Narathu of Pinya

Early life

Narathu was the third child of Princess Nan Lon Me of Pagan and Viceroy Kyawswa of Pinle. A grandson of King Thihathu of Myinsaing–Pinya and King Kyawswa of Pagan, he hailed from both Myinsaing and Pagan royal lines. He had five full siblings (two elder brothers and three younger sisters) and at least two half-siblings. He grew up in Pinle but moved to Pinya with the entire family in 1344 when their father became the undisputed ruler of Pinya Kingdom. When his second elder brother Kyawswa II succeeded the throne in 1350, Narathu became the heir-presumptive. (Kyawswa II had no children and their eldest brother Uzana had weak/paralyzed legs, and was passed over.)

Shan raids

Narathu became king on 19 March 1359, following Kyawswa II's death. He came to power at a time when Pinya was facing serious external and internal threats. In the north, the powerful Shan state of Mong Mao (Maw in Burmese), which had successfully thrown off the Mongol authority in 1355, had been raiding the northern Sagaing Kingdom's territory at least since 1357, and just broken through into Pinya's territory (present-day Central Myanmar) in early 1359. Likewise, in the south, Pinya's erstwhile nominal vassal Toungoo (Taungoo) had not only revolted in 1358 but also raided the Kyaukse capital region. The chaos may have delayed his coronation, which took place on 7 June 1360.

One of his first acts as king was to break off Pinya's alliance with Sagaing. It was a complete reversal of his brother's policy but Narathu had determined that Pinya was not strong enough to control its vassals, let alone assist Sagaing in the fight against Mong Mao. Nonetheless, Mong Mao paid little attention to Pinya's new found neutrality, and its forces raided deep into Pinya territory in 1362–63. In desperation, Narathu sought an alliance with Mong Mao's ruler Tho Kho Bwa (Si Kefa). By 1363, the two rulers had reached an agreement on a joint attack on Sagaing. Narathu was clearly the junior partner, agreeing to take only a small portion of the loot.

Siege of Sagaing

Narathu was in no position to fulfill his small part of the bargain. Many able men had been fleeing Central Burma since the Shan raids began, and he could not mobilize a large enough army. When Mong Mao forces invaded Sagaing country in 1363−64, Narathu did not attack Sagaing from the south as planned. Mong Mao troops nonetheless overran Sagaing's northern defenses and reached the capital Sagaing in early 1364, laying siege to the capital from three sides. Pinya's job was to blockade the port of Sagaing on the Irrawaddy. But Pinya's blockade was porous. When Shan forces sacked Sagaing in April 1364, the Sagaing royalty escaped by sailing downriver, and thousands of refugees crossed the river en masse to Pinya.

Fall of Pinya

At Sagaing, Tho Kho Bwa was deeply unsatisfied with what he considered poor performance by Pinya. He ultimately ordered his troops to attack Pinya across the river. Narathu's small army was no match for the Shan assault. Pinya fell in May 1364. The Mong Mao troops thoroughly looted the capital, and brought back Narathu and his three white elephants back to their country. Narathu is remembered as Maw-Pa Min (မောပါမင်း, [mɔ́ bà mɪ́ɴ]; lit. "the King who was brought to the Maw land"). The 1363–64 invasion left Central Burma in tatters. At Pinya, Narathu's eldest brother, Uzana II succeeded the Pinya throne. But Pinya was a spent force, and lasted only three months.

Family

At accession, Narathu raised his brother's chief queen Saw Omma as his chief queen. According to the Yazawin Thit chronicle, he also raised another queen of his brother, Shin Saw Gyi as queen. Contemporary inscriptions show that he had at least two other queens named Nan Ma Me and Saw Lat. None of the main chronicles report any children of Narathu.

Chronicle reporting differences

The royal chronicles do not necessarily agree on his birth, death, and reign dates.