Singu Min

Singu Min စဥ့်ကူးမင်း
King of Burma Prince of Singu
Reign	10 June 1776 – 6 February 1782 (deposed) (5 years, 241 days)
Coronation	23 December 1776
Predecessor	Hsinbyushin
Successor	Phaungka
Consort	Shin Min 13 queens in total
Issue	6 sons, 6 daughters
Names Min Ye Hla
House	Konbaung
Father	Hsinbyushin
Mother	Me Hla
Religion	Theravada Buddhism

Singu Min (Burmese: စဥ့်ကူးမင်း, pronounced [sɪ̰ɴɡú mɪ́ɴ]; 10 May 1756 – 6 February 1782) was the fourth king of the Konbaung dynasty of Myanmar. Singu succeeded his father King Hsinbyushin in 1776 amid controversy as his ascension ignored the wish of King Alaungpaya that all his sons become king. Singu's ascension was made possible by the support of his father-in-law Gen. Maha Thiha Thura, the commander-in-chief of the Burmese military. Concerned about his own rule at home, Singu ordered Maha Thiha Thura back to Ava and the withdrawal of Burmese forces from Lan Na and Upper Menam valley where Maha Thiha Thura had been engaged in battle against the Siamese and Lan Na (Chaing Mai) forces. The withdrawal's longterm impact was that the Burmese would lose most of the old Lan Na Kingdom, which had been under Burmese suzerainty since 1558.

Singu spent his next years eliminating his potential rivals, including Prince of Amyint, the uncle who was the rightful heir to the throne per Alaungpaya's wish, and five of his own brothers. He exiled other possible claimants—the remaining three uncles, and two cousins. He even had a fallout with Maha Thiha Thura and dismissed the man who made him king. On 6 February 1782, one of the exiled cousins, Prince of Phaungka, came back to Ava, deposed Singu and claimed himself to be king. Phaungka's reign was short. Their uncle Prince of Badon, organized a coup one week later, killed both Singu and Phaungka and became king—later known as King Bodawpaya.

Early life

Singu was born Min Ye Hla, the eldest son to Prince of Myedu (later King Hsinbyushin) and his first wife at the Royal Palace in Ava on 10 May 1756. When his father became king, Min Ye Hla was granted the town of Singu in fief. He became known as Singusa or Lord of Singu by which he would be known. He was later installed as Heir Apparent, against the death-bed wish of the founder of the dynasty, Alaungpaya.

Reign

Singu killed off potential rivals to the throne as soon as he came to power. He had three of his half-brothers executed in 1776 upon his ascension. He next executed his uncle Prince of Amyint on 1 October 1777. He exiled the three remaining uncles. Prince of Badon (later King Bodawpaya) was next in line for the throne—hence Singu's next target—but the astute prince conducted himself to be seen as harmless that he escaped death. Prince of Badon was sent to Sagaing where he was kept under close supervision.

Unlike his predecessors, who were all military men, Singu was anti-war in sentiment. The country had been fighting constant wars since the 1740s, even before the Konbaung dynasty was founded. Reflecting the people's general wariness for war, Singu demobilized the armies. He essentially gave up Lan Na which had been under Burmese rule since Bayinnaung's time.

He spent much of time at the capital, surrounding himself with young people, anti-war in temperament himself. He spent his days at the palace, listening to music and poetry and his nights in drunken bouts in a hideout across the river. He executed or dismissed those courtiers who criticized his conduct.