Predecessor Minkhaung I Died 1426, Amarapura Name Thihathu Ava Children Minhlange | Father Minkhaung I House Pinya Kingdom Successor Minhlange Spouse Shin Sawbu Grandparents Swasawke, Saw Beza | |
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Reign c. February 1422 – August 1425 Consort Min Hla Htut (divorced)
Saw Min Hla (Chief Queen)
Shin Bo-Me
Shin Sawbu Issue Minhlange (son)
Saw Pye Chantha (daughter)
Shwe Pyi Shin Me (daughter) | ||
Parents Shin Mi-Nauk, Minkhaung I | ||
Thihathu of Ava (Burmese: သီဟသူ (အင်းဝ), [θìha̰ðù]; 1394–1425) was king of Ava from 1422 to 1425. It was during his reign that the Forty Years' War (1385–1424) between Ava and Hanthawaddy Pegu kingdoms came to a formal close. Unlike his late elder brother Minye Kyawswa, he did not consider Pegu his enemy, and followed a policy of conciliation and friendship toward Pegu. In 1423, he actually helped to broker a truce between two rival claimants to the Hanthawaddy throne. For his help in breaking up the fight, Thihathu was given the rival princes' sister Lady Shin Sawbu whom he made his queen.
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Though he made peace with Hanthawaddy Pegu in the south, the Shans from various Shan States in the north continued to raid Avan territory. In August 1425, Thihathu was killed in an ambush by the Shan raiders of Thibaw. The ambush was arranged by his queen Shin Bo-Me who wanted to put her lover Kale Kyetaungnyo on the throne.
Early life
Thihathu was the second son of Minkhaung, the Prince of Pyinsi by his chief queen Shin Mi-Nauk, a daughter of the saopha (Chief) of the Shan state of Mohnyin. As Minkhaung himself was one-eighth Shan, Thihathu was slightly more Shan (9/16th to be exact) than Burman. During his youth, he grew up in Pyinsi, located about 30 miles south of Ava (Inwa) where his father was in charge. In 1400, he came to Ava when his father ascended the Ava throne. His father made him governor of Sagaing, the city across the river from Ava, in 1408.
Thihathu was not like his fiery elder brother and heir-apparent of Ava, Minye Kyawswa, who led a battalion at age 13 and an army by 16. In his 20s, Thihathu did join his brother's campaigns. In 1415, he led a naval contingent that accompanied Minye Kyawswa's land forces that invaded the Irrawaddy delta. Thihathu succeeded his brother as governor of the strategically important city of Prome (Pyay) in 1416. In March 1415, Minye Kyawswa fell in battle. Thihathu was made the next heir-apparent in 1415. He also married his brother's wife Saw Min Hla and had three children.
Reign
Thihathu ascended the Ava throne in circa February 1422 without incident. He chose Saw Min Hla as his chief queen, and his father's chief queen Shin Bo-Me as queen. He was so fond of Bo-Me that his chief queen Saw Min Hla retired into religion. In November 1423, following the death of King Razadarit of Hanthawaddy, he marched south to the Irrawaddy delta to break up a succession crisis when Prince Binnya Ran I rebelled against his elder brother King Binnya Dhammaraza. For his help in breaking up the fight, Thihathu came back with the two brothers' sister Lady Shin Sawbu and made her queen.
The king soon grew so fond of Shin Sawbu that Shin Bo-Me became jealous. In August 1425, she secretly instigated the chief of Hsipaw (Thibaw) to attack Ava. In his march to meet the raiders, Thihathu was severely wounded in an ambush and died soon after. The ambush was arranged by Shin Bo-Me who wanted to put her lover Kale Kyetaungnyo on the throne.