Thihathu

Thihathu (Burmese: သီဟသူ, pronounced [θìha̰ðù]; 1265–1325) was a co-founder of the Myinsaing Kingdom, and the founder of the Pinya Kingdom in today's central Burma (Myanmar). Thihathu was the youngest and most ambitious of the three brothers that successfully defended central Burma from Mongol invasions in 1287 and in 1300–01. He and his brothers toppled the regime at Pagan in 1297, and co-ruled central Burma. After his eldest brother Athinkhaya's death in 1310, Thihathu pushed aside the middle brother Yazathingyan, and took over as the sole ruler of central Burma. His decision to designate his adopted son Uzana I heir-apparent caused his eldest biological son, Saw Yun to set up a rival power center in Sagaing in 1315. Although Saw Yun nominally remained loyal to his father, after Thihathu's death in 1325, the two houses of Myinsaing officially became rival kingdoms in central Burma.

Thihathu was born in 1265 to a prominent family in Myinsaing in Central Burma. His father Theinkha Bo was a younger brother of the sawbwa (chief) of Binnaka, and had fled to Myinsaing after a dispute with his brother in 1260. Traditional (British colonial era) scholarship identifies his father as an ethnic Shan. But the historian Michael Aung-Thwin has rejected the assertion, given that no historical evidence any kind exists to support the claim. At any rate, Theinkha Bo married a daughter of a wealthy banker at Myinsaing. Thihathu was the third child of the couple's four children. He had two elder brothers (Athinkhaya and Yazathingyan) and a younger sister Hla Myat.

Thihathu entered the royal service of King Narathihapate, following the footsteps of his elder brothers Athinkhaya and Yazathingyan. His eldest brother, Athinkhaya, had already distinguished himself, and married Princess Saw U, a niece of the king and a granddaughter of King Uzana and Queen Thonlula. His sister Hla Myat was married to Prince Thihathu, Viceroy of Prome.

The three brothers distinguished themselves in the first war with the Mongols. In 1285, the three brothers, still in their twenties, came to lead the defense of Central Burma. The army had been defeated in northern Burma by the Mongols in the previous dry-seasons (1283–85). Over the next two years, they manned the front (north of present-day Mandalay) while the king and his court relocated to Lower Burma. It was probably during this period that the brothers were given the official titles of Athinkhaya, Yazathingyan and Thihathu by which they would be known in history. They made their name in 1287 when the Mongols invaded Central Burma once again. The invasion was in response to the July 1287 assassination of Narathihapate, who became a Mongol vassal six months earlier. The Burmese army led by the brothers successfully stopped the Mongols, who after taking heavy casualties retreated to their base in Tagaung.

The country fell into anarchy. The Mongols at Tagaung decided not to get involved, leaving the power vacuum unfilled. In Central Burma, the brothers officially took over the leadership of the army, and consolidated their hold of the Kyaukese region, the main granary of the Pagan Kingdom. One of Narathihapate's sons Kyawswa eventually emerged king at Pagan on 30 May 1289 but Kyawswa did not control much beyond the capital. The real power in Central Burma now belonged to the brothers. On 19 February 1293, Kyawswa tried to buy their loyalty by appointing them viceroys of Kyuakse: Athinkhaya as viceroy of Myinsaing, Yazathingyan as viceroy of Mekkhaya and Thihathu as viceroy of Pinle. The territories they were given to govern were small but the king himself ruled a small region around the capital. The brothers took the title of viceroy but did not think much of the "king". Their commemorative inscription of their appointment as viceroy actually states that they were equal to the king, and reminds that it was them who defeated the Mongols in 1287. When Martaban (Mottama) in Lower Burma, which had officially declared independence from Pagan since 1287, became a vassal of Sukhothai in 1293, it was the brothers who marched to retake the former Pagan territory in 1295–1296 (also reported as 1293–1294). Although they were driven back, it left no doubt as to who held the real power in Central Burma.

In the following years, the brothers continued to consolidate power in Central Burma. Thihathu was the most ambitious and least diplomatic, proclaiming himself hsinbyushin (ဆင်ဖြူရှင်, "Lord of the White Elephant") in 1295 and mingyi (မင်းကြီး, "Great Lord") in 1296. Though Athinkhaya and Yazathingyan may have tolerated Thihathu's declarations, Kyawswa felt threatened by them. In January 1297, Kyawswa asked for the protection of the Mongols, and was recognized by the Mongol emperor Temür Khan as King of Pagan on 20 March 1297. The emperor also gave Chinese titles to the brothers as subordinates of Kyawswa. The brothers ultimately decided to overthrow Kyawswa and face the Mongols. On 17 December 1297, with the help of the dowager queen Pwa Saw, they overthrew Kyawswa, and installed one of Kyawswa's sons, Saw Hnit as their puppet king. The brothers now ruled Central Burma as co-regents from their respective capitals of Myinsaing, Mekkhaya and Pinle.

After the overthrow, the brothers braced for a reprisal by the Mongols. But the expected reprisal never came. They became bolder, and allowed Saw Hnit to give his first audience on 8 May 1299. Two days later, they executed Kyawswa and his eldest son Theingapati. Another son of Kyawswa, Kumara Kassapa, escaped to Yunnan in September 1299 to seek the help of the Mongols. In January 1300, the brothers forced the issue by attacking and occupying southernmost Mongol garrisons at Singu and Male. The Mongol government at Yunnan could not respond until a year later, sending a 12,000-strong army. The brothers chose to face the Mongols in Central Burma at their heavily fortified city of Myinsaing. The Mongol army began the siege of Myinsaing on 25 January 1301, and launched a major attack on the fort on 28 February 1301. The attack failed. On 12 March 1301, Athinkhaya, with the support of Yazathingyan and Thihathu, made an offer to the Mongol command, to give them a bribe in exchange for their withdrawal. The Mongol command agreed. On 6 April 1301, upon receiving a bribe of 800 taels (30 kg) of gold and 2200 taels (83 kg) of silver, the Mongol army began their withdrawal. The Yunnan government did not agree with the withdrawal; the two senior Mongol commanders were executed for abandoning the original mission. Nonetheless, the Mongols did not send another expedition, and withdrew altogether from northern Burma two years later.

The Mongols left northern Burma to their nominal vassals, the Shan states. The brothers were able to extend their influence as far north as Tagaung but no further. The brothers' joint-rule survived despite Thihathu's ambitions. Thihathu, the youngest brother, assumed the royal title of Ananda Thiha Thura Zeya Dewa in 1306, and proclaimed himself king on 20 October 1309. It is not known what Athinkhaya and Yazathingyan made of the proclamations. At any rate, Athinkhaya died on 13 April 1310, leaving the two younger brothers Yazathingyan and Thihathu. Yazathingyan passed to the background and died in 1312 or 1313. Thihathu proclaimed himself as the successor of the Pagan dynasty, as he founded Pinya Kingdom on 7 February 1313.