Kyiso

Kyiso ကျဉ်စိုး
Represented as Shin Mingaung nat (spirit)
King of Pagan
Reign	1021–1038
Predecessor	Kunhsaw Kyaunghpyu
Successor	Sokkate
Born	c. December 1000 c. Pyatho 362 ME (Tuesday born)[note 1] Pagan
Died	c. April 1038 (aged 37) Monywa
House	Pagan
Father	Nyaung-u Sawrahan
Mother	Taung Pyinthe
Religion	Buddhism

Kyiso (Burmese: ကျဉ်စိုး, pronounced: [tɕɪ̀ɴsó]; c. 1000–1038) was king of Pagan dynasty from 1021 to 1038. According to the Burmese chronicles, Kyiso was a son of King Nyaung-u Sawrahan but raised by King Kunhsaw Kyaunghpyu. Kunhsaw married Nyuang-u's three chief queens, two of whom were pregnant and subsequently gave birth to Kyiso and Sokkate. Sokkate and Kyiso were raised by Kunhsaw as his own sons. When the two sons reached manhood, they forced Kunhsaw to abdicate the throne and become a monk.

Kyiso was an avid hunter, and was killed in a hunting accident near Monywa. He became Yoma Shin Mingaung Nat or a spirit in Burmese folk religion.^[1]

Dates

Various chronicles do not agree on the dates regarding his life and reign.^[2] The oldest chronicle Zatadawbon Yazawin is considered to be the most accurate for the Pagan period.^{[note 2]} The table below lists the dates given by four main chronicles, as well as Hmannan's dates when anchored by the Anawrahta's inscriptionally verified accession date of 1044. The length of reign for Kyiso is given as 17 years by Zata but as six years by the others. According to Zata, it was Sokkate, successor of Kyiso, who ruled for six years.^[2]

Chronicles	Birth–Death	Age	Reign	Length of reign
Zatadawbon Yazawin	1000–1038	38	1021–1038	17
Maha Yazawin	950–977	26	971–977	6
Yazawin Thit and Hmannan Yazawin	964–992	27	986–992	6
Hmannan adjusted	992–1020	27	1014–1020	6

Notes

1. (Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 227): Kyiso was born 3 months earlier than his half-brother Sokkate. (Zata 1960: 63): Sokkate was born in Kason 363 ME. It means Kyiso was born c. Pyatho/Tabodwe of 362 ME (29 November 1000 to 26 January 1001). Since he was born on a Tuesday, he was born between 3 Dec 1000 to 21 January 1001.
2. (Maha Yazawin 2006: 346–349): Among the four major chronicles, only Zatadawbon Yazawin's dates line up with Anawrahta's inscriptionally verified accession date of 1044 CE. (Aung-Thwin 2005: 121–123): In general, Zata is considered "the most accurate of all Burmese chronicles, particularly with regard to the best-known Pagan and Ava kings, many of whose dates have been corroborated by epigraphy."

References

1. Harvey 1925: 19
2. Maha Yazawin Vol. 1 2006: 347

Bibliography

• Aung-Thwin, Michael A. (2005). The Mists of Rāmañña: The Legend that was Lower Burma (illustrated ed.). Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. ISBN 9780824828868.
• 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 Gyi (in Burmese) 1–3 (2006, 4th printing ed.). Yangon: Ya-Pyei Publishing.
• Royal Historians of Burma (c. 1680). U Hla Tin (Hla Thamein), ed. Zatadawbon Yazawin (1960 ed.). Historical Research Directorate of the Union of Burma.
• Royal Historical Commission of Burma (1832). Hmannan Yazawin (in Burmese) 1–3 (2003 ed.). Yangon: Ministry of Information, Myanmar.