Abstract

• The Kingdom of Hanthawaddy was ruled from the 14th century by a dynasty of Mon Kings. Tabinshwehti occupied Hanthawaddy in 1539. He then attempted to create a united kingdom in which there was no discrimination. Although Tabinshwehti did not discriminate between Mon and Myanmar and gave favour and position equally to both, yet there were some Mons who remained dissatisfied and assassinated him on 1 May 1550. Following Tabinshwehti's death, the Kingdom of Hanthawaddy fell into disarray. Bayinnaung, after administering an oath of loyalty in the whole country, was able to unify the Kingdom of Hanthawaddy and extend it into the largest Kingdom in Southeast Asia. But the Kingdom came to a pitiful end. His son Nandabayin ascended the throne in 1581. The attempt of Bayinnaung and Nandabayin to maintain an extended empire, an area far more extensive than was needed for the stability of the Ayeyarwaddy Valley, was one of the causes of the collapse of the Kingdom of Hanthawaddy. In particular, there was no permanent army under the direct control of the King. What made it worse was that Nandabayin could not control his nucleus of manpower within the Mon region. He branded the Mons on the right hand with their name, rank and village; those who were too old for service were sent to Upper Myanmar, and sold in exchange for horses. He instituted a reign of terror among the Mons, executing them wholesale, and he horrified all by killing the pariah dogs in Bago. The final ruin of Hanthawaddy was brought about by the decline of agriculture and the disunity which developed in the reign of Nandabayin.