Binnya U
| Binnya U ဗညားဦး |
|
|---|---|
| King of Hanthawaddy | |
| Reign | 1348 – 2 January 1384 |
| Predecessor | Binnya E Law |
| Successor | Razadarit |
| Chief Minister | Pun-So (1348–1369/70) Zeik-Bye (1370s–1384) |
| Born | 1323 685 ME Martaban (Mottama) |
| Died | 2 January 1384 (aged 60) Saturday, 10th waxing of Tabodwe 745 ME Pegu (Bago) |
| Consort |
Sanda Min Hla II Hnin An Daung Sanda Dewi Yaza Dewi Thiri Maya Dewi |
| Issue Detail |
Tala Mi Thiri Razadarit Tala Mi Daw Baw Ngan-Mohn |
| House | Wareru |
| Father | Saw Zein |
| Mother | Sanda Min Hla |
| Religion | Theravada Buddhism |
Binnya U (Burmese: ဗညားဦး, pronounced: [bəɲá ʔú]; 1323–1384) was the eighth king of Hanthawaddy Pegu, who ruled from 1348 to 1384. Over his 35-year reign, the king faced several internal rebellions and external invasions. He tried to reestablish the kingdom's power out of its traditional capital Martaban (Mottama) but was forced back to Pegu (Bago), which ultimately proved to be a more strategic location to hold Mon-speaking lands of Lower Burma. His last years were filled with palace intrigues over succession. He died in 1384 while facing a rebellion by his eldest son Razadarit.
Binnya U was known as Hsinbyushin (Lord of White Elephant) because he possessed a white elephant, considered a great hallmark of a Buddhist king. When the white elephant died, he spent many years looking for another one. In 1362, Binnya U repaired the Shwedagon Pagoda, raising its height to 20 meters (66 feet).
A son of King Saw Zein and grandnephew of the kingdom's founder, King Wareru, Binnya U grew up at the court of his uncle Binnya E Law. In his youth, he and his cousin, Binnya E Law's son were always quarreling as they were both considered rivals to the throne. His cousin died of natural causes so he became the heir apparent.
When Binnya U came to power, he moved the capital back to Martaban (Mottama), the dynasty's founding capital. (His father had moved the capital to Pegu in 1324.) This was not a wise move. Whereas Pegu was strategically located in the center between the Irrawaddy delta and the upper Tenasserim coast, Martaban at the tip of Tenasserim coast was right at the edge of Siamese power and away from two other important Mon centers.
While the king might have been trying to replicate his uncle Saw O's success in conquering the Tenasserim coastline in the 1310s, he had no such opportunity. First, Tenasserim coast was firmly under the newly founded Ayutthaya Kingdom. At Martaban, he faced several internal rebellions and external attacks that ultimately forced him out of Martaban.
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