Binnya Dhammaraza

Binnya Dhammaraza ဗညားဓမ္မရာဇာ
King of Hanthawaddy
Reign	1421–1424
Predecessor	Razadarit
Successor	Binnya Ran I
Born	c. 1392/93 Pegu (Bago)
Died	1424 (aged 31)[1] Pegu
Issue	Binnya Kyan
House	Wareru
Father	Razadarit
Religion	Theravada Buddhism

Binnya Dhammaraza (Burmese: ဗညားဓမ္မရာဇာ, pronounced: [bəɲá dəma̰jàzà]; c. 1392–1424) was the 10th king of the Hanthawaddy Pegu Kingdom in Burma from 1421 to 1424. He came to power after his father Razadarit died in a hunting accident but he never any real control of the kingdom. He faced both internal rebellions by his brothers Binnya Ran I and Binnya Kyan, and renewed invasions from the Ava Kingdom. While he survived the Ava invasions, the last of the Forty Years' War between Ava and Hanthawaddy kingdoms, he did not survive treachery by his brothers. In 1424, he was poisoned by his brother Binnya Ran, who succeeded the throne.

Life in brief

Various Burmese chronicles do not agree on the key dates of the king's life. He ascended to the throne in 1421 according to Razadarit Ayedawbon.^{[note 1]} (Razadarit Ayedawbon is considered the most authoritative chronicle of Hanthawaddy history but it ends at the death of King Razadarit.)

Chronicles	Birth–Death	Age	Reign	Length of reign
Slapat Rajawan[note 2]	c. 1363–1405	31	1402–1405	3
Slapat adjusted[note 3]	c. 1392–1424	31	1421–1424	3
Maha Yazawin and Hmannan Yazawin	not reported	not reported	1423–1426	3

Reign

Upon accession, Binnya Dhammaraza immediately faced rebellions by his younger brothers Binnya Ran and Binnya Kyan. Binnya Dhammaraza pacified Binnya Ran by making him the heir-apparent and governor of Bassein and the entire Irrawaddy delta. Binnya Kyan invited King Thihathu of Ava to invade the kingdom but became disillusioned with his alliance when Ava's troops plundered and looted towns. Binnya Dhammaraza again bought peace by giving Binnya Kyan the governorship of Martaban.^[2] Now, he was left with just Pegu of the three main provinces of the Hanthawaddy region.

Although he tried to buy peace and unity by giving territory to his brothers, his brothers were not satisfied. Binnya Kyan ruled Martaban as an independent king. Binnya Ran expanded his territory by occupying Dagon (Yangon), part of Pegu province. When the Ava forces came to occupy Dala opposite Dagon, Binnya Ran presented his sister Shin Sawbu to Thihathu, and bought peace. In 1424, Binnya Ran poisoned Binnya Dhammaraza and became the eleventh king of Hanthawaddy.^[3]

Notes

1. (Pan Hla 2004: 356) says Razadarit died in 782 ME (1420/1421) at the age of 53 (in his 54th year). Since the king was born on 28 January 1368, he must have died between mid-January to 28 March 1421, the last day 782 ME.
2. Slapat provides wildly divergent and inconsistent dates for the early Hanthawaddy history, including the reign of this king. (Slapat 1922: 49) has the king's death year as 1075 ME (1713/1714 CE); this is after stating (Slapat 1922: 45–46) that King Binnya U became king in 1060 ME (1698/1699) and ruled for 35 years, and was followed by a 38-year reign of Razadarit. The birth-death and regnal dates here are calculated backwards from the death year of 1526 of King Binnya Ran II, which is in agreement with standard Burmese chronicles.
3. Provisional dates by scholars. See (Maha Yazawin Vol. 2 2006: 344).

References

1. Slapat 1922: 49
2. Phayre 1967: 81–82
3. Harvey 1925: 115–116

Bibliography

• Athwa, Sayadaw (1785). Mon Yazawin (Slapat Rajawan) (in Burmese) (1922 ed.). Yangon: Burma Publishing Workers Association Press.
• Harvey, G. E. (1925). History of Burma: From the Earliest Times to 10 March 1824. London: Frank Cass & Co. Ltd.
• Kala, U (1724). Maha Yazawin (in Burmese). 1–3 (2006, 4th printing ed.). Yangon: Ya-Pyei Publishing.
• Pan Hla, Nai (1968). Razadarit Ayedawbon (in Burmese) (8th printing, 2004 ed.). Yangon: Armanthit Sarpay.
• Phayre, Lt. Gen. Sir Arthur P. (1883). History of Burma (1967 ed.). London: Susil Gupta.
• Royal Historical Commission of Burma (1832). Hmannan Yazawin (in Burmese). 1–3 (2003 ed.). Yangon: Ministry of Information, Myanmar.