Leik Munhtaw Explained

Type:	monarch
Leik Munhtaw
Reign:	June 1453 – January 1454
Succession:	King of Hanthawaddy
Predecessor:	Binnya Kyan
Successor:	Shin Sawbu
Suc-Type:	Successor
Father:	Binnya Ran I
Mother:	Soe Min Wimala Dewi^[1]
Birth Date:	1432
Birth Place:	Pegu (Bago) Hanthawaddy Kingdom
Death Date:	January 1454
Death Place:	Pegu (Bago) Hanthawaddy Kingdom
Religion:	Theravada Buddhism

Leik Munhtaw (Burmese: လိပ်မွတ်ထော, in Burmese pronounced as /leiʔ mʊ̀ɰ̃ tʰɔ́/; Mon: ; 1432–1454) was the 14th king of the Hanthawaddy Pegu Kingdom in Burma for seven months in 1453–54. He came to power by assassinating his first cousin King Binnya Kyan. Binnya Kyan himself had come to power in 1451 by murdering his cousin King Binnya Waru, and went on to kill off male descendants of King Razadarit.^[2] Leik Munhtaw, son of King Binnya Ran I and a grandson of Razadarit, got to Binnya Kyan, also a grandson of Razadarit, first. Leik Munhtaw went on to kill more rivals. In early 1454, palace ministers killed Leik Munhtaw, leaving no male heir of Razadarit's line. The ministers chose his daughter Shin Sawbu to be the next ruler of Hanthawaddy.^[3]

Brief

Various Burmese chronicles do not agree on the key dates of the king's life.

Chronicles	Birth–Death	Age	Reign	Length of reign	Reference
Maha Yazawin	1438–1451/52 and 1438–1453/54	~23 and ~25	1451/52 and 1453/54	7 months	^[4]
Slapat Rajawan	not reported	not reported	1463/64		^[5]
Hmannan Yazawin	1432–1452/53 and 1432–1453/54	~31 and ~32	1452/53 and 1453/54		^[6]
Mon Yazawin (Shwe Naw)	not reported	not reported	1445/46		^[7]

Bibliography

• Athwa . Sayadaw . P.W. Schmidt . Slapat des Ragawan der Königsgeschichte . Die äthiopischen Handschriften der K.K. Hofbibliothek zu Wien . Vienna . 1766 . 1906 . German . 151 . Alfred Hölder.
• Book: Harvey, G. E.. History of Burma: From the Earliest Times to 10 March 1824 . Frank Cass & Co. Ltd . 1925 . London.
• Book: Kala, U . U Kala . . Ya-Pyei Publishing . Yangon . 1724 . 2006, 4th printing . Burmese . 1–3.
• Book: Phayre, Lt. Gen. Sir Arthur P. . Arthur Purves Phayre . History of Burma . 1883 . 1967 . Susil Gupta . London.
• Book: Royal Historical Commission of Burma . Royal Historical Commission of Burma . . 1–3 . 1832 . Yangon . Burmese . 2003 . Ministry of Information, Myanmar.
• Book: Shwe Naw . Shwe Naw . . Burmese . 1785 . 1922 . Yangon . Burma Publishing Workers Association Press.

Notes and References

1. Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 74
2. Harvey 1925: 368
3. Phayre 1967: 84
4. (Maha Yazawin Vol. 2: 70): He was born after his mother was given to Binnya Ran in 798 ME (1436/37), later corrected by Hmannan as 792 ME (1430/31). The chronicle also reports two different death dates: (Maha Vol. 2 2006: 81) gives 813 ME (1451/52) while the summary section of Hanthawaddy kings (Maha Yazawin Vol. 2 2006: 140) gives 815 ME (1453/54).
5. Schmidt 1906: 131
6. (Hmannan Vol. 2: 74): He was born after his mother was given to Binnya Ran in 1430/31. The chronicle also reports two different death dates: (Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 91) gives 814 ME (1452/53) while its summary of Hanthawaddy kings section (Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 185) gives 815 ME (1453/54).
7. (Shwe Naw 1922: 55) says Leik Munhtaw reigned for 7 months but does not provide any other information. (Shwe Naw 1922: 69) says his successor Shin Sawbu reigned for 25 years and died in 832 ME (1470/71), which implies that Leik Munhtaw died 807 ME (1445/46).