Yazathingyan of Pagan
| Yazathingyan ရာဇသင်္ကြန် |
|
|---|---|
| Chief Minister-General | |
|
In office 1240s – 1260 |
|
| Monarch |
Kyaswa Uzana Narathihapate |
| Preceded by | Ananda Thura |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1198/99 Pagan (Bagan) |
| Died | 1260 (aged 61) Dala |
| Spouse(s) | Saw Khin Htut |
| Children |
Ananda Pyissi Yanda Pyissi Saw San Saw Soe |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Pagan Kingdom |
| Service/branch | Royal Burmese Army |
| Years of service | 1230s–1260 |
| Rank | Commander-in-chief |
| Battles/wars | Martaban (1258–59) Missagiri (1259–60) |
Yazathingyan (Burmese: ရာဇသင်္ကြန်, pronounced [jàza̰ θɪ́ɴdʑàɴ]; also spelled Yaza Thingyan or Yazathinkyan; 1198/99–1260) was the chief minister of kings Kyaswa, Uzana and Narathihapate of the Pagan Dynasty of Burma (Myanmar). He was also the commander-in-chief of the Royal Burmese Army from 1258 until his death in 1260. Ava kings from Swa Saw Ke to Narapati II, and all Konbaung kings were descended from him.
Little is known about his background except that he was a descendant of the 11th-century general Nyaung-U Hpi. But the facts that he was married to a daughter of King Kyaswa and that he became the chief minister show that he hailed from a (distant) branch of the royal family. He was born c. 1198/99.
He first entered the royal service of King Htilominlo, and became a judge before graduating to the royal court as a junior minister. He then rose to the rank of chief minister with the title of Yazathingyan certainly by 1248 at King Kyaswa's court. By then the court ran the country. King Kyaswa, a devout Buddhist and scholar, was interested only in religion, and gave up all administrative duties to his heir-apparent Uzana. But Uzana was not interested in governing either; he was reportedly interested only in chasing elephants and drinking liquor. Uzana in turn handed over the administration to the court.
When Kyawswa died and Uzana officially became king in 1251, nothing changed from the court's perspective. They still ran the country. However, the court, in particular Yazathingyan, came into conflict with Uzana's head-strong son and heir-presumptive Thihathu. Yazathingyan felt slighted by the young prince's what he considered rude, disrespectful behavior toward him—someone several decades older. (According to the chronicles, Yazathingyan was once spat on by the young prince. Chronicles do not say how old Thihathu was but given that Yazathingyan was about 15 years older than Uzana, he was at least about three decades older than Thihathu.)
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