Thohanbwa
| Thohanbwa သိုဟန်ဘွား |
|
|---|---|
| King of Ava | |
| Reign | 14 March 1527 – May 1542 |
| Predecessor | Shwenankyawshin |
| Successor | Hkonmaing |
| Prime Minister | Yan Naung |
| Born | 1505 867 ME |
| Died | May 1542 (aged 36) Ava (Inwa) |
| House | Mohnyin Sawlon |
| Father | Sawlon |
| Religion | Buddhism |
Thohanbwa (Burmese: သိုဟန်ဘွား, pronounced: [θòhàɴbwá]; Shan: သိူဝ်ႁၢၼ်ၾႃ့; 1505 – May 1542) was king of Ava from 1527 to 1542. The eldest son of Sawlon of Mohnyin was a commander who actively participated in Monhyin's numerous raids of Ava's territories in the first quarter of 16th century. In March 1527, the ethnically Shan king was appointed king of Ava by Sawlon after Mohnyin-led confederation of Shan States defeated Ava in 1527. After Sawlon was assassinated in 1533, Thohanbwa became the undisputed king of Ava as well as chief of Mohnyin. However, he was not immediately accepted by other chiefs as the leader of the confederation.
He is remembered in Burmese history as a "full-blooded savage" who killed learned monks, looted treasures from Buddhist pagodas and burned books. He was hated by his Burman and Shan subjects alike. Yet it was his inaction and inability to mobilize the various Shan states to the threat posed by Toungoo, former vassal state of Ava, that proved most crucial, allowing the upstart kingdom to gain strength and buy time. Toungoo went on to defeat Hanthawaddy Kingdom after a five-year war (1534–1539) during which Ava did nothing. Only when Toungoo turned on Prome, Ava's vassal, in 1539 did Thohanbwa and his bickering Shan allies send in help. It was too late. The Confederation troops were driven back by Gen. Bayinnaung of Toungoo in April 1542.
Right after the defeat, the Ava court plotted a putsch. In May 1542, Thohanbwa was assassinated by his chief minister Yan Naung.
Sao Hung Pha or Thohanbwa in Burmese was a son of Sawlon of Mohnyin, who had successfully rebelled against Ava's rule in the 1480s. By the early 16th century, the father-son team of Sawlon and Thohanbwa regularly raided Ava's territories from the north. In the early 1520s, their raids were joined by a confederation of Shan States under the leadership of Mohnyin. The confederation gradually took away Ava's northernmost territories, and sacked Ava in 1524 though the king of Ava, Shwenankyawshin and his main ally Hkonmaing, the saopha of Thibaw escaped and continued resistance. In 1527, the confederation laid siege to Ava again. In April, Shwenankyawshin was killed in battle and Ava fell. Sawlon appointed Thohanbwa as the "king" of Ava– essentially a viceroy ruling on behalf of his father and the confederation.
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