Anaukpetlun

Who was Anaukpetlun?

Anaukpetlun was the sixth king of Toungoo dynasty of Burma, and was largely responsible for restoring Burmese kingdom after it had famously collapsed at the end of 16th century. In his 22-year reign between 1606 and 1628, Anaukpetlun completed the reunification efforts of the Burmese kingdom begun by his father King Nyaungyan. Having inherited a partial kingdom comprising mainly Upper Burma and Shan States from his father Nyaungyan, Anaukpetlun went on to reconquer, Lanna in the east, and in the south, Lower Burma from rival Burmese factions and the Portuguese, as well as the Upper Tenasserim from the Siamese. The kingdom was known as Restored Toungoo Dynasty or Nyaungyan Dynasty.

Officially styled as Maha Dhamma Yaza, Anaukpetlun was a grandson of Bayinnaung. Both of his parents were children of Bayinnaung, half-brother and half-sister. In March 1606, Nyaungyan died during his campaign against the Shans. Anaukpetlun then inherited the Kingdom of Ava that included all north of Pagan along the Irrawaddy and the Shan states.

Anaukpetlun pursued his campaigns to unify the Burmese kingdom. In 1608, he took the Kingdom of Prome, installing his brother Thalun as the King of Prome.