Mohnyin Thado

Who is Mohnyin Thado?

Mohnyin Thado was king of Ava from 1426 to 1439. The ethnic Burman saopha of Mohnyin came to power after overthrowing King Kale Kyetaungnyo and his queen Shin Bo-Me in 1426. His reign marks the plateauing of Ava's power. Left exhausted by the Forty Years' War with Hanthawaddy Pegu in the south, and long-running wars against various Shan States in the north, Ava was no longer in a position to expand. Mohnyin Thado spent his 12-year reign keeping restive regions of Ava in one piece. In particular, he had trouble controlling Toungoo which successfully revolted in 1437. He had to tolerate the governors of other regions who treated him as at best a senior. Hanthwaddy aided Toungoo's rebellions in 1427 and in 1437. But the two kingdoms did not resume a full-scale war.

In 1438, Mohnyin Thado renumbered the Burmese calendar by subtracting two years on the advice of a court astrologer. The change did not stick as he died a year later.

King Alaungpaya of Konbaung Dynasty claimed descent from Mohnyin Thado.