[April 30] Tabinshwehti, king of Burma

True Name: တပင်‌ရွှေထီး
Parents: Mingyinyo, king of Burma, and Yaza Dewi

Date of Birth: 16 April 1516

House: Toungoo
Spouse: Hpone Soe and Myat

Predecessor: Mingyinyo

Reign: 1530 – 1550

Summary: Tabinshwehti was the founder of the Second Burmese Empire. He came from the kingdom of Toungoo where he succeeded his father in 1530 as king. To emphasize trade, he moved the capital to the city of Pegu, an important trading center. Historians date the founding of the empire from this year. During the first nine years of his reign, Tabinshwehti led four military expeditions into the Mon kingdom which controlled Pegu and was on the Bay of Bengal. The Mon rulers had ruled since at least 1385. With European markets making headways into Burma, Tabinshwehti wanted to unify and consolidate the empire before Mon became the powerhouse. He also wanted to strengthen the empire against the advances of the Thai Shan confederation that had hounded Toungoo for a decade. European military and Burmese troops from Mon would help achieve this goal. Indeed, in his invasion of Mon, Tabinshwehti used Portuguese and Muslim troops to win the Battle of Naungyo.

Soon after he unified Mon to his kingdom, he moved to the port of Martaban, a port used by the Portuguese. Tabinshwehti sieged the city for seven months before defeating the Portuguese garrison there.  Tabinshwehti was crowned King of Burma in 1541 at the Shwedagon Pagoda. He then sent his armies to Prome where he met his harshest defense. Another long siege won the day rather than outright attack. Tabinshwehti punished the citizens of the city harshly for their long resistance. In 1543, forces from the Shan confederacy attacked the Burmese army but were defeated. Tabinshwehti marched north and defeated Pagan and Salin, adding them to his realm. He continued his war efforts until 1550 when a Mon resistance movement was able to arrange for the king's assassination. Tabinshwehti was decapitated in his own court by his chamberlains. The Mons usurped the throne for a short while until Bayinnaung was able to restore order in Burma and take the title of king once again.

Date of Death: 30 April 1550

Successor: Bayinnaung

Other Monarch Deaths:

Mahmud, sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire (1030)

Renzong, emperor of China (1063)

John III, duke of Brittany (1341)

Sigismund I, king of Sweden (1632)