Sithu Pauk Hla of Yamethin explained

Sithu of Yamethin
Native Name:ရမည်းသင်း စည်သူ
Native Name Lang:my
Office:Governor of Yamethin
Term Start: November 1400
Term End: mid 1413
Predecessor:Maha Pyauk
Successor:Sithu Thihapate
Birth Name:Pauk Hla
Death Date: 1413
Birth Place:Wun Zin, Ava Kingdom
Father:Min Yaza of Wun Zin
Mother:Me Chit
Allegiance:Kingdom of Ava
Serviceyears:1400–
Rank:General
Branch:Royal Ava Armed Forces

Sithu of Yamethin (Burmese: ရမည်းသင်း စည်သူ, in Burmese pronounced as /jəmɛ́ðɪ́ɰ̃ sìðù/; –), also known by his birth name Pauk Hla (in Burmese pronounced as /paʊʔ l̥a̰/), was governor of Yamethin from 1400 to . He was the eldest child of Chief Minister Min Yaza, and also served as a senior commander in the Royal Ava armed forces. He fought in all the major campaigns of the Forty Years' War between 1408 and 1412.

Early life

Probably born before 1368, Pauk Hla was the eldest child of an athi commoner family of Nga Nyo and Me Chit from Wun Zin, a rural village in the Kingdom of Ava.[1] [2] He had at least two siblings: one full younger sister Saw Myat Lay, and a half younger brother, Saw Yin; he may have also had another younger brother.

He grew up in the royal capital of Ava (Inwa) from 1368 onwards. His father had entered the service of King Swa Saw Ke, and the entire family had moved to Ava since 1368. His father went on to become the chief minister of the court with the title of Min Yaza.[1] [2]

Career

Pauk Hla's career rose alongside his father's. His career defining appointment came in 1400 when the new king of Ava, Minkhaung I, appointed him governor of Yamethin, a major irrigated district traditionally held by the most senior royals, and gave him the command of a 50-strong royal war elephant company.[3] [4] The appointments came alongside Minkhaung's other appointments which included Yaza's son-in-law Thado Theinkhathu being made governor of Badon and Tabayin. The appointments were designed to retain Min Yaza's support by the new king, who had come to power only after a contentious succession crisis.[5] Indeed, the Yamethin governorship previously belonged to Maha Pyauk of Yamethin, who had tried to seize the Ava throne from Minkhaung.[6] [7]

Pauk Hla, now known by the title of Sithu, loyally served as governor for the next dozen plus years. As governor of a major fief, Sithu served in the Royal Ava Armed Forces, and fought in various campaigns—from Hanthawaddy in the south (1408–1410),[8] to Arakan in the west (1411–1412) to Hsenwi in the northeast (1412). He led entire armies in the 1408, and 1409–1410 campaigns, and later served as one of the deputy commanders in Crown Prince Minye Kyawswa's armies from 1410 onwards.

He is not mentioned in the royal chronicles again after 1412. The Yazawin Thit chronicle cursorily mentions that King Minkhaung appointed Sithu Thihapate governor of Yamethin in late 1413 but does not say what had ever happened to the previous governor. While it is not clear if Sithu Pauk Hla had fallen in action or had died by natural causes, he did not lose the governorship because his father had lost power. Min Yaza remained the chief minister of the Ava court until his death in 1421.[2]

Military service

The following is a list of military campaigns in which Sithu of Yamethin is explicitly mentioned in the royal chronicles as a commander.

width=10%Campaignwidth=5%Durationwidth=10%Troops commanded[9] width=30%Notes
Ava invasion of HanthawaddyMay 14081 regiment (1000 troops)Commanded a regiment in the 20,000+ strong vanguard invasion army[10] [11] [12]
Ava withdrawal from HanthawaddyAugust 1408Rearguard Army (8000 troops)Commanded the rearguard army (8 regiments, 8000 troops, 800 cavalry, 20 elephants)[13] [14] [15]
Ava invasion of Hanthawaddy1409–1410Vanguard Army (10,000 troops)Commanded the vanguard army that invaded Hanthawaddy[16] [17] [18]
Ava invasion of Hanthawaddylate 1410Navy (7000 troops)One of the commanders of the naval invasion force (7000 troops, 7 war ships, 70 war boats, 20 armored war boats, 20 transport boats, 30 supply boats)[19] [20] [21]
Siege of Sandowaylate 1411–March 14121 regimentCommanded a regiment in the 8000-strong army led by Crown Prince Minye Kyawswa that invaded Sandoway[22] [23] [24]
Battle of Wetwinc. April 14121 regimentCommanded a regiment in Minye Kyawswa's army from Sandoway that went to meet invading Hsenwi forces at Wetwin.[25] [26]
Siege of HsenwiMay–November 14121 regimentPart of Minye Kyawswa's army that laid siege to Hsenwi

Bibliography

. . Ya-Pyei Publishing . Yangon . 1724 . 2006 . 4th printing . my . 1–3 . U Kala.

Notes and References

  1. Khin Maung Nyunt 2016: 8
  2. Aung-Thwin 2017: 80
  3. Wilkie 1934: 28
  4. Aung-Thwin 2017: 72
  5. Aung-Thwin 2017: 69, 72
  6. Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 439
  7. Aung-Thwin 2017: 71
  8. Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 229, 233, 236–238
  9. Chronicle reported troop levels reduced by an order of magnitude per (Harvey 1925: 333–336)
  10. Maha Yazawin Vol. 1 2006: 334
  11. Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 229
  12. Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 476–477
  13. Maha Yazawin Vol. 1 2006: 339
  14. Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 233
  15. Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 484
  16. Maha Yazawin Vol. 2 2006: 26–27
  17. Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 236
  18. Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 2
  19. Maha Yazawin Vol. 2 2006: 28–29
  20. Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 237–238
  21. Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 5–6
  22. Maha Yazawin Vol. 2 2006: 30
  23. Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 238
  24. Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 6–7
  25. Maha Yazawin Vol. 2 2006: 31
  26. Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 8