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Byattaba
Byattaba (Burmese: ဗြတ်ထဗ; Burmese pronunciation: [bjaʔ tʰə ba̰]; also Byat-Hta-Ba) was the ruler of the Martaban province of the Martaban–Hanthawaddy Kingdom from 1364 to 1388. He came to power by staging a coup against King Binnya U with the help of his brothers. Their rebellion led to the relocation of the Mon-speaking kingdom's capital to Pegu (Bago) in 1369.
In 1364, Byattaba, then a senior official, seized the Martaban province south of Donwun while his brother Laukpya seized the entire Bassein province. In 1371/72, the rebel brothers and the king signed a treaty that allowed the brothers to be his nominal vassals. In 1384, the brothers refused to extend the same recognition to Binnya U's son and successor Razadarit. Unlike Laukpya, Byattaba did not help Ava in the northern kingdom's two invasions against Pegu in 1385–1387. Nonetheless, he was driven out of Martaban in 1388 by Razadarit. He fled abroad, never to be heard from again.
According to the chronicle Razadarit Ayedawbon, Byattaba was the eldest son of Saw E Pyathat, a general in the Martaban army. His personal name was Nyi San (ညီစန်, [ɲì sàɴ]), and he was probably born in the early-to-mid 1320s. He was a half-cousin, twice removed of kings Saw O (r. 1311–1323) and Saw Zein (r. 1323–1330). He had three younger brothers: E Bya Bon, Laukpya and U-Lo, and at least one younger half-brother, Ma Lagun.
Their father died in action in the late 1320s against a war with Prome, a vassal state of Pinya. Saw Zein decided to look after Pyathat's children. The king died in 1330 but his promise to take care of Pyathat's children was honored by subsequent monarchs. Nyi San apparently was in sufficiently high social standing that he was given the title Byattaba, and was allowed to marry Princess Tala Mi Ma-Hsan, daughter of Saw Zein and half-sister of Binnya U (r. 1348–1384).
Byattaba's star continued to rise in the early reign of Binnya U. In the first five years of U's reign, U faced two internal rebellions and an external invasion by Lan Na. Byattaba and his brothers were loyal to U, and the king reciprocated. By the early 1360s, he had brought the two elder brothers—Byattaba and E Bya Bon—into his inner circle, and appointed the third brother Laukpya governor of Myaungmya, a key port in the Irrawaddy Delta. The king personally married Byattaba's daughter Tala Thazin Zaw Ngaik, and Laukpya's son Saw E Binnya, and appointed E Binnya governor of Tari, a small town south of Donwun.
Despite the king's trust in them, the brothers were contemplating a rebellion. The main instigator was Laukpya, who was posted far away from Martaban, and had quickly developed a network of support across the delta province through a series of alliances. The opening came in 1363. That year, the king asked Byattaba to guard the capital Martaban while the king and his retinue went on a months-long elephant hunting trip near the Siamese border. The king, whose main title was Hsinbyushin ("Lord of the White Elephant"), had been searching for a white elephant, considered highly propitious by Burmese sovereigns, since the death of his first white elephant in 1354/55. The king believed that his victory over the Lan Na invasion of 1351–1352 was due to the luck brought by his white elephant. The king and his sizable retinue, consisted of his key advisers, generals and 2000 troops, went on the planned hunting trip, c. November 1363. The king left the capital in the trusted hands of Byattaba, who in turn was aided by his brothers E Bya Bon and U-Lo.
The brothers then staged a silent coup. Byattaba consolidated power at the palace. E Bya Bon took over the defenses of Lagun Byi, a town north of Martaban while U-Lo took over Moulmein (Mawlamyaing), the town immediately south of Martaban, across the Salween River (Thanlwin). In the delta, Laukpya had fortified Myaungmya. Only their half-brother Lagun, governor of a small eastern delta town of Let-Hlyit remained loyal to the king. The king did not learn about the coup until four months into the trip. He rushed back to the capital. His troops recaptured Lagun Byi from E Bya Bon but twice failed to take Martaban, losing his two best generals in the process. In the western theater, Laukpya tried to seize Dala–Twante but could not get past the defenses of his half-brother Lagun.
By the rainy season of 1364, a stalemate had developed. The king had set up camp at Donwun, 100 km north of Martaban. Byattaba had held on Martaban and the southern coast but his hold was tenuous. In Martaban, Byattaba and E Bya Bon had had to institute a lockdown of the city to prevent people from fleeing. With the king controlling the most populous Pegu province, the brothers realized that they could not hold out for long. They appealed to the king of Lan Na to intervene, promising a cut of the tax revenue of Martaban and Moulmein ports.
