Saw Hnit Explained

Type:monarch
Saw Hnit
Reign:1299–1325[1]
Coronation:8 May 1299[2]
Succession:Viceroy of Pagan
Predecessor:Kyawswa
Successor:Uzana II
Suc-Type:Successor
Spouse:Saw Thitmahti[3]
Issue:Uzana II
Atula Sanda Dewi[4]
Yazathura of Pinle[5]
House:Pagan
Father:Kyawswa
Mother:Saw Soe[6]
Birth Date:1283 (Saturday born)
Birth Place:Pagan (Bagan)
Death Date:1325 (aged 42)
Death Place:Pagan
Religion:Theravada Buddhism

Saw Hnit (Burmese: စောနှစ်, in Burmese pronounced as /sɔ́ n̥ɪʔ/; also spelled စောနစ်, in Burmese pronounced as /sɔ́ nɪʔ/, Saw Nit or Min Lulin; 1283–1325) was a viceroy of Pagan (Bagan) from 1297 to 1325 under the suzerain of Myinsaing Kingdom in central Burma (Myanmar). He was a son of the Mongol vassal king Kyawswa, and a grandson of Narathihapate, the last sovereign king of Pagan dynasty. Saw Hnit succeeded as "king" after his father was forced to abdicate the throne by the three brothers of Myinsaing in December 1297.[7]

The brothers put him on the throne, officially styled as the king of Pagan, but essentially their viceroy.[8] His authority amounted to the region around the Pagan city.[9] The viceroy gave his first audience on 8 May 1299.[2] He raised his father's chief queen Saw Thitmahti as his own chief queen.[10] Two days later, the three brothers executed his brother Theingapati and his father Kyawswa.[8]

King Swa Saw Ke of Ava (r. 1367–1400) was a grandnephew of Saw Hnit.[9]

Dates

Saw Hnit was a son of King Kyawswa. The table below lists the dates given by the four main chronicles.[11]

ChroniclesBirth–DeathAgeReignLength of reign
Zatadawbon Yazawin1285/86–1331/32461300/01–1331/3231
Maha Yazawin1285/86–1322/23371300/01–1322/2322
Yazawin Thit1279/80–1330/31511298/99–1330/3132
Hmannan Yazawin1283/84–1325/26421298/99–1325/2627

Ancestry

The following is the ancestry of Saw Hnit as reported by the Hmannan Yazawin chronicle (Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 360, 402–403). He was descended from Pagan kings from both sides. His parents were second cousins, once removed.[12]

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Harvey 1925: 79
  2. Than Tun 1959: 122
  3. Maha Yazawin Vol. 1 2006: 234 (fn#3), 257 (fn#1)
  4. Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 380
  5. (Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 82): Yazathura was the younger brother of Atula Sanda. His children were Min Letya of Nyaungyan and Yandathu I of Lanbu.
  6. Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 360
  7. Than Tun 1959: 119–120
  8. Coedès 1968: 210-211
  9. Htin Aung 1967: 65–71
  10. Maha Yazawin Vol. 1 2006: 257
  11. Maha Yazawin Vol. 1 2006: 349
  12. Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 360