Tabinshwehti succeeded his father as ruler of the Taungoo dynasty in 1531. At the time Burma was divided, and in a campaign begun in 1535 he re-unified most of the country. He moved the capital to the important trading centre of  Pegu

After the fall of Ava to Shan invasions in 1527 Tabinshwehti rebuilt a Burmese state first at Taungoo (1531-38) and then at Pegu (1538-1550) while he engaged in a long series of military campaigns that ended only with his assassination in 1550. His brother-in-law Kyaw Htin Nawrata re-established his kingdom after his death and ruled as king Bayinnaung expanding the Burmese kingdom through warfare.

King Tabinshwehti as depicted in Sony Pictures    "The Legend of Suriyothai"

Pegu (1535-38)

Between 1535 and 1538 Tabinshwehti marched south from Taungoo in a series of four military expeditions against the Mon kingdom of Pegu on the Bay of Bengal. A succession of Mon kings had ruled over a united Lower Burma at least since the time of King Rajadhirat (r. 1385-1421). In 1538 after first taking the western delta region around Bassein and augmenting his forces with military manpower and armaments, Tabinshwehti overcame the defences of Pegu and occupied the capital of the Mon kingdom.

Several factors explain why Taungoo started attacking Pegu shortly after Tabinshwehti became king of Taungoo in 1531. Trade wealth and maritime markets made coastal Pegu an attractive military target. Taungoo relied on Pegu for important commodities such as cloth and salt.

Another factor was the threat posed by the Shan confederation that had ruled over Ava to the north after conquering it in 1527. The Shans conquered Prome to the west of Taungoo in 1532, the year after Tabinshwehti became king of Taungoo. This left Taungoo, the only remaining Burmese stronghold, as the next logical target for Shan controlled Ava to attack and subjugate. Conquering Pegu first would also augment Taungoo's supply of military man and animal power and weapons, strengthening Taungoo to better face the Shan threat from the north.

Prome (1540)

Tabinshwehti sent his top general and brother-in-law, the future king Bayinnaung, north to Prome in pursuit of Takayupti the Mon king of Pegu (r. 1526-1538) who had fled north to seek refuge at Prome.

In the famous Battle of Naung Yo, Bayinnaung faced a superior force on the other side of a river. After crossing the river on a Pontoon bridge Bayinnaung ordered the bridge to be destroyed. This action was taken to spur his troops forward in battle and provide a clear signal that there would be no retreat. Before the battle began Bayinnaung also disregarded a message from King Tabinshwehti ordering him to wait for the main body of troops to arrive. Bayinnaung replied that he had already met the enemy and defeated them. To those who criticized this action, Bayinnaung replied that if they lost, they would all be dead anyway and it wouldn't matter whether they were alive or not.

Tabinshwehti could not take Prome because it was well-defended with strong walls and supported militarily by Shan Ava. When Takayupti died, many of his loyal followers came over to Tabinshwehti's side. Tabinshwehti increased his military strength by employing mercenaries of many nationalities including Portuguese and Muslims.

Martaban (1541-42)

The thriving port of Martaban proved difficult to subdue because it was supported by Portuguese soldiers and arms. On the land side of the town strong fortifications backed by earthwork and on the water side seven Portuguese ships commanded by Paulo Seixas provided a strong defence. When supplies ran out, Martaban tried to negotiate surrender, but Tabinshwehti would only accept a complete surrender. Martaban tried to lure away the Portuguese mercenary Joano Cayeyro who was helping Tabinshwehti, but these efforts failed. Finally, Tabinshwehti used fire rafts to burn and drive away the ships guarding the water side of the fortifications. A high fortress raft armed with guns and cannons was manoeuvred to a position in front of the river side fortifications. The walls were cleared of defenders and a final assault was made on the town. The Portuguese writer, Fernão Mendes Pinto records in great detail the pillaging and executions that supposedly took place in the wake of the defeat after seven months of siege.

Prome and Upper Burma (1542-45)

After a coronation ceremony and religious donations at the Shwedagon Pagoda in 1541, Tabinshwehti led an expedition to the north to subjugate Prome. The first assaults against the walls of Prome failed. Prome requested aid from Shan Ava and Arakan. Thai forces arrived first, but Bayinnaung met them in advance before they could arrive to Prome and defeated them.

The siege of Prome dragged on and when the rainy season arrived Tabinshwehti ordered his troops to plant rice and gather manpower and provisions from Lower Burma. The overland contingent of forces sent by Arakan was ambushed by Bayinnaung. This defeat caused both the land and river forces of Arakan to return to Arakan. After five months of siege, starvation led to defections and the weakened defences of Prome were easily overcome. The sack of Prome and the punishments that were supposedly meted out to the inhabitants are described in great detail by Fernão Mendes Pinto.

