Languages Burmese, Shan Government Monarchy 1367–1400 Swa Saw Ke Capitals Inwa, Sagaing, Pinya Date dissolved 1555 | Religion Theravada Buddhism 1364–1367 Thado Minbya 1400–1422 Minkhaung I Founded 1364 Official language Burmese | |
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The Ava Kingdom (Burmese: အင်းဝခေတ်, [ʔɪ́ɴwa̰ kʰɪʔ]) was the dominant kingdom that ruled upper Burma (Myanmar) from 1364 to 1555. Founded in 1364, the kingdom was the successor state to the petty kingdoms of Myinsaing, Pinya and Sagaing that had ruled central Burma since the collapse of the Pagan Kingdom in the late 13th century.
Like the small kingdoms that preceded it, Ava was led by Bamarised Shan kings who claimed descent from the kings of Pagan.
History
The kingdom was founded by Thado Minbya in 1364 following the collapse of the Sagaing and Pinya Kingdoms due to raids by the Shan States to the north. In its first years of existence, Ava, which viewed itself as the rightful successor to the Pagan Kingdom, tried to reassemble the former empire by waging constant wars against the Mon Hanthawaddy Kingdom in the south, the Shan States in the north and east, and Rakhine State in the west.
While it was able to hold Taungoo and some peripheral Shan States (Kalaymyo, Mohnyin, Mogaung and Hsipaw) within its fold at the peak of its power, Ava failed to reconquer the rest. The Forty Years' War (1385–1424) with Hanthawaddy left Ava exhausted. From the 1420s to early 1480s, Ava regularly faced rebellions in its vassal regions whenever a new king came to power. In the 1480s and 1490s, the Prome Kingdom in the south and the Shan states under Ava sway in the north broke away, and Taungoo became as powerful as its nominal overlord Ava. In 1510, Taungoo also broke away.
Ava was under intensified Shan raids for the first quarter of the 16th century. In 1527, the Confederation of Shan States, led by the state of Mohnyin in alliance with Prome, sacked Ava. The Confederation placed nominal kings on the Ava throne and ruled much of Upper Burma. As Prome was in alliance with the Confederation, only the tiny Taungoo in the southeastern corner, east of the Bago Yoma mountain range remained as the last holdout of independent Bamar people.
The Confederation's failure to snuff out Taungoo proved costly. Surrounded by hostile kingdoms, Taungoo took the initiative to consolidate its position, and defeated a much stronger Hanthawaddy in 1534–1541. When Taungoo turned against Prome, the Shans belatedly sent in their armies. Taungoo took Prome in 1542 and Bagan, just below Ava, in 1544. In January 1555, King Bayinnaung of Taungoo conquered Ava, ending the city's role as the capital of Upper Burma for nearly two centuries.