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Saw Zein

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Saw Zein
‹See Tfd›စောဇိတ်
King of Hanthawaddy
Reignc. October 1324 – February 1331 (6+ years)
CoronationOctober 1324
Thadingyut 686 ME[1]
PredecessorSaw O
SuccessorZein Pun
ConsortSanda Min Hla
Princess of Sukhothai
IssueMin Linka
Mahadevi
Binnya U
HouseWareru
FatherMin Bala
MotherHnin U Yaing
ReligionTheravada Buddhism

Template:Burmese characters

Saw Zein (Template:Lang-my, pronounced [sɔ́ zeiʔ]; 1303–1331) was the fourth king of Hanthawaddy Pegu from 1324 to 1331. A nephew of the kingdom's founder King Wareru, Saw Zein succeeded his brother King Saw O in 1324. He lost the southern territories of Tenasserim coast back to his nominal overlord Sukhothai, and looked to expand his territory northwards. He died in battle in his siege of Prome (Pyay).

Reign

Saw Zein moved the capital of kingdom from Martaban (Mottama) to Pegu (Bago) in the north, leaving Martaban with a strong garrison. It is not clear if the move was precipitated by his overlord Sukhothai's reoccupation of the Tenasserim (Taninthayi) coast. (In a strange twist, his brother Saw O, who was married to a daughter of the king of Sukhothai, had nonetheless occupied the coast down to the city of Tenasserim.) Saw Zein's southern frontier was likely no more than Moulmein (Mawlamyaing).[2]

At Pegu, Saw Zein consolidated his hold over the Irrawaddy delta, and looked to expand northwards into Upper Burma. He died trying. In 1331, he attacked Prome, a strategically located city and appeared to have been held by an independent king, with a large army and flotilla. The king was killed in battle, and his forces were defeated.

Background

Like his predecessors, Saw Zein was also of Shan and Mon descent.[3] (He was at least a quarter Shan as his mother Hnin U Yaing, sister of King Wareru, was half-Shan. Part of his name Saw was the Shan honorific Sao.)

When he became king, Saw Zein married his first cousin Sanda Min Hla, daughter of King Hkun Law, and took his brother's chief queen, daughter of the king of Sukhothai. He had at least two sons (Binnya U and Min Linka) and a daughter, Mahadevi.

References

  1. ^ a b Pan Hla, Nai (1968). Razadarit Ayedawbon (in Burmese) (8th printing, 2004 ed.). Yangon. p. 41.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ^ Lt. Gen. Sir Arthur P. Phayre (1883). History of Burma (1967 ed.). London: Susil Gupta. pp. 66–67.
  3. ^ Maung Htin Aung (1967). "Pagan and the Mongol Intrusion". A History of Burma. New York and London: Cambridge University Press. pp. 78–80.
Saw Zein
 Died: 1331
Regnal titles
Preceded by King of Hanthawaddy
1324–1331
Succeeded by
Royal titles
Preceded by Heir to the Hanthawaddy Throne
13?? – 1324
Succeeded by