In 1544, Shan forces led a counter-attack but were again defeated by Tabinshwehti's forces. In 1545 Tabinshwehti marched north and took Pagan and Salin, leaving a garrison in Salin. Instead of driving northwards and re-establishing a Burmese state at Ava, Tabinshwehti turned his attention to the coastal polities to his west and east, Arakan and Ayutthaya.

Arakan (1546-7)

The ruler of Sandoway in southern Arakan had pledged loyalty to Tabinshwehti in exchange for the throne of Arakan. The fortifications at Mrauk U, the capital of Arakan had been built with the assistance of the Portuguese. The normal strategies of frontal assault or siege were ineffective against these fortifications. Arakan with the intercession of monks finally convinced Tabinshwehti to abandon the siege and return to Pegu.

Ayutthaya (1548)

While Tabinshwehti was campaigning in Arakan, Ayutthaya had sent raiding parties against Tavoy in Tenasserim. Tabinshwehti ordered the lord of Martaban to regain Tenasserim and in 1548 Tabinshwehti himself led a large invasionary force westwards over the Three Pagodas Pass Route to attack Ayutthaya.

The famous Queen Sri Suriyothai participated in the battle between Ayutthaya and Tabinshwehti's forces. Facing strong fortifications and Portuguese mercenaries at Ayutthaya, Tabinshwehti decided to move north and attack the weaker towns to the north, Kamphaengphet, Sukhothai, and Phitsanulok.

While Tabinshwehti had been campaigning in the east, a Mon revival had been gathering momentum in Lower Burma. Upon his return Tabinshwehti was assassinated by Mon members of his own court in 1450. A short period of Mon rule ensued while Bayinnnaung fought to restore the kingdom that Tabinshwehti had built.

Drawing of ancient Ayutthaya (Siam)

Reconquest of Burma (1550-1555)

Bayinnaung was the name conferred by his brother-in-law King Tabinshwehti, the founder of the Second Burmese Empire, nearly 3 centuries after the fall of Bagan in 1287 to the Mongol invasion under Kublai Khan. After Tabinshwehti was assassinated by Mon members of his court in Pegu in 1550, Bayinnaung fought to recover Tabinshwehti's kingdom retaking Taungoo and Prome in 1551, Pegu, Martaban, and Bassein in 1552, and finally Ava in 1555.

Shan States and Chiang Mai (1557-1558)

After he had retaken both Upper Burma and Lower Burma, he led a military expedition northwards to the Shan region and took Mong Mit, Hsipaw, Yawnghwe, Mong Yang, and Mogaung in 1557.

The following year he marched to Mong Nai in 1557 and then the Lanna kingdom of Chiang Mai in 1558 taking both cities. In 1563 he conquered the Chinese Shans of Mong Mao.

Bayinnaung

Ayutthaya (1564-1569)

In 1563, Bayinnaung launched another campaign against the kingdom of Ayutthaya, capturing the capital in 1569 despite widespread opposition and resistance among the Siamese. Siam, in effect, became a vassal state of the Taungoo kingdom, and thousands were taken back to Burma as war captives.

Starting in the late 1560s several European travellers such as Cesar Fedrici and Gaspero Balbi travelled to Pegu, the capital of Burma, and left detailed descriptions of Bayinnaung's kingdom in their travel journals.

Lan Chang (1570s)

In the 1570s Bayinnaung marched against the kingdom of Lan Chang (Lan Xang) in modern day Laos. The king of Lan Chang Setthathirat and the inhabitants of the capital Vientiane fled to the jungle where they resisted the invasion. Bayinnaung pursued them into the jungle, but warfare in the jungle proved difficult. The enemy was difficult to find and engage in battle. Failing to achieve decisive control over Lan Chang, Bayinnaung returned to Burma. When Bayinnaung returned to Lan Chang in 1574 he tried to lure the inhabitants back to the capital and rebuild the kingdom under a ruler of his choice. An expedition was also sent to reassert control over the Shan state of Mogaung in the far north in 1576.

On the eve of his death in 1581 Bayinnaung was preparing to launch an attack against the coastal kingdom of Arakan. Siam was liberated by Prince Naresuan after Bayinnaung's death.

Born to Prince Nyaungyan in Upper Burma, Anaukpetlun launched an invasion of the neighbouring region of Lower Burma capturing Prome in 1607 and Taungoo in 1610. Continuing on to Syriam, under the rule of Portuguese mercenary Philip de Brito, Anaukpetlun would capture the city in 1613 following a long siege where he would crucify de Brito and enslave the surviving Portuguese and Eurasian populations. (subsequently serving as hereditary gunners for later Burmese rulers).

Invading nearby Siam the same year, Anaukpetlun's forces briefly occupied Tenasserim however within a year they were eventually forced to withdraw from the country by combined Portuguese and Siamese forces. Continuing to fortify his control of Burma, Anaukpetlun would eventually be murdered by his own son, who feared retribution from an affair with one of his father's concubines, in 1628.