but was bought off, and the Mongols evacuated northern Burma entirely by 1303. Thihathu, the youngest and most ambitious, assumed royal titles from 1295 and proclaimed himself king in 1309. After Athinkhaya (d. 1310) and Yazathingyan (d. 1312/13) died, Thihathu stood alone and founded a new capital at Pinya in 1313, transforming the regency into the Pinya kingdom.

Economy, culture & religion

Myinsaing was an agrarian dry-zone state without maritime trade, its economy resting on the Kyaukse, Minbu and Mu valley granaries. The brothers tried to revive the tax base by auditing temple land donations — the structural fiscal problem inherited from Pagan. Religiously it continued Pagan's Theravada Buddhism alongside Mahayana and animist practice; inscriptions show the brothers presenting themselves as Pagan's legitimate heirs.

Peak & territorial extent

At its height the regency controlled the Irrawaddy valley from Tagaung in the north down to nominal suzerainty over Prome and Toungoo in the south — effectively reassembling the core of fallen Pagan, though the Shan states ringed the valley and Martaban held the south.

Decline & end

The co-rule ended with the elder brothers' deaths (1310–1313); Thihathu's sole reign lasted barely three years before his son Saw Yun seceded at Sagaing in 1315, splitting the central dry zone into the rival Pinya and Sagaing kingdoms.

Legacy & modern connections

Myinsaing preserved central Burma's independence and Pagan's cultural tradition through the post-Mongol interregnum; significantly, Tai-Shan language and rule did not take over the Irrawaddy heartland as it did elsewhere in mainland Southeast Asia. Colonial historians dubbed the period the "Age of the Three Shan Brothers," but modern scholarship (Michael Aung-Thwin) rejects the brothers' supposed Shan ethnicity as unsupported. The Ava kingdom of the 1360s had its roots in Myinsaing.

Common questions

What was the Myinsaing Kingdom?: The Myinsaing Kingdom (Myinsaing Regency) was founded by three brothers — Athinkhaya, Yazathingyan and Thihathu — from the town of Myinsaing in the Kyaukse district. They rose as commanders defending central Burma during the Mongol invasions that destroyed the Pagan Empire (1277–1287).
When did the Myinsaing Kingdom exist?: The Myinsaing Kingdom existed 1297–1313. On this map it is drawn 1294–1313.
How large was the Myinsaing Kingdom at its height?: At its height the regency controlled the Irrawaddy valley from Tagaung in the north down to nominal suzerainty over Prome and Toungoo in the south — effectively reassembling the core of fallen Pagan, though the Shan states ringed the valley and Martaban held the south.
Who ruled the Myinsaing Kingdom?: The brothers ruled as a triumvirate behind the puppet king Saw Hnit, executing Kyawswa in 1299. They provoked and then survived the second Mongol invasion: a 12,000-strong Yuan army besieged Myinsaing in early 1301 but was bought off, and the Mongols evacuated northern Burma entirely by 1303.
How did the Myinsaing Kingdom end?: The co-rule ended with the elder brothers' deaths (1310–1313); Thihathu's sole reign lasted barely three years before his son Saw Yun seceded at Sagaing in 1315, splitting the central dry zone into the rival Pinya and Sagaing kingdoms.
What did the economy and culture of the Myinsaing Kingdom rest on?: Myinsaing was an agrarian dry-zone state without maritime trade, its economy resting on the Kyaukse, Minbu and Mu valley granaries. The brothers tried to revive the tax base by auditing temple land donations — the structural fiscal problem inherited from Pagan.
Why does the Myinsaing Kingdom still matter?: Myinsaing preserved central Burma's independence and Pagan's cultural tradition through the post-Mongol interregnum; significantly, Tai-Shan language and rule did not take over the Irrawaddy heartland as it did elsewhere in mainland Southeast Asia. Colonial historians dubbed the period the "Age of the Three Shan Brothers," but modern scholarship (Michael Aung-Thwin) rejects the brothers' supposed Shan ethnicity as unsupported.

Sources

Every source below was consulted while writing this entry.

Wikipedia: Myinsaing Kingdom en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myinsaing_Kingdom

This entry was written from the sources above and last updated 10 September 2026.

This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made

Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.

Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).

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