Saw Zein

The prince was suddenly thrust into the spotlight in September 1323 when the 39-year-old O died. With O's eldest son, Saw E, still just about 10 years old, the 19-year-old Zein ascended the Martaban throne.[5] At his accession, he made Sanda Min Hla his chief queen but also raised his sister-in-law May Hnin Htapi, who was a Siamese princess, as a principal queen.[5]

At his accession, Zein inherited a fully independent kingdom. O had broken with his nominal overlord Sukhothai since 1319, and taken Lamphun and the Tenasserim coast by 1321.[2][6] However, in the tradition of the prevailing Southeast Asian administrative model, every new high king had to establish his authority with the vassals all over again. The 19-year-old king garnered no initial support, and the vassal rulers in the Pegu province and delta promptly revolted.[5]

Zein had to rebuild the kingdom all anew. His first target was the Pegu province (present-day Yangon Region and southern Bago Region). He left the capital Martaban (Mottama) with a strong garrison, and marched north with the army.[5][6] The inaugural campaign was successful; he took Pegu (Bago), Dagon (modern Central Yangon), Dala (modern Dala-Twante) and Watanaw.[5]

His next target was the Irrawaddy delta province, which remained in revolt. He did not return to Martaban, and instead affixed a temporary capital north of Pegu. He went on elephant hunting trips to gather more war elephants for the next campaign. With the renewed force, Zein then invaded the delta, and got the lords of Myaungmya and Bassein (Pathein) to submit.[5]

His job was far from over. While Zein was campaigning in Lower Burma, his nominal vassals on the Tenasserim coast also revolted.[note 1] Zein sent a force led by Gen. Bon-Yin to retake the coast. The army regained Tavoy but was driven back at Tenasserim (Taninthayi).[5] He sued for a truce with Sukhothai. The king of Sukhothai treated him like a vassal, giving him the title Binnya Ran De (ဗညား ရံဒယ်, Burmese pronunciation: [bəɲá jàɴ dɛ̀]).[5]

After the truce with Sukhothai, Zein tried to pick off Prome, then a nominal vassal of the northern Pinya Kingdom. He sent a sizable force led by his half-nephew Saw E Pyathat but the invaders were driven back. Pyathat died in action.[4] The defeat in the north augured renewed hostilities in the south. The truce with Sukhothai had ended by the late 1320s when Martaban again lost control of Tavoy. Zein sent his nephew Saw E to retake Tavoy but the campaign ended badly. Zein blamed the failure on E, and sent his nephew to prison near the frontier with Prome.[4]