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Bayinnaung (known in Portuguese as Braginoco, in the Thai language as Burinnaung or Burengnong) was a king of the Toungoo dynasty in modern-day Myanmar. He is widely revered in the country, and is most well-known for unifying the kingdom and conquering the Shan States and Siam or Thailand. He is also well-known in Thailand because of a popular song names "Pu Chanat Sip Tit" meaning "victor of ten directions."
Reconquest of Burma (1550-1555)
After Bayinnaung's brother-in-law Tabinshwehti was assassinated by * members of his court in Pegu in 1550, Bayinnaung fought to recover Tabinshwehti's kingdom retaking Toungoo and Prome in 1551, Pegu, Martaban, and Bassein in 1552, and finally Ava in 1555.
Shan States and Chiang Mai (1557-1558)
After he retaking Upper Burma and Lower Burma, he led a military expedition northwards to the Shan region and took Mong Mit, Hsipaw, Yawnghwe, Mong Yang, and Mogaung in 1557.
The following year he marched to Mong Nai (1557) and then Chiang Mai (1558) taking both towns. In 1563 he took the Chinese Shans (Mong Mao).
Ayutthaya (1564-1569)
In 1563, Bayinnaung launched another campaign against the kingdom of Ayutthaya in 1563, capturing the capital of kingdom|Ayuthaya in 1569 despite widespread opposition and resistance among the Siamese. Siam, in effect, became a vassal state of the Toungoo kingdom, and thousands were taken back to Burma as war captives.
Starting in the late 1560s several European travellers such as Cesar Fedrici and Gaspero Balbi travelled to Pegu, the capital of Burma, and left detailed descriptions of Bayinnaung's kingdom in their travel diaries (See external links below).
Lan Chang (1570s)
In the 1570s Bayinnaung marched against the kingdom of Xang Lan Chang in modern day Laos. The king of Lan Chang Setthathirat and the inhabitants of the capital Vientiane fled to the jungle were they resisted the invasion.
Bayinnaung pursued them into the jungle, but warfare in the jungle was difficult. The enemy was difficult to find and engage in battle. Failing to achieve decisive control over Lan Chang, Bayinnaung returned to Burma.
When Bayinnaung returned in 1574 he tried to lure the inhabitants back to the capital and rebuild the Lan Chang kingdom under a ruler of his choice.
An expedition was sent to reassert control over the Shan state of Mogaung in the far north in 1576.
Bayinnaung's Death (1581)
On the eve of his death in 1581 Bayinnaung was preparing to launch an attack against the coastal kingdom of Arakan. Siam was liberated by Prince Naresuan after Bayinnaung's death.
External Links
- Conflict between Burma and Thailand from the 16th to 19th centuries, by Pamaree Surakiat, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand.
- Biography of King Bayinnaung (r. 1551-1581), by U Thaw Kaung.
- Account of Pegu (c. 1569), by Cesar Fedrici.
- Voyage to Pegu, and Observations There, Circa 1583, Gaspero Balbi
"Bayinnaung"