Binnya Kyan

Binnya Kyan ဗညားကျန်း
King of Hanthawaddy
Reign	30 May 1451 – c. June 1453
Predecessor	Binnya Waru
Successor	Leik Munhtaw
Born	c. 1420[note 1]
Died	c. June 1453 Pegu
Father	Binnya Dhammaraza
Religion	Theravada Buddhism

Binnya Kyan (Burmese: ဗညားကျန်း, pronounced: [bəɲá tɕáɴ]; c. 1420–1453) was the 13th king of the Hanthawaddy Pegu Kingdom in Burma from 1451 to 1453. Binnya Kyan, son of King Binnya Dhammaraza, came to power after assassinating his cousin King Binnya Waru in 1451. One notable project of his reign was the raising of the height of Shwedagon Pagoda to 92 meters (302 feet) from 20 meters (66 feet).^[1] The king himself was murdered in 1453 by his first cousin Leik Munhtaw who seized the throne. Despite his raising of the height of the Shwedagon, the king murdered so many of his rivals that by the time he himself was murdered, his killer, first cousin Leik Munhtaw was the last living male descendant of King Razadarit.

Brief

Various Burmese chronicles do not agree on the key dates of the king's life. Indeed, Maha Yazawin and Hmannan Yazawin have inconsistent reporting within their own texts.

Chronicles	Birth–Death	Age	Reign	Length of reign
Slapat Rajawan[note 2]	1417/18–1445	27	1442–1445	3
Maha Yazawin	not reported	not reported	June 1450 – 1451[2]	1
Hmannan Yazawin	not reported	not reported	June 1450 – 1452[3]	2
Maha Yazawin and Hmannan Yazawin (in summary section of Hanthawaddy Kings)	not reported	not reported	1450–1453[4][5]	3

Notes

1. The chronicle Mon Yazawin (Slapat 1922: 55) says he died at age 27 (28th year) in 1445 after having reigned for 3 years, meaning he was born c. 1417/18. But the chronicle also says he was younger than his predecessor Binnya Waru by two years. Since Binnya Waru was born in 1418/19 per Hmannan Yazawin, Binnya Kyan was probably born around 1420/21.
2. Mon Yazawin (Slapat Rajawan) provides wildly divergent and inconsistent dates for the early Hanthawaddy history, including the reign of this king. The birth-death and regnal dates use the regnal years given in the Slapat chronicle with 888 ME (1526/27), the death year of King Binnya Ran II, which is in agreement with standard Burmese chronicles, as the anchor reference point.

References

1. Harvey 1925: 112–117
2. (Maha Vol. 2 2006: 81): 813 ME = 1451/52. But since his successor ruled for seven months in the same year, he must have died before September 1451.
3. (Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 91): 814 ME = 1452/53. But since his successor ruled for seven months in the same year, he must have died before September 1452.
4. Maha Vol. 2 2006: 140
5. Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 185

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.