[March 3] Nyaungyan Min, king of Burma

True Name: ညောင်ရမ်းမင်း

Parents: Bayinnaung and Khin Pyezon

Date of Birth: 1557

House: Toungoo

Spouse: Khin Hpone Myat

Reign: 1599 – 1606

Predecessor: Nanda

Summary: When Nyaungyan was young, it was not likely that he would succeed to the Burmese throne. His mother was a commoner and his uncle had led Burma into chaos. In 1599, the capital of Burma, Pegu, was sacked by the neighboring kingdom of Siam and Nanda was deposed. Without other options, Nyaungyan was elevated to the kingship and spent the entirety of his short reign trying to rebuild the empire that his uncle had destroyed.

Perhaps the funny thing about his entire reign is that most of it was spent in exile. Siam captured the ancestral home of the Burmese dynasty, Toungoo, in March 1602 forcing Nyaungyan to flee. The king built up an army in Ava in central Burma and remained exiled there for three years while claimants and the Siamese forces fought throughout Burma. The king finally returned and began the reconquest of former tributary states along the Burmese-Siamese border. By the time of the king's death in 1606, he had reunified much of northern Burma and annexed the Shan States, despite Siam still controlling much of the south. His son, Anaukpetlun, would complete the work and end the war with Siam.

Date of Death: 3 March 1606

Successor: Anaukpetlun

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Bohemund I, prince of Antioch (1111)
• Vladimir III, grand prince of Kiev (1239)
• John Frederick, elector of Saxony (1554)
• Nyaungyan Min, king of Burma (1557)
• Aurangzeb, emperor of India (1707)