Byattaba
Byattaba (Burmese: ဗြတ်ထဗ; Burmese pronunciation: [bjaʔ tʰə ba̰]; also Byat-Hta-Ba) was the ruler of the Martaban province of the Martaban–Hanthawaddy Kingdom from 1364 to 1388. He came to power by staging a coup against King Binnya U with the help of his brothers. Their rebellion led to the relocation of the Mon-speaking kingdom's capital to Pegu (Bago) in 1369.
In 1364, Byattaba, then a senior official, seized the Martaban province south of Donwun while his brother Laukpya seized the entire Bassein province. In 1371/72, the rebel brothers and the king signed a treaty that allowed the brothers to be his nominal vassals. In 1384, the brothers refused to extend the same recognition to Binnya U's son and successor Razadarit. Unlike Laukpya, Byattaba did not help Ava in the northern kingdom's two invasions against Pegu in 1385–1387. Nonetheless, he was driven out of Martaban in 1388 by Razadarit. He fled abroad, never to be heard from again.
According to the chronicle Razadarit Ayedawbon, Byattaba was the eldest son of Saw E Pyathat, a general in the Martaban army. His personal name was Nyi San (ညီစန်, [ɲì sàɴ]), and he was probably born in the early-to-mid 1320s. He was a half-cousin, twice removed of kings Saw O (r. 1311–1323) and Saw Zein (r. 1323–1330). He had three younger brothers: E Bya Bon, Laukpya and U-Lo, and at least one younger half-brother, Ma Lagun.
Their father died in action in the late 1320s against a war with Prome, a vassal state of Pinya. Saw Zein decided to look after Pyathat's children. The king died in 1330 but his promise to take care of Pyathat's children was honored by subsequent monarchs. Nyi San apparently was in sufficiently high social standing that he was given the title Byattaba, and was allowed to marry Princess Tala Mi Ma-Hsan, daughter of Saw Zein and half-sister of Binnya U (r. 1348–1384).
Byattaba's star continued to rise in the early reign of Binnya U. In the first five years of U's reign, U faced two internal rebellions and an external invasion by Lan Na. Byattaba and his brothers were loyal to U, and the king reciprocated. By the early 1360s, he had brought the two elder brothers—Byattaba and E Bya Bon—into his inner circle, and appointed the third brother Laukpya governor of Myaungmya, a key port in the Irrawaddy Delta. The king personally married Byattaba's daughter Tala Thazin Zaw Ngaik, and Laukpya's son Saw E Binnya, and appointed E Binnya governor of Tari, a small town south of Donwun.
Despite the king's trust in them, the brothers were contemplating a rebellion. The main instigator was Laukpya, who was posted far away from Martaban, and had quickly developed a network of support across the delta province through a series of alliances. The opening came in 1363. That year, the king asked Byattaba to guard the capital Martaban while the king and his retinue went on a months-long elephant hunting trip near the Siamese border. The king, whose main title was Hsinbyushin ("Lord of the White Elephant"), had been searching for a white elephant, considered highly propitious by Burmese sovereigns, since the death of his first white elephant in 1354/55. The king believed that his victory over the Lan Na invasion of 1351–1352 was due to the luck brought by his white elephant. The king and his sizable retinue, consisted of his key advisers, generals and 2000 troops, went on the planned hunting trip, c. November 1363. The king left the capital in the trusted hands of Byattaba, who in turn was aided by his brothers E Bya Bon and U-Lo.
The brothers then staged a silent coup. Byattaba consolidated power at the palace. E Bya Bon took over the defenses of Lagun Byi, a town north of Martaban while U-Lo took over Moulmein (Mawlamyaing), the town immediately south of Martaban, across the Salween River (Thanlwin). In the delta, Laukpya had fortified Myaungmya. Only their half-brother Lagun, governor of a small eastern delta town of Let-Hlyit remained loyal to the king. The king did not learn about the coup until four months into the trip. He rushed back to the capital. His troops recaptured Lagun Byi from E Bya Bon but twice failed to take Martaban, losing his two best generals in the process. In the western theater, Laukpya tried to seize Dala–Twante but could not get past the defenses of his half-brother Lagun.
By the rainy season of 1364, a stalemate had developed. The king had set up camp at Donwun, 100 km north of Martaban. Byattaba had held on Martaban and the southern coast but his hold was tenuous. In Martaban, Byattaba and E Bya Bon had had to institute a lockdown of the city to prevent people from fleeing. With the king controlling the most populous Pegu province, the brothers realized that they could not hold out for long. They appealed to the king of Lan Na to intervene, promising a cut of the tax revenue of Martaban and Moulmein ports.